Sunday, March 22, 2009

Raw Fish Slices

The restaurants specialized in sliced raw fish can be seen along the busy streets in harbors on the coasts of the Korean peninlsula. Sliced raw fish, 회, Hoe, is one of Korean favorite dishes, which is the same as Sashimi in Japan. The above photo shows a saltwater fish aquarium equipped in the front of raw fish restaurant located in some harbor, on the eastern coast. Aquarium is applied as a temporary storage to keep the live fish fresh until ready to serve. A landing net is used to catch the fish out of the aquarium, which is thinly sliced into bite-size pieces.

Sliced raw fish are served with red pepper sauce flavored with vinegar, Gochunaengi 고추냉이(Green horseradish), soy sauce mixed with vinegar and pine-nut meal, white cabbage, garlic, green chilli, sesame leaves. The aquarium fish of the restaurants along the coast are mostly wild caught. But to meet the needs, it has been known that some fish are transported from the hatcheries located along the western and southern coasts. Most inland raw-fish restaurants use fish raised in farms. The most popular main ingredients for sliced raw fish are flatfish, southern conger eel, armorclad rockfish, oyster, spiny turban shell, cuttlefish, octopus, abalone, yellowtail, snapper, mullet, halibut, gizzard shad and tuna.