Eating in Jeju: 4 Course 갈치 (Kalchi) Meal
Two months ago, I went to Jeju Island for the annual Fulbright conference to present my research. I stayed a few extra days after the conference to explore the island. Which, of course, means trying different foods as well!
For our first meal after the conference, we decided to stop at a restaurant that specializes in the fish known as 갈치 (kalchi) in Korean, which literally translates to sword fish, but is not the same type of sword fish with the long nose that is more common in restaurant menus in the US. The official name of this fish is the largehead hairtail, and it is a small and long fish shaped like a sword, hence the name in Korean. This fish is a speciality of Jeju Island and this restaurant (which I unfortunately forgot the name of and I didn’t take photographs either of the name of the restaurant!!!) is located in Seogwipo, which is where we stayed.
We had just walked an incredibly long distance, following one of the beautiful Blue Pony trails (officially they are the Jeju Olle trails, but the mascot is a blue pony), which is also the same name of our fabulous AirBnB! The owners, a lovely couple, had walked every single trail, which traverses the entire island and its coasts and their love of walking gave birth to the idea of opening a guesthouse named after what brought them to Jeju Island in the first place. We actually walked from the Blue Pony Guesthouse to the KAL Seogwipo Hotel and were pretty much starving by the time we were ready to eat dinner.
We figured since we had essentially been receiving free food from the conference and since we were so hungry, we decided to splurge on the four-course kalchi meal, which came with kalchi prepared 4 different ways: raw, in soup, stewed, and grilled. This seems like a lot of food to commit too in case we didn’t like the fish, but it turned out to be a really great meal!
First up was raw kalchi (갈치회). I normally don’t like Korean-style sashimi because usually the fish tastes too frozen (as if it was just taken out of the freezer) or the flesh is too firm and chewy. (I generally prefer raw fish that tastes as if it almost melts in my mouth like butter…) While the kalchi was still chewier than I would prefer, the fish definitely tasted extremely fresh and dipping it into the vinegared gochujang (초고추장) made for a perfectly suitable bite.
Shortly after the sashimi arrived, we received the second course: stewed kalchi (갈치조림). The spicy sauce was perfect and the fish was so delicate. Despite thinking that the small long fish would be oily like mackerel, the flesh is more similar to a white fish – meaty and surprisingly substantial. And it also tastes just as good cooked as it does raw!
Third course was kalchi soup (갈치국). This is a traditional Jeju dish and the fish is boiled with some green vegetables and pumpkin (단호박). Compared to the 조림 (stewed dish), it was very bland, so we ended up not appreciating it as much. I would have preferred to have this dish come out second because then we would have eaten a lot more of it. The stewed kalchi and then the next course ended up completing stealing the soup’s thunder sadly…
This is the grilled kalchi (갈치구이). This was everything I could have ever wanted in a fish dish – salty (the kind of salty that is addictive so you go back for bite after bite), crispy (just look at that skin!), and meaty (the white flesh of the fish was just so good). Each bite was perfect and we unanimously agreed that this was the best of the four courses. Simple and delicious, this is fish and kalchi at its best.
I would definitely recommend giving kalchi a try; my partner’s mom in Seoul cooks the fish quite regularly as well! This fish tastes good in so many different preparations as well – raw, stewed, boiled, and grilled – so there is something for everyone! Hopefully I’ll be able to find this restaurant again!
Thank you for helping out, excellent information. “The laws of probability, so true in general, so fallacious in particular.” by Edward Gibbon.
1I truly appreciate this post. I have been looking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You’ve made my day! Thank you again
2I am very happy to read this. This is the type of manual that needs to be given and not the random misinformation that is at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this best doc.
3I am always thought about this, regards for putting up.
4I’m still learning from you, but I’m trying to reach my goals. I certainly enjoy reading everything that is posted on your site.Keep the posts coming. I loved it!
5Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this site. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s tough to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and appearance. I must say that you’ve done a amazing job with this. Also, the blog loads extremely fast for me on Firefox. Excellent Blog!
6You made some respectable factors there. I regarded on the web for the difficulty and found most individuals will go along with together with your website.
7I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself? Plz reply back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from. thanks
8We are a group of volunteers and opening a brand new scheme in our community. Your website provided us with helpful info to paintings on. You have done a formidable job and our whole community will probably be grateful to you.
9This site is my inhalation, really wonderful pattern and perfect content material.
10I am often to blogging and i actually appreciate your content. The article has actually peaks my interest. I’m going to bookmark your site and preserve checking for brand new information.
11wonderful post, very informative. I wonder why the other experts of this sector don’t notice this. You must continue your writing. I’m sure, you have a great readers’ base already!
