Alaska pollock as food

Compared with pollock, Alaska pollock has a milder taste, whiter color and lower oil content.

High-quality, single-frozen whole Alaska pollock fillets may be layered into a block mold and deep-frozen to produce fish blocks that are used throughout Europe and North America as the raw material for high-quality breaded and battered fish products. Lower-quality, double-frozen fillets or minced trim pieces may also be frozen in block forms and used as raw material for lower-quality, low-cost breaded and battered fish sticks and portions.

Single-frozen Alaska pollock is the preferred raw material for surimi; the most common use of surimi in the United States is imitation crabmeat (also known as crab sticks).

Alaska pollock is commonly used in the fast food industry, in products such as McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich and (now-discontinued) Fish McBites,^[1] Arby's Classic Fish sandwich,^[2] Long John Silver's Baja Fish Taco,^[3] and Birds Eye's Fish Fingers in Crispy Batter.^[4] Trident Seafoods and Chuck Bundrant were instrumental in popularizing the fish in the US in 1980's; prior to that it was only popular in Asia.^[5]

Korea

drying hwangtae in winter

In Korea, Alaska pollock is considered the "national fish".^[6][7] The Korean name of the fish, myeongtae(명태), has also spread to some neighbouring countries: It is called mintay(минтай) in Russia, and its roe is called mentaiko(明太子) in Japan although the Japanese name for the fish itself is suketōdara(介党鱈).

In Korea, myeongtae is called by thirty-odd names including:^[7]

• saengtae(생태) – fresh Alaska pollock
• dongtae(동태) – frozen Alaska pollock
• bugeo(북어) – dried Alaska pollock
• hwangtae(황태) – "yellow Alaska pollock", made by drying Alaska pollock during winter while undergoing repeated freeze-thaw cycles
• nogari(노가리) – young Alaska pollock
• kodari(코다리) – "nosed Alaska pollock", made by gutting young Alaska pollok and half-drying four to five of them on a rope tied through their "noses"

Koreans have been enjoying Alaska pollock since the Joseon era. One of the earliest mentions are from Seungjeongwon ilgi (Journal of the Royal Secretariat), where a 1652 entry stated: "The management administration should be strictly interrogated for bringing in pollock roe instead of cod roe."^[8] Alaska pollock were the most commonly caught fish in Korea in 1940, when more than 270,000 tonnes were caught from the East Sea.^[9] The current annual consumption of Alaska pollock in South Korea is estimated to be about 260,000 tonnes in 2016.^[10] Nowadays, however, Alaska pollock consumption in South Korea relies heavily on imports from Russia, due to the rise in sea water temperatures.^[11]

Every part of a myeongtae is used in Korean cuisine.

Ingredients

• bugeo daegari – dried pollock head, used to make broth
• bugeo daegari yuksu – dried pollock head broth
• bugeopo – a type of jerky, made by thinly slicing and seasoning dried pollok, then drying it again
• changnan – pollock intestine, used to make jeotgal
• hwangtaepo – a type of jerky, made by thinly slicing and seasoning yellow dried pollok, then drying it again
• myeongnan – pollock roe, added in various dishes and used to make jeotgal
• myeongtaepo – a type of jerky, made by seasoning pollock with salt, then drying it

