How do you eat blowfish in Korea?

There are several ways to eat blowfish in Korea – raw, in soup, in salad, steamed, or deep fried. I had my first experience of the famously poisonous blowfish (fugu in Japanese/ 복어 bogeo in Korean) several years ago at a well-known restaurant in Insadong 종로삼대복집 with a 60 year history (which is still going strong). 

They served various set menus with dishes featuring blowfish – from sashimi to blowfish jelly to hotpot! To be honest I wasn’t blown away by the flavour of the sashimi. (see what I did there?) It didn’t seem to have much flavour at all. (read more here) But the blowfish tempura was really good. Some tempura can be all batter and no filling but not this one. Blowfish tempura is fat, juicy and meaty. 

Recently we tried a different blowfish restaurant. There are blowfish restaurants dotted around all over Seoul. This one specialised in blowfish soup (복국). And there were 4 items on the menu – blowfish soup, spicy blowfish soup, steamed blowfish, and blowfish tempura. By 6pm a crowd had gathered outside waiting for a table.

We tried the steamed blowfish (복수육) which is served on a bed of steamed minari and soybean sprouts. We were also served a spicy side salad of minari and blowfish skin. So if you don’t like minari this could be a problem because it seems that minari is ALWAYS served with blowfish!

What is minari?

It’s a Korean herb that’s also called water dropwort, water celery, or Korean watercress. It has a strong, fresh, aromatic flavour and tastes (to me anyway) something like a cross between coriander and celery leaves. It’s added to LOTS of Korean dishes and soups. The first time I bought minari from a local market I found – TO MY HORROR – lots of small black leeches nestled in the stalks! So it was definitely fresh. That’s when I learned that minari is farmed in water. (and I learned what leeches look like in real life and not just in historical dramas when they are used to suck blood from sick people…)

And WHY is minari always served with blowfish?

Apparently in the Dongguk Sesigi (book of Korean customs) it says that blowfish soup should be eaten before the peach blossom falls – so we were just in time! And it says that blowfish is best paired with minari. Blowfish is said to be good for cleaning the blood. And according to the medical book Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine (Donguibogam) written by famous Joseon doctor Heo Jun – blowfish is good for revitalising the body when the body is weak and minari should be eaten with the fish for detoxification.  (Here’s a short KBS video about this in Korean) 

What is steamed blowfish like?

My first impression of the steamed blowfish dish when it arrived on the table was that it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing dish I’ve ever seen in my life. Not particularly ‘Instagramable’ as they say. Still I took a pic (see above). Hiding underneath the big chunks of white fish is the minari and beansprouts.

But I think this dish was very healthy. Lots of fish and vegetables. Blowfish itself doesn’t have much flavour but what’s great about it is the meaty texture. And it’s served with a sweet soy sauce dip and wasabi. (The only condiment on the table was vinegar – which I think you’re meant to add to blowfish soup). There was plenty of food for two people – even without rice or other carbs – and with the veg and spicy side dish salad I was certainly satisfied. Next time though we’ve already decided to share one spicy soup and a plate of tempura!

THE MENU

There are 4 dishes on the menu (but most of the customers who came in while we were there ordered the soup).

복국 지리 blowfish soup (23,000 won per serving)

복국매운탕 spicy blowfish soup (23,000 won per serving) 

복수육 steamed blowfish with minari and soybean sprouts (70,000 won)

복튀김 deep fried blowfish tempura (45,000 won)