Shellfish in Korean food
Shellfish (조개류 · 굴 · 전복)
In Korean food, shellfish hides in broths and seasonings more often than in shellfish dishes. Oysters often come in through kimchi and oyster sauce, and clams and mussels through broth.
Where it hides in Korean food
In the kimjang season, when kimchi is made for the winter, shucked oysters often go into the kimchi filling, and freshly mixed geotjeori kimchi may have raw oysters too. Some kimchi is made with oysters on purpose, such as oyster kkakdugi, radish kimchi with plenty of oysters, and in winter some places serve gul bossam, boiled pork with raw oysters.
Kalguksu broth is often made with clams along with anchovy and kelp, and bajirak kalguksu is cooked with short-neck clams, as its name says. Small clams such as bajirak are also often added to doenjang jjigae and seafood sundubu jjigae.
Oyster sauce is a seasoning made from oysters and the broth of long-simmered raw oysters. Besides Chinese-style stir-fries, some recipes mix it into japchae and tteokbokki seasoning, so it can end up in dishes without oysters in the name. Jjamppong, a Korean-Chinese noodle soup, commonly has mussels in it.
Eorigul jeot, oysters mixed with salt and chili powder, and jogae jeot, salted clams, are served as side dishes and with drinks. Street tent bars serve mussel soup and cockles with drinks, some giving the mussel soup at no charge, and on Jeju, abalone porridge, rice cooked in broth simmered from abalone, is eaten as a local dish.
Dishes that contain it
Sometimes in it
- BibimbapCockle bibimbap puts boiled cockles tossed in a dressing on the rice.
- Budae-jjigae (army base stew)Seafood budae-jjigae also adds shellfish such as mussels.
- Haemul-pajeon (seafood scallion pancake)Oysters and clams are common additions, and the Busan-style Dongnae pajeon is topped with plenty of clams, oysters and mussels.
- JapchaeSome recipes mix oyster sauce into the soy sauce seasoning, and oyster sauce is made from oysters.
- KimchiOyster kimchi and wrapped bossam kimchi mix raw oysters into the seasoning.
- Sundubu-jjigae (soft tofu stew)Seafood versions commonly use clams, oysters or mussels, which cook in the same broth as the tofu.
- TteokbokkiSome recipes add oyster sauce to the sauce, and oyster sauce is made from oysters.
Based on the 14 dishes this site has researched. Dishes not listed here can contain it too.