Korean Fish Cake Soup (Odeng Guk)
Korean fish cake soup (odeng guk) served on skewers is ideal for cold weather. This easy recipe, with its dashi and radish broth, brings Korean street vendor flavors to your table. Don’t forget the dipping sauce!
When the weather gets cold, you’ll find food stalls all over Korea selling fish cake, known as odeng or eomuk. These fish cakes are skewered on long wooden sticks and simmered in a hot, flavorful broth. They are a favorite snack during the chilly winter months.
You can easily turn them into Korean fish cake soup, like odeng guk, at home. It’s simple to make and offers a comforting experience with its hot, umami-rich broth. This odeng soup is perfect to serve as a side dish or as a main course for dinner.
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This fish cake soup is known by a few names in Korean. Traditionally, we called it odeng guk, but many people now refer to it as eomuk guk since odeng is of Japanese origin. I still call it odeng guk because that’s what I grew up with.
Some also call it odeng tang (or eomuk tang) when you serve directly from the pot to the table. The different names can be confusing, but whether you call it odeng guk, eomuk guk, or odeng tang, it’s essentially the same delicious fish cake soup.
What is Korean fish cake made of?
Korean fish cake, called eomuk or odeng, is mainly made from ground white fish and flour or starch. They also have salt, sugar, and different seasonings. Sometimes, these odeng fish cakes include chopped vegetables like carrots or green onions.
The fish meat and other ingredients are mixed into a paste, shaped into various forms, and then cooked by frying, boiling, or steaming. You will find fish cakes used in tteokbokki (spicy Korean rice cakes) or eomuk bokkeum (fish cake stir-fry), a common Korean banchan.
What You’ll Need
- Fish Cakes: These come in various shapes and types in the frozen section of Korean grocery stores. I like to use both flat and round ones for easy skewering. You can also find pre-skewered fish cakes, which often come with a broth seasoning packet. However, making the broth from scratch usually gives a better flavor.
- Rice Cakes (optional): Long rice cakes, known as ‘garae tteok’, add a nice chewy texture to the dish and are great for dipping in the sauce.
- Korean Radish: Radish slices enhance the broth’s flavor when simmered together, so I recommend not to skip this ingredient.
- Anchovy Soup Stock Pack: This is a convenient dashi pack that combines all necessary ingredients. You can find it at any Korean or Asian grocery store, or online.
- Alternatively, you can make anchovy stock from scratch easily. See my how to make anchovy stock.
- Skewers (kkochi): Using skewers is optional when making eomuk guk with cut fish cakes. Skewers offer a convenient way to eat the fish cakes without utensils, similar to how Korean street vendors serve. This skewered version is what we call, eomuk tang.
- If opting for skewers, ensure they are sturdy enough to support the fish cakes. You can use wooden skewers specifically designed for this, or alternatively, repurpose wooden chopsticks.
How to make Korean fish cake soup
Optional Rice Cake Preparation
- Heat rice cakes in boiling water until they are soft and tender, then rinse them with cold water.
- When cool to the touch, thread them onto long skewers. Soak the skewers in water to keep them moist.
Soup Preparation
- Simmer water, an anchovy stock dashi packet, sliced Korean radish, and Asian leek in a soup pot.
- Discard the stock packet and leek, but keep the radish in the stock.
- Flavor the stock with Korean soup soy sauce, tuna sauce (or tsuyu), salt, garlic, and pepper.
- Add the fish cake and rice cake skewers to the pot. If the skewers aren’t fully submerged, occasionally ladle hot broth over the exposed parts as they simmer.
- When the fish cakes puff up, the soup is ready. Top with green onion and fresh chili for a spicy kick. Enjoy hot with the prepared dipping sauce.
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Korean Fish Cake Soup (Odeng Guk)
Ingredients
- 10 oz (300 g) flat fish cakes, skewered
- 10 oz (300 g) round fish cakes, skewered
- 7 oz (200 g) rice cake logs, optional
- 2 green onion, chopped
- 1 fresh chili, finely sliced
For soup broth
- 7 cups (1.6 liter) water
- 1 packet Korean soup stock dashi bag, see note below
- 7 oz (200 g) Korean radish, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 tbsp Korean soup soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp Korean tuna sauce, or tsuyu
- 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
- salt and pepper , to taste
For dipping sauce
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp water
- 1/2 tbsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp chopped green onion
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh chili, optional
Equipment
- 4-quart soup pot
Instructions
To prepare rice cakes (optional)
- In a pot, boil water over medium heat. Add rice cake logs, cooking for 1-2 minutes until they are soft and tender. Drain and rinse the rice cakes with cold water to cool them slightly. Once warm to the touch, thread them onto long skewers. Soak them in water and set aside.
To make the soup broth
- In a 4-quart soup pot, combine 7 cups of water, anchovy stock dashi packet, sliced Korean radish, and Asian leek. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the stock packet and leek, keeping the radish in the stock.
- Season the boiled stock with Korean soup soy sauce, tuna sauce (or tsuyu), salt, garlic, and pepper to taste.
To make fish cake soup
- Add fish cake skewers and rice cake skewers to the pot. It's fine if the skewers aren't fully submerged. Occasionally ladle the hot broth over any exposed parts of the fish cakes as they simmer.
- Once the fish cakes puff up slightly, the soup is ready to serve. Garnish with green onion and fresh chili to add a hint of spicy kick. Enjoy hot with the prepared dipping sauce.
To make the dipping sauce
- Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl. Mix well and set aside for serving.
