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Korean-style serving of Busan fish cake

부산어묵 · Busan fish cake

Busan fish cake

부산어묵

What exactly is it?

Busan eomuk refers to fish cakes associated with the port city’s processing industry. Alongside thin sheets are thick bars and snack versions with vegetables, cheese or shrimp. Fish content and the paste mixture affect the texture as much as the shape.

Main ingredients

Fish paste, salt and starch or flour; varieties may contain shrimp, cheese or vegetables

Ordering and serving

At fish-cake bakeries, ready-to-eat snacks and chilled gift packs have different storage needs. Ask about refrigeration and ice packs before carrying a purchase around for the day.

Origins and changes

Access to fish and the wartime concentration of people in Busan helped the industry expand. Makers around Yeongdo and Yeongju-dong markets in the 1950s, followed by other producers, built the city’s fish-cake trade.

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Dish to compare

Busan fish cake

부산어묵

Main ingredients
Fish paste, salt and starch or flour; varieties may contain shrimp, cheese or vegetables
Flavor and character
Busan eomuk refers to fish cakes associated with the port city’s processing industry. Alongside thin sheets are thick bars and snack versions with vegetables, cheese or shrimp. Fish content and the paste mixture affect the texture as much as the shape.
How to eat it
At fish-cake bakeries, ready-to-eat snacks and chilled gift packs have different storage needs. Ask about refrigeration and ice packs before carrying a purchase around for the day.
Read about this dish →

Eomuk fish cake

어묵

Main ingredients
Ground fish, salt and starch or flour; skewer broth may contain anchovies and radish
Flavor and character
Ground fish is formed into a springy cooked cake. Street stalls often fold it onto a long skewer and warm it in broth. The cake has already been cooked; the broth reheats and softens it.
How to eat it
Check whether you order first or help yourself. At stalls charging by skewer count, keep the sticks until payment. Avoid dipping a bitten piece into a shared sauce container.
Read about this dish →
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