Fish cake

Eomuk is made by grinding white-fleshed fish into a paste with a little salt, sugar and starch, shaping it and heating it until it sets. The salt draws out the fish's muscle proteins, which form an elastic gel when heated — the source of eomuk's springy bite. It is also widely called odeng, a name borrowed from Japanese.

The modern product descends from Japanese kamaboko. A Korean interpreter, Yi Pyo, recorded a fish dish he called kamabokot in the 18th-century cookbook Somun saseol after tasting it in Japan, though his version — sliced fish layered with a minced meat and vegetable filling, rolled and boiled — was quite different. Japanese-style fish cake spread during the colonial period, when Japanese-run shops operated in Busan's markets.

After liberation, Korean-owned factories opened in Busan, and the Korean War, which swelled the city with refugees, turned fish cake into a cheap, filling protein. Busan makers have traditionally used small fish such as young croaker and cutlassfish, and the city's premium-brand standard calls for fish to make up at least 70% of the product.

Today eomuk goes into soups and stews, is stir-fried or braised as a side dish such as eomuk-bokkeum, and is added to tteokbokki and gimbap.

• A source of protein: Eomuk provides fish protein in an affordable, ready-to-cook form.
• A processed, salty food: Fried fish cake lists about 700 mg of sodium per 100 g in the Korean Food Composition Table, and braising it in soy-based sauce adds more.
• Starch and oil: Many products include a substantial share of starch, and fried types absorb oil, so eomuk is best treated as an occasional side rather than a main protein.
• Allergens: Eomuk contains fish, a major food allergen. Recipes vary by brand and may include other allergens, so read the ingredient list.