12Those are yours alright! . We at least need to get these people stealing images to start blogging! They probably just did a image search and grabbed them. They look good though!
13Please let me know if you’re looking for a writer for your site. You have some really good posts and I believe I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d really like to write some articles for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an e-mail if interested. Thank you!
14What i don’t realize is in truth how you’re not actually much more well-favored than you might be right now. You’re very intelligent. You already know therefore significantly relating to this subject, made me for my part consider it from a lot of various angles. Its like women and men are not involved except it’s one thing to do with Lady gaga! Your individual stuffs excellent. All the time handle it up!
15Thanks for some other informative website. Where else may just I get that kind of info written in such a perfect means? I have a mission that I am simply now operating on, and I have been at the glance out for such information.
16Hi! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog. Is it very difficult to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about setting up my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any points or suggestions? Many thanks
17Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!
18I’ve read a few excellent stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much effort you put to make such a excellent informative website.
19You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!
20Thank you for another wonderful article. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect way of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I’m on the look for such information.
21Electronic Business Card – The Smart Card. Create and share your professional electronic business card easily. In minutes. Choose from 100+ templates, connect with clients, and grow your business today!
22I truly appreciate this post. I’ve been looking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thanks again
23Hello! I’ve been reading your web site for some time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Houston Texas! Just wanted to mention keep up the excellent job!
24Hi, i think that i saw you visited my website thus i came to “return the favor”.I’m trying to find things to improve my site!I suppose its ok to use a few of your ideas!!
25Thanks for the sensible critique. Me and my neighbor were just preparing to do a little research about this. We got a grab a book from our local library but I think I learned more clear from this post. I am very glad to see such excellent info being shared freely out there.
26naturally like your web-site but you need to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to tell the truth nevertheless I will definitely come back again.
27Can I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I cant believe youre not more popular because you definitely have the gift.
28You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!
29I’m really enjoying the theme/design of your site. Do you ever run into any browser compatibility issues? A few of my blog audience have complained about my blog not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Opera. Do you have any solutions to help fix this problem?
30It’s really a nice and helpful piece of information. I am glad that you shared this useful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
31Great post. I used to be checking continuously this blog and I am inspired! Very helpful info specifically the remaining phase 🙂 I maintain such information a lot. I was seeking this particular info for a very long time. Thanks and good luck.
32I’d have to examine with you here. Which is not one thing I usually do! I take pleasure in reading a post that may make folks think. Additionally, thanks for permitting me to comment!
33Thanks for this marvellous post, I am glad I discovered this website on yahoo.
34I like what you guys are up also. Such clever work and reporting! Carry on the excellent works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my web site 🙂
35It’s hard to find knowledgeable people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
36hello!,I like your writing very much! share we communicate more about your post on AOL? I require an expert on this area to solve my problem. Maybe that’s you! Looking forward to see you.
37My partner and I stumbled over here different web page and thought I should check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you. Look forward to checking out your web page again.
38I really appreciate this post. I’ve been looking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You’ve made my day! Thanks again!
39I like this post, enjoyed this one regards for posting. “When you make a world tolerable for yourself, you make a world tolerable for others.” by Anais Nin.
40It’s really a nice and helpful piece of information. I am glad that you shared this useful info with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
41hey there and thank you for your info – I have definitely picked up anything new from right here. I did however expertise some technical points using this site, as I experienced to reload the site lots of times previous to I could get it to load correctly. I had been wondering if your web hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will sometimes affect your placement in google and can damage your quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords. Well I’m adding this RSS to my email and can look out for a lot more of your respective intriguing content. Make sure you update this again very soon..
42An impressive share, I simply given this onto a colleague who was doing a little bit evaluation on this. And he in reality purchased me breakfast as a result of I discovered it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the deal with! But yeah Thnkx for spending the time to debate this, I really feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If attainable, as you develop into experience, would you thoughts updating your weblog with more details? It is extremely useful for me. Massive thumb up for this blog post!
43I appreciate, cause I found exactly what I was looking for. You’ve ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
44I truly appreciate this post. I’ve been looking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thx again
45Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You obviously know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something informative to read?
46Can I just say what a reduction to search out somebody who really is aware of what theyre speaking about on the internet. You positively know tips on how to convey a difficulty to light and make it important. More individuals have to read this and understand this side of the story. I cant imagine youre no more standard since you definitely have the gift.
47https://shorturl.fm/IeMOa
48Hi, Neat post. There is a problem together with your website in internet explorer, could test this… IE still is the marketplace chief and a good part of folks will leave out your excellent writing because of this problem.
49I do accept as true with all the concepts you’ve offered to your post. They’re very convincing and will certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are too brief for newbies. May you please extend them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.
50