Hongeohoe

hongeohoe - www.healthnote25.com

Hongeohoe is one type of hoe in Korean cuisine in the form of sliced ​​stingrays (Rajiformes, Korean: hongeo) served in raw state. Slices of fish meat can be from fresh stingrays or stingrays that have been fermented. This dish is usually eaten with gochujang.

Stingrays are inserted into jars before they are placed in a dark and cool place to be fermented for about 10 days. After the stingrays die, urea in fish meat is hydrolyzed to 

produce ammonia. Stingrays are ready to be consumed when it smells of ammonia.

Hongeohoe is a regional specialty around the town of Mokpo which is a port city in South Jeolla. This dish is often served as a party meal like at a wedding. However, restaurants in big cities like Busan or Seoul also provide hongeohoe. Outside the South Jeolla area, hongeohoe is often just a saengseon hoe and not a fermented stingray.

The strong ammonia smell of hongeohoe strongly stimulates the nose and can make the person who eats it shedding tears. Therefore, hongeohoe is eaten with an aperitif called makgeolli.

Eating hongeohoe while drinking makgeolli called hongtak (홍탁, 洪 濁) because makgeolli also called takju. Samhap (삼합, 三合) is a dish of hongeohoe, chunks of pork, and kimchi. When placed in the mouth for a long time, hongeohoe can cause inflammation of the mucous membranes in the mouth.

Stingrays become softer and tastier after fermentation. Although hongeohoe is an expensive dish in Korea, foreigners and beginners unfamiliar with ammonia smells may find it hard to enjoy this dish.