Myeongtae-sikhae (Fermented Pollack with Grain)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1-liter sterilized glass jar or small onggi with lid
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Kitchen scale
• •Disposable food-safe gloves
• •Small rice cooker or heavy saucepan

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the fish

   Check the pollack carefully and pull out any pin bones. Cut it into 2.5cm pieces. Toss with 15g coarse sea salt, cover, and refrigerate 2 hours. This first salting seasons the center and pulls out water, which is why the fish stays chewy instead of turning loose as it ferments.

   If using raw frozen pollack fillets instead of half-dried kodari, thaw them in the refrigerator and pat them very dry before salting. For safety and texture, use fish that has been commercially frozen.
2. 2

   Dry until firm

   Rinse the salted fish quickly under cold water, then dry it hard with towels. Set the pieces on a rack over a tray and refrigerate uncovered 8 to 12 hours, turning once. The surface should feel tacky and firm, not wet. This is the corner you cannot cut.

3. 3

   Salt the radish

   Toss the radish matchsticks with 6g fine sea salt and let them sit 30 minutes. Squeeze out the liquid firmly, but do not rinse. Radish brings crunch and a clean bite, but if its water goes into the jar, it thins the seasoning and weakens the preserve.

4. 4

   Cook the grain

   Cook the rinsed rice with 2/3 cup water until tender and slightly sticky, about 20 minutes in a small pot or rice cooker. Spread it on a plate and cool completely. Warm rice in a fish ferment is careless work; it raises the temperature in the jar and encourages the wrong smells.

5. 5

   Mix the seasoning

   In a clean bowl, stir the cooled rice with the barley malt powder, gochugaru, fish sauce, saeujeot if using, garlic, ginger, and maesil-cheong. Let it stand 10 minutes so the chili softens and stains the grain evenly. Taste the seasoning before the fish goes in. It should be salty, gently sweet, and red with chili, but not harsh.

6. 6

   Fold and pack

   Add the dried pollack, squeezed radish, scallions, and sesame seeds. Fold with a gloved hand until every piece is coated, keeping the fish pieces whole. Pack tightly into a sterilized 1-liter glass jar or small onggi, pressing out air pockets as you go. Leave 2cm headspace.

7. 7

   Start the ferment

   Cover the jar and leave it in the coolest part of the kitchen, ideally 15 to 18C, for 12 to 18 hours only, then refrigerate. If your kitchen is warmer than 20C, skip the counter and put it straight into the refrigerator. 시대가 바뀌면 음식도 바뀌어야 해요. When times change, food must change too, and modern apartments are often too warm for old fermentation timing.

8. 8

   Ferment cold

   Refrigerate 5 to 7 days before eating. Open once a day for the first 3 days to release pressure and press the mixture back under its own seasoning with a clean spoon. It is ready when the pollack is chewy, the grain has softened into the seasoning, and the smell is cleanly sour-savory, not rotten or alcoholic.

   Discard the batch if you see fuzzy mold, slimy strands, a swollen jar that sprays when opened, or a smell that reminds you of decay rather than fermentation. Fermented food asks for confidence, not bravado.
9. 9

   Serve in small bowls

   Spoon out only what you will eat and keep the rest cold. Finish the serving portion with 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil and a pinch of sesame seeds. Do not oil the whole jar, because sesame oil dulls during storage. Serve as banchan with hot rice, or beside mild soups where its sharpness has room to speak.

Chef Tips

• •Half-dried pollack, kodari, is the right starting point if you can find it. It should bend a little and feel firm, not brittle like bugeo and not wet like fresh fillet.
• •Barley malt powder is not decoration. Its enzymes help the grain sweeten and soften during fermentation, which gives sikhae its rounded taste instead of just salty fish and chili.
• •Keep the chili measured. Four tablespoons gives color and warmth without burying the pollack. If your gochugaru is very hot, use 3 tablespoons gochugaru and 1 tablespoon sweet paprika for color.
• •Use a clean spoon every time you serve. This is not fussing. A fermented preserve keeps well only if you do not feed the jar yesterday's rice grains and table crumbs.
• •Eat within 3 weeks once fermented, always refrigerated. The flavor deepens after the first week, then the fish gradually softens. Notebook 42 says the ninth day was the best balance in my kitchen.

Advance Preparation

• •The pollack can be salted and dried a day ahead, then kept covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to mix.
• •The rice can be cooked several hours ahead, spread thin, cooled completely, and refrigerated. Bring it back to cool room temperature before mixing so it folds evenly.
• •The finished sikhae needs 5 to 7 days of cold fermentation before serving. Plan it as a make-ahead banchan, not a same-day dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 105g)