Korean Anchovy Stock

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I’ve been cooking more Korean cuisine these few months. So I started to make my own Korean anchovy stock from scratch. This is a versatile soup stock and can be used as a soup base for Japanese (it is similar to dashi stock) and Chinese cooking as well.

This is a simple recipe with only 2 basic ingredients (anchovy and kombu), which also resembles Japanese dashi stock.

Related Recipes:

• Kimchi Nabe (Hot Pot) Recipe (above)
• Korean Army Stew Recipe
• Chinese Ikan Bilis Stock Recipe
• Korean Soy Bean Sprouts Soup Recipe (coming soon)

I usually prepare the soup stock in advance (the night or the weekend before) and store it in either the fridge or freezer, so that on the actual day of cooking, I can whip up any dish in no time at all.

The difference between home-made and instant soup stock available at the supermarkets is that the home-made version tastes more natural and wholesome, without MSG. So it’s worth the effort to make your own soup stock whenever there’s time.

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Note: Ingredients, seasonings and measurements are at the “Printable Recipe” link above.
	I’m using large anchovy (myulchi) that can be purchased from any Korean supermarket. Each anchovy measures about 6-7 cm.
	Remove the guts as they may give a bitter taste to the anchovy stock.
	Place the anchovies in a disposable soup pouch for convenience.
	For the kombu (dried kelp), do not rinse or wash in water. Instead, wipe with a clean damp cloth.
	Soak both anchovies and kombu in water for 20 minutes.
	Bring the soup stock to a gentle simmer (as shown). DO NOT bring to rapid boil.
	Remove the kombu and anchovy. The anchovy stock is ready to use right away or kept in the fridge/freezer for later use.