Myeongyeopchae-bokkeum (명엽채볶음, Stir-Fried Pollack Strips)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide nonstick skillet or well-seasoned wok
• •Kitchen scissors
• •Medium mixing bowl
• •Small sauce bowl
• •Airtight banchan container, about 2-cup capacity

Instructions

1. 1

   Pick and cut

   Put the myeongyeopchae in a wide bowl. Pull out any hard edges, pin bones, or very dark pieces, then cut long ribbons into 2- to 3-inch lengths with kitchen scissors. Do this before any sauce is mixed. One hard rib in a soft banchan makes everyone chew carefully, and that is not the mood of a side dish.

   If the strips smell stale, oily, or sharply fishy, cook something else. This dish has nowhere to hide tired dried fish.
2. 2

   Soften the strips

   Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over the pollack strips and toss with your hands. Add the mayonnaise and rub lightly until every strip has only a thin coat. Rest 5 minutes. The water loosens the dry fibers, and the mayonnaise protects them from turning tough when the glaze cools in the refrigerator. More mayonnaise is not kindness; it makes the dish taste heavy.

3. 3

   Mix the glaze

   In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, rice syrup, mirim, remaining 1 tablespoon water, sugar, and minced garlic. Taste a drop. It should be salty-sweet, not candy-sweet, because the dried fish and plain rice will quiet it. Let the pollack still read as pollack.

4. 4

   Warm the pollack

   Heat the neutral oil in a wide skillet over medium-low heat. Add the mayonnaise-coated strips and toss for 60 to 90 seconds, just until they are flexible and lightly glossy. Do not brown them. If the edges curl crisp, the pan is too hot. Move the strips back to the bowl.

   This is the step that keeps the dish tender. You are warming and loosening the dried fish, not frying it into a snack.
5. 5

   Cook the glaze

   Pour the sauce into the same skillet and simmer over medium heat for 45 to 60 seconds, stirring, until the large bubbles turn small and glossy and the garlic loses its raw bite. Do not reduce it to a hard syrup. A glaze that looks perfect in the pan can turn the strips stiff once cold if you take it too far.

6. 6

   Coat and finish

   Turn the heat to low, or off if your pan holds heat strongly. Return the pollack strips and toss for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until every ribbon is lightly coated. If the pan goes dry before the strips are coated, splash in 1 teaspoon water and stop cooking. Finish off the heat with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. Spread on a plate for 10 minutes before storing, so trapped warmth does not make the banchan wet.

Chef Tips

• •Buy strips that are pale ivory, flexible, and clean-smelling. Yellow edges, powdery flakes, or an oily smell mean old stock. My teacher would have sent it back without a word.
• •The mayonnaise is a modern bend, not the flavor of the dish. It gives the dried fish a thin fat coat so the soy glaze stays soft. If you avoid egg, use 2 teaspoons neutral oil plus 1 teaspoon water instead, knowing the finished strips will be a little less tender.
• •Keep gochujang out of this one. There are red dried-seafood banchan, and I cook them too, but myeongyeopchae's virtue is its pale, gentle fish flavor under soy and sesame.
• •If your strips are very salty, quick-rinse them for 5 seconds, squeeze hard in a towel, and reduce the soy sauce to 1 1/2 tablespoons. Do not soak them. Soaking steals the fish flavor and leaves you with wet string.
• •Use clean chopsticks each time you serve it. Dried seafood banchan keeps because it is dry and sweet-salty, but the refrigerator does not forgive careless hands. Five days is the number I write down.

Advance Preparation

• •Pick over and cut the dried pollack strips up to 1 week ahead. Keep them dry and airtight at room temperature until cooking.
• •The sauce can be mixed 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Stir it well before it goes into the pan because the rice syrup settles.
• •The finished banchan keeps 5 days refrigerated in a clean airtight container. Serve cold or at room temperature. Do not microwave it; heat tightens the sugar and toughens the fish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 35g)