Soups are an important part of the diet in Korea and there are many different types of soups. They are believed to have many healthy and restorative properties such as restoring the body after pregnancy and to help get rid of hangovers after a hard night of drinking. Today, I am going to talk about 2 of my favorite seafood soups: Bugeot guk or Pollock Soup and Maeun Tang or spicy fish soup.

Now, if you see a person beating a fish with a wooden mallet at a market, they are not doing it because they are angry. They are making Bugeot or golden pollock. These fish are winter dried in the coldest regions of Korea for 40 days and 40 nights as they freeze, thaw and dry until the flesh becomes light and flaky.
Now to get to the meat, it is customary to use a wooden mallet to break up the fish. The strips of pollock are often used in soup stocks, marinated with sauces and panfried, or made into other side dishes.

My favorite use of Bugeot or winter-dried pollock is in soup stocks. They say that the soup is great for getting rid of hangovers and for good skin. And I have to say from experience, it does help. Now it could be possible the wife beating the fish with all her might in the morning is because she is upset with her husband for getting drunk the night before. Or she is just trying to get her husband to sober up so he can go to work.

To make this dish, the dried fish is simmered with scallions and turnip and garlic. When the broth is almost complete, an egg is scrambled into the broth. The end result is a light and restorative soup that will wake you up from whatever you were up to the night before.

Another favorite soup of mine is Maeun tang or Spicy fish soup. I usually have this soup after eating raw fish at the fish markets in Korea. And I think it is the best part of the meal.
The best fish for this type of soup is black cod or flounder. At the fish markets, you first pick one out of the tank and the fish monger will slice up for fresh raw fish.
Then he will keep the bones and the heads and put them in a separate bag and put the raw fish on a plate. At the restaurant, you'll first be seated and you'll first get to eat the raw fish and maybe a live octopus or some sea squirt. I would also recommend you get some grilled abalone which is delicious. The first course of fish is usually eaten with lots of soju and beer. So after you are nice and buzzed, the restaurants will bring out the maeun tang: the spicy fish soup. After eating so much raw fish, the steaming hot soup is refreshing. The broth is a crisp fish broth that is made from dried anchovies, turnips, onions, garlic, and topped with green watercress. The bones of the fish are simmered in the broth until the entire broth is bubbling and then you get to eat. The bones in the soup add flavor and it is fun to pick the meat off the bones. I particularly like the cheeks of the fish. This soup is best with rice.