Ok, so we got a message from a reader asking about gom jangeo. Ok, thanks a lot. Really…now this stuff…this slithery looking, bottom feeding, eel thing is my kryptonite. It’s one of the foods that I avoid eating at all costs. Now, I have had it before, but I can’t say I liked it but I couldn’t really explain why. Now that one of our amazing listeners made me go out and learn about this very interesting creature, I have learned that I don’t ever want to try it.

So Gomjangeo used to be mokjangeo. Mokjangeo mean that the eel has no eyes. Over time, because it moves around so much like the onomotopeia sound “go mol go mol” the name was changed to gomjangeo.

In western society it is called the hagfish. You heard me, the hagfish. Here is what wikipedia has to say: Hagfish are eel-shaped, slime-producing marine fish (occasionally called slime eels). They are the only known living animals that have a skull but no vertebral column… Hagfish are jawless and are living fossils; they are basal to vertebrates, and living hagfish remain similar to hagfish from around 300 million years ago.

Yeah, so gomjangeo, the hagfish or slime eel have a skull but no backbone and are descendants from the dinosaurs. Oh, and they produce a lot of slime. Slime! Yum, right? No, wait it gets better. The one good thing about the hagfish is that the skin is really durable and great for making wallets, belts and shoes. This eel was originally used by the Japanese to make slippers. So, when you are eating gomjangeo imagine that you are eating a wallet.

The practice of eating the meat originates from Jalgalchi market in Busan and started out of necessity. In Korea, eels are considered to be stamina foods, so even though the taste and texture is quite different, people were willing to try it. Especially since people were just taking the skins and throwing away the meat. But because the eel is so slimey, the people couldn’t make soups with it so they had to grill it but even when grilled, it would move around. The dish started to become popular after adding yang yom sauce or a seasoned red chili paste to it and grilled.

Well, the dish is full of proteins and rich in vitamin A. In Korea it is a popular food, but I can’t say it is my favorite. Also to note, it looks like Korea is the only country in the world that eats this eel. That’s sorta interesting isn’t it?