bugeotguk

dongtae-jjigae

myeongtae-jeon

myeongtae-jorim

nogari as an anju

Dishes

• bugeobopuragi – literally "bugeo lint" made by grating well-dried bugeo and seasoning each third of the "lint" with black, white, and red seasonings respectively. Black seasoning is made with soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and ground toasted sesame seeds; white seasoning with salt, sesame oil, sugar, and ground toasted sesame seeds; red seasoning with gochutgaru (chili powder), salt, sesame oil, sugar, and ground toasted sesame seeds.
• bugeojangajji – a type of jangajji, pickling shredded bugeo. The pickling sauce contains gochujang (chili paste), chopped yujacheong (yuja marmalade), honey, minced garlic, and ground ginger.
• bugeojeok – a type of jeok, made by removing the head and tail of bugeo, then remoisturizing it, seasoning it with soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, chopped scallions, cheongju (rice wine), minced garlic, ground ginger, ground black pepper, and toasted sesame seeds.
• bugeojeon – a type of jeon, made by coating bugeo in flour, egg-washing it, and pan-frying in oil. The jeon is served with dipping sauce made with soy sauce, sugar, chopped scallions, minced garlic, ground ginger, sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds.
• bugeojorim – a type of jorim, made by simmering bugeo chunks in jorim sauce, with deseeded and sliced green and red chili. Its sauce contains soy sauce, water, sugar, minced garlic, ground ginger, and chopped scallions.
• bugeotguk – a type of guk, made by wetting thinly sliced bugeo in cold water and draining it, stir-frying it with julienned mu (radish) in sesame oil, then pouring tteumul (water from the final rinsing of rice) and boiling, and finally adding diagonally sliced scallions and beaten egg.
• changnanjeot – a type of jeotgal, made by washing fresh intestine of pollock with salted water, then salting it in a hangari for four to six months. Salted and drained intestines are washed, sliced, and seasoned with gochutgaru (chili powder), minced garlic, toasted sesame seeds, and chopped mu (radish).
• dongtaejjigae – a type of jjigae, made by stir-frying ground beef seasoned with soup soy sauce, pouring tteumul (water from the last washing of rice), adding doenjang (soybean paste), gochujang (chili paste), and gochutgaru (chili powder) and letting it boil for a while, then adding chunked dongtae and mu (radish), minced garlic, sliced onion and scallions, and tofu. When served, the stew is topped with chopped chrysanthemum greens and red chili.
• dongtaesundae – a type of winter sundae, made by salting Alaska pollock overnight, gutting the fish without slicing it by putting a hand through the mouth, and washing the inside carefully, before stuffing it with the sundae stuffing, and letting it freeze outside. The stuffing contains blanched, squeezed, and chopped napa cabbage leaves, blanched, drained, and chopped mung bean sprouts, boiled and minced pork, crumbled tofu, minced garlic, chopped scallions, glutinous rice powder, doenjang (soybean paste), salt, and black pepper.
• hwangtaegui – a type of gui, made by remoisturizing hwangtae, coating in soy sauce and sesame oil and grilling it, then coating it again with the mixture of gochujang (chili paste), gochutgaru (chili powder), soy sauce, maesilcheong (plum syrup), and minced garlic, and grilling it again. When served, chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds are sprinkled on top.
• hwangtaejjim – a type of jorim, made by seasoning remoisturized hwangtae with gochutgaru (chili powder), minced garlic, salt, sesame oil, and sugar, then stewing the seasoned hwangtae in a pot along with ground ginger, sliced onions, carrots, scallions, soybean sprouts, sliced Cheongyang chili, and the spicy sauce made of gochutgaru, mullyeot (rice or corn syrup), water, ground black pepper, and ground fresh chili
• hwangtaejuk – a type of juk, made by stir-frying soaked and drained rice and glutinous rice in sesame oil, then adding thinly shredded remoisturized hwangtae, water, and soup soy sauce to taste, and boiling it, and finally adding beaten egg and garnishing it with thinly sliced scallions
• kodarijorim – a type of jorim, made by laying sliced mu (radish) on the bottom of a pot, putting in chunked kodari and the spicy sauce made of soy sauce, gochutgaru (chili powder), mullyeot (rice or corn syrup), (rice wine), minced garlic, ground ginger, sesame oil, and ground black pepper, then stewing it with sliced onions and scallions.
• myeongnanjeot – a type of jeotgal, made by washing intact skeins of pollock roe with salted water, then salting it in a sokuri (bamboo basket). The ratio of salt to roe ranges from less than 5:100 to more than 15:100. After 2-3 days, salted and drained roe is marinated for at least a day with fine gochutgaru (chili powder) and finely minced garlic. Myeongnanjeot is usually served with some drops of sesame oil.
• myeongtaehoe – a type of hoe, made by marinating sliced fresh raw myeongtae with similarly-sized mu (radish) in the mixture of salt, sugar, and vinegar, then draining them (squeezing in case of the radish pieces), and adding chopped scallions, minced garlic, sesame oil, toasted sesame seed powder, sliced pear, gochutgaru (chili powder), and ground black pepper. Myeongtaehoe can also be used as the topping of naengmyeon (cold noodles).
• myeongatejeon – a type of jeon, made by removing the head an tail of myeongtae (either fresh saengtae or frozen dongtae), gutting and boning it, finely mincing the flesh and mixing it with some other ingredients such as crumbled tofu or finely minced vegetables such as aehobak, green chili, scallions, or aubergine, then coating it with wheat flour or glutinous rice flour, egg-washing it, and pan-frying it in oil. Soy sauce mixed with vinegar is served with the jeon.
• myeongtaesikhae – a type of sikhae, made by removing the head and gutting a myeongtae, sprinkling some salt and drying it for two days, slicing it, mixing the sliced chunks with julienned, salted, and squeezed mu (radish), minced garlic, ground ginger, gochutgaru (chili powder), yeotgireum (powdered barley malt), and cooked rice, then fermenting it for a week.
• saengtaetang – a type of tang, made by laying sliced mu (radish) in a pot, putting gutted and chunked saengtae, debearded Manila clams, stalked sea squirts, sliced fresh chili, sliced scallions, gochutgaru (chili powder), doenjang (soybean paste), soup soy sauce, minced garlic, and ground black pepper, then adding kelp-anchovy broth. Sliced tofu, chrysanthemum greens and enoki mushrooms are added at serving time..

Pollock roe

Canned Alaska pollock roe, served on crisp rye bread (Russia).

Pollock roe is a popular culinary ingredient in Japan, Korea, and Russia. In Korea, the roe is traditionally called myeongnan(명란), and the salted roe is called myeongnanjeot(명란젓). The food was introduced to Japan after World War II, and is called mentaiko(明太子) in Japanese. The milder, less spicy version is called tarako(鱈子) in Japan. In Russia, pollock roe is consumed as a sandwich spread. The product, resembling liquid paste due to the small size of eggs and oil added, is sold canned.

References