History

Eomuk workshops grew around Busan's port under Japanese rule, adapting kamaboko to Korean tastes, and the wartime boom made the city Korea's fish-cake capital. Bupyeong market carts sold it on skewers with broth; Samjin, founded 1953 on Yeongdo, is the oldest name still pressing it, and Goraesa turned it into a premium bakery counter. Ask for eomuk, not odeng, and drink the broth to the bottom.

Common allergens: Fish, Wheat (gluten)

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4 as street-style skewersHands-on 30 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 400g shop-bought flat eomuk sheets and rounds
  • 1.5 litres anchovy-kelp stock (dried anchovies, dasima, onion, Korean radish)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp minced garlic, white pepper
  • Bamboo skewers; soy-mustard dip to serve

Method

  1. Simmer anchovies, kelp, onion and radish for 20 minutes; strain and season the stock with soy, garlic and pepper.
  2. Blanch eomuk sheets briefly in hot water to shed surface oil, then fold each in ribbons onto skewers.
  3. Simmer the skewers in the stock for 10 minutes until swollen and silky.
  4. Serve upright in a cup of the broth, with soy-mustard dip, and refill the broth as it goes down.

Tip from the editors. The radish in the stock matters more than any seasoning; it gives the broth the clean sweetness of the Busan carts.

Where to eat busan eomuk

Busan eomuk in Busan

Samjin Eomuk Yeongdo Main Store ★ 4.4

Street food₩YeongdoDaily 09:00-19:00

Samjin Eomuk has pressed Busan fish cake since 1953, and its Yeongdo flagship sells bakery-style eomuk and croquettes from the original site.

Try: Eomuk and fish cake croquettes

Tip: Take a tray and tongs like a bakery; the eomuk croquette at 2,000 won is the door-out snack.

36 Taejong-ro 99beon-gil, Yeongdo-gu, Busan

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