Fishcake hot bars with sausage and laver
Sous Chef · CC BY 2.0

핫바 · Fish-cake bar

Fish-cake bar

핫바

What exactly is it?

Hotba is a handheld snack bar, often made from springy fish paste. Vegetables, squid or cheese may be mixed in before frying or baking. The name can also appear on meat-based products, so read the ingredient description.

Main ingredients

Fish paste, starch or flour and vegetables; optional cheese, shrimp or sausage

Ordering and serving

A cheese hotba may still have a fish-paste base. Follow reheating instructions for chilled packaged products rather than treating them like a hot counter snack.

Origins and changes

One development of fish cake is a bar that can be eaten without broth. Manufacturers offer vegetable, squid and shrimp varieties, with both fried and baked products.

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Fish-cake bar

핫바

Main ingredients
Fish paste, starch or flour and vegetables; optional cheese, shrimp or sausage
Flavor and character
Hotba is a handheld snack bar, often made from springy fish paste. Vegetables, squid or cheese may be mixed in before frying or baking. The name can also appear on meat-based products, so read the ingredient description.
How to eat it
A cheese hotba may still have a fish-paste base. Follow reheating instructions for chilled packaged products rather than treating them like a hot counter snack.
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.
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