I never knew that eating eel would cause such a big fuss in this country, until I was introduced to jellied eels. For those who do not live in the UK, this dish consists of chunks of eel boiled in a stock, which is then left to cool and jellify. In my world that translates to EWWW. No wonder eel has such a bad reputation here.
Steaming is the most common way of eating eel in the Tang household. My dad would cut the eel into chunks, marinate it in a garlic and black bean sauce, steam the dish at a high heat, and then finish with a splash of hot oil – a truly delicious dish that I demand to eat every time I go back to Hong Kong. The downside of eating eel this way is the bones, I know that many people avoid eating eel because they are so put off by this. The Japanese people are a bit smarter, they eat them filleted instead. Check out how they do it here.
On our final day in Seoul, we went to an eel restaurant in the Jongno area for lunch. There were several tanks full of different types of live eel outside the restaurant - a promising start. We ordered three eel between five people. Similar to the Japanese method of preparation, they were pinned onto a board, filleted and then grilled on a bed of charcoal. The soy sauce glaze caramelised the skin under the heat to form a golden crispy crust, around the firm and meaty white flesh. The freshness was phenomenal.
As with most of the barbecue/grill restaurants in Seoul, the meal came with a few vegetable sides to eat with the meat. This time we also had some deep fried eel bones. They were wonderfully crunchy!
If you are interested in cooking eel at home, you can get them from Billingsgate market or Chinese fishmongers. I have seen them in SeeWoo in North Greenwich. The eel I mentioned above is freshwater eel, please do not confuse it with conger eel which is much bigger.
