Ingredients
Fish
- 600 gsmall flounder or flatfish, cleaned and cut in pieces
- 3 tbspcoarse salt
Grain and vegetables
- 200 gmillet or short-grain rice, cooked and cooled
- 300 gwhite radish, cut in matchsticks
- 1 tbspsalt, for the radish
Seasoning
- 4 tbspgochugaru
- 6 clovesgarlic, crushed
- 3cm ginger, grated
- 3spring onions, sliced
- 1 tbspsugar
- 2 tbspmalt powder (yeotgireum), optional
Directions
- If your fish has not been commercially frozen, freeze it at −18°C (0°F) or below for at least 24 hours first. Sikhae ferments and is eaten without cooking, and freezing is what deals with parasites in raw fish.
- Salt the fish pieces heavily and leave them in the fridge for 24 hours, then rinse and pat completely dry. Any water left on the fish dilutes the ferment.
- Salt the radish matchsticks separately for an hour, then squeeze them dry by the handful.
- Mix the cooled cooked millet with the gochugaru, garlic, ginger, spring onion, sugar and malt powder into a paste. The grain is not filler: its starch feeds the lactic bacteria and it is what makes sikhae sour rather than merely salty.
- Toss the dried fish and squeezed radish through the paste until everything is coated.
- Pack tightly into a crock or jar, pressing down to drive out air, and cover.
- Leave at cool room temperature — around 10 to 15°C (50 to 59°F) — for two to three days to start the ferment, then move it to the fridge for one to two weeks.
- It is ready when it tastes distinctly sour and the fish has softened. Keep it refrigerated and eat within a month, in small amounts with rice and soju.
Technique
- Freeze raw fish first. This is not negotiable for anything fermented and eaten uncooked.
- Cool room to start, then cold. Fermented warm the fish softens too fast and goes off rather than sour.
- Dry the fish and squeeze the radish. Water is what turns a crock slack and spoils it.
Substitutions
- Pollock, which makes myeongtae sikhae and is the more common version.
- Cooked rice in place of millet, which works though millet is traditional on the Hamgyŏng coast.
- Malt powder is what speeds the souring; skip it and give it a few days longer.
Variations
- Myeongtae sikhae uses pollock and is the best-known version.
- Sokcho in South Korea has kept the tradition through refugee families from the north.
History
A Hamgyong coast preserve carried south by refugees during the Korean War and still made in Sokcho.
Frequently asked questions
What is Gajami Sikhae?
Gajami Sikhae is a fermented & pickled from North Korea: flounder fermented with millet, chilli and radish; sour, spicy fish relish. A Hamgyong coast preserve carried south by refugees during the Korean War and still made in Sokcho.
How long does Gajami Sikhae take to make?
Gajami Sikhae takes 1 hour plus 1 day salting and 1 to 2 weeks fermenting of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes fills a 1-litre crock. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Gajami Sikhae?
Yes, within limits. Pollock, which makes myeongtae sikhae and is the more common version. Cooked rice in place of millet, which works though millet is traditional on the Hamgyŏng coast. Malt powder is what speeds the souring; skip it and give it a few days longer.
What is the most important thing to get right in Gajami Sikhae?
Mix the cooled cooked millet with the gochugaru, garlic, ginger, spring onion, sugar and malt powder into a paste. The grain is not filler: its starch feeds the lactic bacteria and it is what makes sikhae sour rather than merely salty.
