Street Food & Snacks
Odeng/Eomuk (Fish Cake Skewers)
Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Servings
4
Steps
- 1
Thread the fish cake strips accordion-style onto skewers.
- 2
Simmer the anchovies, kelp, and radish in water for 15 minutes to build the broth base.
- 3
Strain out the anchovies and kelp, keeping the radish in the broth.
- 4
Season the broth with soy sauce and sugar.
- 5
Add the skewered fish cakes and simmer 10 minutes, until heated through and infused with the broth.
- 6
Garnish with green onion and serve hot, with the broth on the side for sipping.
Did you know — Korean culture
Odeng and eomuk are the same food with two different histories in one word. Eomuk is the native Korean term for fish cake, while odeng comes directly from the Japanese word for the dish, a holdover from the colonial period. Both are still used interchangeably at street stalls today, though "eomuk" has become the more standardized term in recent decades as part of a broader push to favor native vocabulary over Japanese-derived loanwords.
Threading the fish cake accordion-style onto the skewer isn't just presentation — folding it back and forth instead of laying it flat creates more surface area for the broth to soak into, which is most of the flavor difference between homemade odeng and a plain reheated fish cake.
The anchovy-kelp-radish broth is doing more work than it looks like it should for something this simple. It's the same base used in a lot of Korean soups, but here it's meant to be sipped alongside the skewers, almost like a side dish in liquid form — a weak or under-seasoned broth makes the whole dish feel incomplete even if the fish cake itself is fine.
Odeng and eomuk are the same food carrying two different histories in one word. Eomuk is the native Korean term for fish cake, while odeng comes directly from the Japanese word for the dish, a holdover from the colonial period. Both are still used interchangeably at street stalls today, though "eomuk" has become the more standardized term in recent decades, part of a broader push to favor native vocabulary over Japanese-derived loanwords.
Troubleshooting
Broth tastes thin or flat? Fifteen minutes with anchovies and kelp is a minimum — let it go a little longer, or add a bit more soy sauce to season it properly.
Fish cake falling apart on the skewer? It was probably threaded flat instead of accordion-style, or the skewer went through too few folds to hold it together.
No fresh anchovies and kelp on hand? A good store-bought Korean soup stock packet gets close, though the flavor won't be quite as clean.