Seasoned filefish bokkeum is one of the most common side dishes that mothers like to keep it in the refrigerator and serve with each meal. It keeps for several weeks. As you might know, Koreans eat many different kinds of side dishes for each meal; so it is very convenient to have 4 or 5 different side dishes that you can keep and eat for some time, including kimchi. With the same sauce that I use in this recipe, you can use other dried fish such as dried anchovies or dried shrimp instead of filefish. The sauce is spicy and sweet which goes well with the salted and dried fish.
Yield: 2 Cups
Short Korean Lesson
- JwiPo (쥐포) = Seasoned Filefish
- BanChan (반찬) = Side Dishes
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 2 Cups Seasoned Filefish (6 oz)
- 1½ Tbsp Red Pepper Paste
- ½ Tbsp Red Pepper Powder
- 1½ Tbsp Cooking oil
- 1 Tbsp Corn Syrup
- 1 Tbsp Onion
- 1 Tbsp Cooking Wine (or Water)
- ½ Tbsp Sugar
- ½ Tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 tsp Sesame Seeds
- ½ tsp Soy Sauce
Directions
Prepare about 2 cups of seasoned filefish. You can buy them precut in small round shapes, or you can buy big pieces and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Rinse the fish in cold water once and drain the water. This helps to reduce the strong fish smell and clean them.
I like to add some ground onion to the sauce, so grind the onion until you get 1 Tbsp of ground onion.
In a heated pan, fry the fish for about 5 minutes on medium-high until it gets lightly golden brown. Occasionally stir it so that it will not burn.
After 5 minutes, push the fish to the end of the pan to make space to cook the sauce. Quickly add 1½ Tbsp of cooking oil, ½ Tbsp of red pepper powder, and ½ Tbsp of minced garlic. Fry for 10 seconds to get good flavor from the pepper oil and garlic. The pepper powder burns easily, so prepare your ingredients ahead of time.
Add the rest of the ingredients, except the sesame seeds: 1½ Tbsp of red pepper paste, 1½ Tbsp of corn syrup, 1 Tbsp of grind onion, 1 Tbsp of cooking wine (or water), ½ Tbsp of sugar, ½ Tbsp of minced garlic, and ½ tsp of soy sauce. Mix everything together. You can adjust the amount of sweetness or spiciness depending on your tastes.
Mix the sauce with the fish. Fry it for about 5 minutes on medium-high.
Turn off the heat. Sprinkle 1 tsp of sesame seeds on top and mix.
Keep it in the refrigerator and serve it cool whenever you eat your meals. Enjoy! 🙂
farleen says
😛 i’ve never had filefish before. looks like i’m heading to the market so i can try this out 😉
p.s. i love the plate you used.
love you! xo
Aeri Lee says
hi farleen,
Hehe… I hope you will not have competition for this one at the market. 😉
Love you, ^^
Lisa L. says
yesterday i went to the korean grocery shop. i saw this but not sure what was it. now that i saw yer post, so excited to try out this dish. 😀 yours filefish were smaller but what i saw were larger pieces. so do i cut it into smaller pieces or leave it as it is? what’s the after-cook textures like…curious?!
Aeri Lee says
hi Lisa L.,
haha… yes now you can buy some and make this dish. Actually, you can just toast it a little and eat plain also. Yummy….
Yes, normally it is large piece.. so you can cut into bite sided pieces. The texture is.. a little chewy and crunch..not too hard.. a little soft..
MrsDarth says
Hi Aeri!!!! =D
It’s been a looooong time!
I just had the dish for lunch today. I love filefish. Yum!
Mimi
Aeri Lee says
hi MrsDarth,
Hey, where have you been? I missed you. hehe.. You must be very busy with your baby and life like me. So I’m very glad to see your comment. Thanks. Always take care and hug to your princess for me.
csyama says
Hi Aeri–Thank you for posting this video! My husband brought back several bags of filefish from Korea and I was wondering what to do with it. This sounds and looks delicious. I will definitely try it.
Aeri Lee says
hi csyama,
Wow.. I envy you… hehe jk..
You can just toast them in a pan or stove..and eat plain also.. yummy.. ^^ try this recipe someday too. thanks
Dillon says
Hi Aeri,
I have a question. How do you come up with all these recipes? Is it by taste and you instantly know, or trial and error? or your mom’s recipe? I think you have an incredible gift however you do it 🙂 I enjoy your videos very much so thank you for this post.
Aeri Lee says
hi Dillon,
^^ I didn’t know that I have a tallant for cooking until I got married. I married to an American guy…and like normal new married girl, I loved to cook for my husband..and especially since he is not a Korean.. it was more fun to feed him new food. 🙂 When I looked back my life in Korea.. I can see i had passion or interest for cooking even if i didn’t realize at that time.. I loved to watch cooking shows..and loved to cook different things for my family.. of course.. not enough knowledge…just for fun… So my answer for your question is.. I study cooking by myself…try things with my memory of the flavor from my mom’s food or..food from Korea.. if something I’ve never tried or made before.. I research some from internet and study about the food..and try to make my own recipe.. fortunately.. many times..i get succes for first try.. sometimes I quite can’t satisfied with the result…and try again until I like it to get good recipes to post.. my husband is my taste tester..and he is doing pretty good..hehe I’m still learning and have many more things to study about cooking.. but get lots of motivation from people like you.. oops.. my answer was too long.. sorry.. thanks 🙂
layping says
aeri,me too!! i only got into cooking after i got married. i luv to cook for my husband and to see him enjoying them. i luv to cook many different kinds of dishes. i also google a lot for recipes and this is how i came across u too!!!
Michelle Jin says
It will make great 안주 🙂
Aeri Lee says
hi Michelle Jin,
haha.. you are right. I don’t drink..but I heard that many people like this dish as 안주. 🙂
gloy says
I made this today, it turned out really good, but i was wondering if the fish supposed to be really soft and chewy or kinda crunchy, cause mine is soft and chewy.
Aeri Lee says
hi gloy.
You got the right texture.. soft and chewy.. ^^ (sorry for late reply.)
G. says
I couldn’t find filefish at the store, but I did find paper thin dried slices of sole. Would it be possible to make that substitution?
Aeri Lee says
hi G.,
Yes..actually any kind of dried fish will work for this sauce.. so try it.. you might want to adjust the saltness and sweetness..since dried sole will have different flavor from filefish.. but you can try it ^^
MeeAe says
Hi Aeri, I just made this dish and my boyfriend doesn’t like the smell! Haha, he thinks its very fishy. But I love the taste of toasted filefish. 🙂 he will get used to it. Question: is there supposed to be lots of tiny sharp bones? I got some and had to chew very well. Still it’s tasty.
Aeri Lee says
hi MeeAe,
Haha.. your boyfriend is like my husband.. ^^ About your question…yes some kind (brand) has more tiny sharp bones than others. thanks
Cheryl says
Hello, I saw you mentioned that with some Filefish there are sharp bones. Can you please email with the brand you buy and where you get it as I “presume” that you can’t mention it here on the website because it’s a brand thing. I just went to a huge and wonderful Asian grocery store in Maryland that was picture worthy, wish I had a camera with me! It was so fun as they had samples all over the store to try and I bought their Filefish just like this, now I want to make my own, but with no bones. Thank you!!
Aeri Lee says
hi Cheryl,
Sorry.. it was long time ago when I made this recipe.. so I can not remember the brand I used..but usually Korean brand can be good enough to try for you. The bone is edible..so don’t have to worry too much. Thanks