Hoe (food)


Hoe refers to several varieties of raw food dishes in Korean cuisine. There is record of it being consumed since the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and has been a major Korean dish ever since.

Varieties

There are uncooked hoe as well as blanched sukhoe.

Raw

Hoe, the raw fish or meat dish, can be divided into saengseon-hoe, filleted raw fish, and yukhoe, sliced raw meat. Saengseon-hoe can be either hwareo-hoe made from freshly killed fish, or seoneo-hoe made using aged fish. Mulhoe is a cold raw fish soup.

Blanched

Sukhoe is a blanched fish, seafood, meat, or vegetable dish. Ganghoe is a dish of rolled and tied ribbons made with blanched vegetables such as water dropworts and scallions.

Preparation

Hwareo-hoe is prepared by filleting freshly killed fish, while seoneo-hoe is made with aged fish in a similar way as Japanese sashimi: removing the blood and innards and ageing the fish at a certain temperature before filleting. Fish or seafood hoe is often served with gochujang-based dipping sauces, such as cho-gochujang and ssamjang. Hoe is often eaten wrapped in ssam vegetables, such as lettuce and perilla leaves. After eating hoe at a restaurant, maeun-tang made with the bones, head, and the remaining meat of the fish, can be served as an add-on dish.

History

Historians assume the tradition of eating hoe was imported from China to Korea early in the Three Kingdoms period, facilitated by frequent exchanges between China and Korea on the Korean peninsula.
With the popularization of Buddhism in Korea, beginning in the middle of the Three Kingdoms period, and running late into the Goryeo Dynasty, the consumption of fish and other meat products declined. As the influence of Buddhism waned in the late Goryeo Dynasty period, the consumption of hoe began to lose its stigma.
During the Joseon Dynasty, the state promoted Confucianism, and, as Confucius was known to have enjoyed eating raw meat, hoe consumption greatly increased.

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