With the clean water along the extensive eastern coast, North Gyeongsang boasts an extensive range of seafood, from herring to crab to abalone.

South Korea’s North Gyeongsang Province is well-known for its cultural assets and beaches. Delicacies, however, are not one of them. The province is notorious for having little or no signature dishes. It is perhaps because the province is traditionally a fishing area, where residents are used to whipping up quick and easy dishes using plenty of salt.

But these images may do an injustice to the region, as its food could well become some of many of Korea’s favourite dishes. Blessed with plenty of grains as a result of the region’s mild climate, North Gyeongsang Province was heavily influenced by the resplendent Buddhist culture of the Silla Dynasty and the Confucian tradition of the Joseon Dynasty, creating a unique style of food.

With the clean water along the extensive eastern coast, the province boasts an extensive range of seafood, from herring to crab to abalone.

In an apparent attempt to distance itself from its lackluster culinary reputation, the province is gearing up to promote many of its special delicacies.

They are mostly those that require the minimum techniques in cooking, and rely mostly on the freshness of the main ingredient, and the power of nature. The food here, indeed, is humble and conservative, reflecting the characteristics of Gyeongsang Province locals.

Gwamegi: dried herring or saury

Gwamegi is probably the most well-known and popular food originating from Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.

Gwamegi was originally made with herrings which were abundantly caught off the coast of the East Sea.

Once caught, rows of herrings are lined along bamboo sticks and hung over the opened kitchen window or under the roof.

After several repeats of being frozen by the cold ocean wind and defrosted by the strong sunshine over the course of a week or so, the herrings become solid and jellylike, with a natural salty taste that turns mild and savory as one continues to chew.

Herrings were usually dried whole, without halving it and taking out the intestines.

These days, manufacturers prefer halving the fish to minimise the fishy taste.

It has been a long time since saury fish replaced herrings as the main ingredient of gwamegi. Fishermen explain that the herrings that were abundant in the East Sea until 1960s began to rapidly disappear in the 1970s. Saury caught in the northern Pacific consequently took their place.

While it is nearly impossible to find herring gwamegi in Pohang now, they can be spotted in the neighbouring city of Yeongdeok.

Driving along the beautiful coastal road one will see small shacks that house strings of herrings being dried against the strong sea wind.

Park Byeong-ho, owner of a small restaurant Gaepung in Changpo-ri of Yeongdeok, says it takes about a full week for the herring to be dried.

The most mouthwatering and scrumptious part about herring gwamegi are their tightly packed roe.

Indeed, people who stick by the original herring gwamegi say saury gwamegi does not have that genuine fishiness and texture.

But for those who seek to enjoy of gwamegi in a simpler and less daring way, saury gwamegi is a better choice.

In Pohang, saury imported from Japan is more widely used than those caught in Korean waters these days. Fishermen explain that this is because those that have reached Korean waters have used up most of their fat while swimming through the warm current.

To better meet with the more sophisticated palates of people in Seoul and other metropolitan regions, Pohang manufacturers have invented a new method of drying the saury fish—using green tea.

Score a knife through the stomach of a saury, take out the bones and intestines, and wash them down in cold green tea water. Dry the cleaned up saury under the sun and sprinkle more green tea powder over them three or four times until fully dry.

Lee Ki-bang, 66, who has been making gwamegi for over 30 years at Gampo Port, said, “People tend to think that gwamegi dried by machine are cleaner and tastier but they can never resurrect the sea-taste that one gets eating naturally dried gwamegi.”

Yeongdeok crabs

Yeongdeok is famous for their large crabs, an equivalent to king crabs. At around 9am everyday, a scene worth experiencing takes place at Yeongdeok’s Ganggu Port where fishing vessels with their prize from the sea reveal their products to be auctioned off right on the spot.
When the time comes, a whistle is blown, and crabs are speedily lined up according to size.

Then an auctioneer belts out seemingly incomprehensible sounds to gather the attention of the auction brokers. Only those registered with the city’s fisheries association can take part on behalf of ordinary buyers, usually restaurant owners. They are identifiable by their blue caps. After several minutes of auctioneer’s songlike chants and busy finger signs by the auction brokers, the deals are completed in a blink of an eye.

Yeongdeok’s crabs are usually eaten by steaming them. Large lumps of juicy white crab meat and a chug of local soju is indeed a perfect dinner. After finishing off poking, scraping and crunching at the crabs, restaurants usually fry rice with the crab’s tangy intestines and serve them in the crab shell to finish off the meal. One of many Yeongdeok crab restaurants is Daegae Jongga, reachable at (054) 733-3838.

Haecheon soup

Uljin, a city north of Yeongdeok, is said to lag behind other North Gyeongsang Province cities in having a signature local dish.

Fighting such prejudice, a restaurant and inn owner Kim Jeong-ae, 44, set out with her invention last year, a deep broth of soup with home-grown chicken, abalone, pine mushrooms, various types of shellfish, sea slugs and eight different types of oriental herbs.

This ambitious soup contains all that is good for the body -and is consequently costly at 55,000 won (US$39) for a four-portion pot.
The taste is somewhat bitter, but unique. After a scoop or two, one feels the sweat already running down the back. The restaurant also offers a refreshing experience, by grilling abalone at a makeshift terrace just by the beautiful emerald sea of Uljin.

The restaurant can be reached at (054) 783-0300. (By LEE JOO-HEE In North Gyeongsang/ The Korea Herald/ AsiaNews)