KOREAN HERITAGE

Lifespans increased dramatically after early humans started to use fire for cooking. Proto-humans sometimes survived on the leftover flesh of prey abandoned by lions and hyenas. Once they mastered the use of fire, they started to hunt large animals themselves. The problem remained of the rotting of the meat, with its organic substances such as proteins and fat being decomposed by aerobic microorganisms. Spoiled meat could seriously impact the health of those who consumed it. Until the 19th and 20th centuries when industrial food processing, artificial refrigeration, and freezing became widespread, cooking practices placed a great emphasis on slowing the process of decay.

Jeotgal, Salted and Fermented Seafood

When it comes to the preservation of meat or fish, drying in the sun or wind was long the simplest and most economical method known. However, drying deprives food of moisture and much of its original flavor. Smoking is another good way to slow the process of decay, but the resulting smoky flavor can be excessive. Salting was often seen as the best method for preserving the authentic flavors of food over long periods. Meat or fish could be soaked in brine or crusted with salt. One of the definitive Korean foods made through brining is jeotgal, or “pickled fish.”

Pickled damselfish (jari jeot). Pickled damselfish is a local specialty of Jeju Island.

The word jeotgal is comprised of two components—jeot meaning “soaked and fermented” and gal meaning “a pile of things.” Jeotgal is made by alternating layers of fish and salt in a jar. When salt is sprinkled over the muscles, intestines, and reproductive organs of fish, an enzyme is produced that breaks down proteins into amino acids. This process is described as sakida in Korean, or “fermentation.”

Three ships dating to the early 13th century were excavated in 2009 off the coast of Taean in Chungcheongnam-do Province. Alongside dried mussels and dried abalone was found a jar of salted abalone. It appears to have been a form of jeotgal made from abalone caught off the coast of Gangjin in Jeollanam-do Province. People on Jeju Island call the intestines of abalones ge-ut. Pickled abalone intestines, or ge-ut jeot, is the favorite type of jeotgal among the islanders.

Herring, known for its high protein and fat content, was caught in large quantities off the western coast of Korea until the 19th century. During the Joseon era (1392–1910), herring was enjoyed dried or dried and then grilled. Affluent people made jeotgal with herring.

A recipe for herring jeotgal is included in Understanding the Taste of Food (Eumsik dimibang), the first cookbook written in the Korean alphabet. Its author Jang Gye-hyang (1598–1680) states, “As herrings can be spoiled when washed in water, they should be cleaned with a cloth. In a clean and dry jar, add 3.2 kilograms of salt for every 100 herring.”

The court doctor Yu Jung-rim (1705–71) relates in his book Expanded Edition on Farm Management (Jeungbo sallim gyeongje): “In a bamboo basket, place a layer of herring and scatter salt; place another layer of herring and scatter salt. Cover it with a straw mat and leave it overnight. The watery substances from the herring will all be drained away. Place these herring in a jar and again sprinkle them with salt. It will be ready for consumption in six months or a year.”

Herring jeotgal made according to the directions in Understanding the Taste of Food exudes a putrid smell like the Swedish fermented herring surströmming. For the Joseon people who could not afford beef, however, it was a good source of protein and fat.

Sikae Born from a Mixture of Salt and Grain

There is a form of jeotgal called sikae, a word consisting of two Chinese characters respectively meaning “eating” and “soaking in brine.” Yi Gyu-gyeong (1788–1856), a late-Joseon scholar of Silhak, or “Practical Learning,” writes that people in fishing villages made sikae with various kinds of fish including Chinese tapertail anchovy, large-eyed herring, shrimp, squid, octopus, long-legged octopus, baby octopus, clam, mussel, flatfish, dried pollack, and sardine.

Flatfish sikae. Flatfish is mixed with grain, red pepper powder, and salt, and then fermented. Flatfish sikae is characterized by its spicy and acid flavor.

To make a sikae, first cook rice and then mix it with barley malt, powdered nuruk (a traditional Korean fermentation starter), and water. Leave the nuruk mixture for a few days to ferment. Any surface moisture should be removed from the selected fish before they are half-dried, chopped into pieces, and mixed with salt. The salted fish pieces should be inserted in the nuruk mixture and left to sit for about 10 days to become ready for consumption. People in Samcheok and Gangneung in Gangwon-do Province still use flatfish and millet to make flatfish sikae.

Pickled fish is an essential secondary ingredient for making cabbage kimchi. During the 18th–19th centuries, well-off households in Seoul considered pickled shrimp a must in cabbage kimchi. The fermented shrimp enrich the taste of kimchi with flavors derived from their protein and fat. With catches of anchovy increasing in the 20th century, pickled anchovy started to be used in kimchi making as well. Kimchi with pickled fish added develops a fishy smell, however, so red pepper powder, garlic, and ginger are used in greater quantities. Pickled fish, or jeotgal, endows kimchi with a distinct flavor that differentiates it from other forms of fermented vegetables such as pickles in the United States and Europe, Chinese pao cai, or Japan’s tsukemono.

Fermented Skate with the Pungent Flavor of Urea

There is one fish that can be fermented without salt—a type of skate known for its pungent flavor. In the 15th century fishermen would often bring in an abundant catch of skate in the waters around Heuksando Island off the western coast of the Korean Peninsula. Once a crew of them smelled a strong ammonia-like odor coming from some left-over skate and presumed the fish was decaying. However, they were unwilling to just toss away the result of their hard work and decided to taste it. They developed no stomachaches and thought the fish tasted wonderful. The news spread through the southern Jeolla region and fermented skate, or hongeo hoe, became established as a local specialty.

Skate have soft cartilaginous bones. Swimming on the ocean floor 80–100 meters deep, skate develop large amounts of urea to control the process of osmosis. When alive, they excrete the urea through the skin, but it remains trapped within them after death. This urea decomposes into ammonia. In the proper environment, the ammonia eliminates decay-causing microorganisms and softens the flesh. Such skate does not immediately rot, even unrefrigerated. The pungent smell simply gets stronger with time.

Even as jeotgal was falling out of favor with the advancement of storage techniques, the popularity of fermented skate only increased. Restaurants in Jeollanam-do Province drew on the craze for fermented skate to create a new dish called hongeo samhap, or “skate trio.” It is a dish setting fermented skate alongside boiled pork slices and cabbage kimchi. As people moved from Jeollanam-do to Seoul, this “skate trio” was transported to the capital. Starting in the 1990s, this novel dish became established as a national food.

It is not really science that draws a line between fermentation and decay. Fermented foods that are popular in one community might be shunned as rotten in another. In this sense, it is the shared culture within a certain community that decides the meanings of fermentation and of spoilage. It all depends on the collective experience that perceives the flavors from the decomposition of food as well fermented rather than rotten. Pickled fish, sikae, and fermented skate are all foods that are, in the words of the French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, “good to think with” for Korean people.