연포탕 · Octopus clear soup

Octopus clear soup

연포탕

What exactly is it?

On present-day restaurant menus, yeonpo-tang usually means octopus cooked in clear broth. Brief cooking preserves the tentacles’ tender chew. A clear appearance does not rule out heat from fresh chilies.

Main ingredients

Octopus, kelp and clam stock, radish, scallion, garlic; optional hot chili

Ordering and serving

If a whole octopus is added to the pot, follow the staff’s cooking and cutting instructions. Unlike a raw sannakji plate, this is eaten cooked. Ask about clam stock if you have a shellfish allergy.

Origins and changes

Historical yeonpo-tang centered on tofu. Records such as Dongguk Sesigi describe a tofu-and-chicken soup, while the name is now more familiar for octopus soup. It is a useful example of an old dish name changing meaning.

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How do similar dishes compare?

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Octopus clear soup

연포탕

Main ingredients: Octopus, kelp and clam stock, radish, scallion, garlic; optional hot chili
Flavor and character: On present-day restaurant menus, yeonpo-tang usually means octopus cooked in clear broth. Brief cooking preserves the tentacles’ tender chew. A clear appearance does not rule out heat from fresh chilies.
How to eat it: If a whole octopus is added to the pot, follow the staff’s cooking and cutting instructions. Unlike a raw sannakji plate, this is eaten cooked. Ask about clam stock if you have a shellfish allergy.

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Cod soup

대구탕

Main ingredients: Cod, radish, tofu, scallion; water dropwort and chili vary
Flavor and character: Large pieces of white cod simmer with radish and vegetables. Both clear daegu-jiri and red spicy versions exist. Bones remain among the soft flesh, so this is not a boneless puréed fish soup.
How to eat it: Check whether roe or milt is an optional addition, and ask about offal if you want flesh only. Clear soup can still contain hot fresh chilies; ask for them separately if needed.

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