Braised half-dried pollack

Taste and texture

Kodarijorim is half-dried pollock cut into pieces and braised with soy sauce, chili powder and garlic. Drying gives the flesh a chewy texture, and braising coats it in spicy, savory seasoning. Large radish pieces may sit beneath the fish, or potatoes may cook alongside it. Fish and vegetables cook in seasoned liquid, which is reduced to finish.

The fins and tail tips are trimmed, the cavity is cleaned, and the fish is drained. Whole kodari is cut into convenient sections; recipes also use precut products. These are skin-on, bone-in pieces rather than boneless fillets. Bones remain in the plated pieces, so the flesh needs to be separated while eating.

Soy sauce supplies saltiness and chili powder brings heat. Recipes may add minced garlic, ginger and pepper, and combine sugar, oligosaccharide syrup or starch syrup. Cooking wine and plum extract also appear in seasoning mixtures. These sweet ingredients mingle with soy sauce and chili powder, coating the flesh with sweetness and heat.

In the radish version, radish lines the pot and the fish sits above it. Large cuts remain substantial pieces among the fish. Water or rice-rinsing water and seasoning are added, and the dish simmers until the radish is tender. Unlike raw radish dressed afterward, it cooks in the fish's braising liquid and absorbs it.

Another method browns the fish before braising. The cleaned fish is patted dry and fried in an oiled pan until the skin colors, before sauce and water are added. This step is intended to help the pieces hold their shape. It cooks the surface before seasoning, then finishes by reducing the added liquid.

Potato versions place large potato pieces beneath the fish and sauce. Some use anchovy stock; another fries the fish separately and places it over sauce-coated potatoes. Onion may go in later, followed by scallions and chili. Instead of juicy radish, fluffy potato interiors provide another substantial component alongside the fish.

A soy-based variation omits chili powder. The recipe examined uses potato and onion, garlic, ginger and pepper, and sugar and oligosaccharide syrup. The fish is fried first, set aside, then placed over the potatoes and basted while braising. This is a separate seasoning mixture made without chili powder from the outset, rather than red sauce removed afterward.

Some methods spoon simmering liquid over the fish to season its upper surface. Others add sauce in stages instead of all at once. Reserving some starch syrup for the end also divides the seasoning additions. Once fish and vegetables are cooked, the remaining liquid is reduced to a coating rather than left as a soup.

The defining texture is chewy fish flesh. Some parts are tender, but half-drying leaves springiness distinct from fish in a moist soup. Seasoned skin carries soy and chili flavors, while flesh lifted from the bones offers the fish's own taste. The pieces are eaten by removing flesh from the bones rather than biting through the whole section.

Braised radish becomes soft enough to separate with chopsticks and holds the cooking liquid. Potatoes offer a seasoned exterior and a fluffy center. Both are substantial parts of the dish. Onion can accompany fish and sauce, while scallions and chili added near the end bring aroma among the fish and root vegetables.

The red version combines chili heat, salty soy sauce and sweetness from sugar or syrup. Some recipes add Cheongyang chili or extra-hot chili powder. Versions without chili powder focus on sweet, savory soy seasoning. The fish and vegetables accompany rice, and a little remaining sauce can also be mixed into rice.

How to order it in Korea

1. Look for “kodarijorim” on the menu and note that kodari means half-dried pollack.
2. Some places add plenty of radish, so ask whether it comes with the fish.