100 minutes•Medium•Serves 4•
4.0(1)
Homemade Eomuk (Korean Fish Cakes)
By @chef1
A simplified version of Busan's famous fish cakes, perfect for a flavorful snack or addition to soups and stews. This recipe captures the essence of eomuk with readily available ingredients.
Recipe Rating
4.0
(1 rating)Ingredients
- ●500g Cod fillets, raw, boneless
- ●16g Cornstarch
- ●1 tbsp All-purpose flour
- ●1 Egg white
- ●1 tbsp Soy sauce
- ●15ml Mirin
- ●1 clove Garlic, minced
- ●1/2 tsp Ginger, minced
- ●2 tbsp Green onion, finely chopped
- ●2 tbsp Carrot, finely diced
- ●1 tsp Sesame oil
- ●1/4 tsp Salt
- ●0.6g Black pepper
- ●440g Vegetable oil for deep frying
Instructions
- 1Cut the fish fillets into smaller pieces and place them in a food processor. Pulse until the fish is finely ground and forms a paste.
- 2Add the cornstarch, all-purpose flour, egg white, soy sauce, mirin, minced garlic, minced ginger, green onion, diced carrot, sesame oil, salt, and pepper to the food processor. Process until everything is well combined and forms a smooth, sticky paste.
- 3Transfer the fish paste to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the paste to firm up.
- 4Heat vegetable oil in a deep pot or fryer to 325°F (160°C).
- 5Shape the fish paste into 16 equal flat cakes.
- 6Deep-fry four cakes per batch, in four serial batches without overcrowding.
- 7Cook each batch for 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through; drain on a rack.
- 8Divide all 16 cakes into four servings. Optional dipping sauce is not included; no unlisted sauce is required.
Recipe details
- Cuisine
- Korean
- Category
- Snack
- Preparation
- 39 minutes
- Cooking
- 31 minutes
Estimated total: 100 minutes. Planning estimate: stated duration ranges use their midpoint; standard preparation, heating and handling allowances are included. Overlapping tasks are counted once. Resting/chilling is included in total time.
How these estimates were calculated
- Prepare measured ingredients: 10 min planning allowance (vegetable_prep)
- simple prep: 5 min planning allowance (simple_prep)
- mix: 3 min planning allowance (mix)
- pan preheat: 3 min planning allowance (pan_preheat)
- shape: 15 min planning allowance (shape)
- transfer: 2 min planning allowance (transfer)
- transfer: 2 min planning allowance (transfer)
- transfer: 2 min planning allowance (transfer)
- Chosen 10-minute initial preparation allowance includes implicit chopping and measuring; written preparation is not counted here again.
- Explicit reviewed multiplication: 8 sides/batch actions; source quantities and pan capacity reviewed.
- Choose a specific boneless white fish ingredient; no bone yield inferred.
- USDA cornstarch.
- All-purpose flour: USDA cup portion weight
- USDA enriched white all-purpose wheat flour; chosen conventional flour style.
- Egg white: USDA large portion weight
- Assumed large egg white as size not specified.
- Soy sauce: USDA tbsp portion weight
- Mirin: Kikkoman manufacturer label accessed 2026-10-22: 1 tbsp (15 mL), 50 kcal, 12 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat/protein, 5 mg sodium; fiber unreported. Chosen mirin-style cooking-seasoning reference, not hon-mirin or rice wine; formulations and alcohol content differ. No alcohol evaporation adjustment. (https://kikkomanusa.com/products/kotteri-mirin/kotteri-mirin-20-oz/)
- Chosen Kikkoman Kotteri mirin-style sweet cooking seasoning label; not hon-mirin or rice wine, actual product varies.
- Garlic, minced: USDA clove portion weight
- Ginger, minced: USDA tsp portion weight
- Green onion, finely chopped: USDA tbsp portion weight
- Carrot, finely diced: USDA cup chopped portion weight
- Sesame oil: USDA tsp portion weight
- Salt: USDA tsp portion weight
- Table salt; unknown quantity means sodium is omitted, not guessed.
- USDA black pepper; documented seasoning allowance applies only to to-taste/pinch amounts.
- Retain a chosen 440g initial frying bath; owner convention counts half, not measured absorption.
- Deep-frying oil: original bath 440 g; estimated oil eaten 50 g for the whole recipe. Bath capacity and batch repetitions do not determine oil eaten. These are estimates, not measured absorption.
- raw cod in homemade paste cakes: Recipe Studio chosen allowance: 10 g oil per 100 g raw cod in paste cakes, not a published conversion; 500 g × 10/100 = 50 g oil. Fish-cake uptake depends strongly on formulation. The study does not establish a raw-cod conversion for eomuk; this is an owner-approved chosen allowance. Other paste ingredients remain fully included; no industrial surimi or product formulation is inferred. (https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/publications/fish-protein-hydrolysates-application-in-deep-fried-food-and-food/)
- Vegetable oil for deep frying: Keep the 440g oil bath. Use a clearly labelled chosen cod-paste allowance based on the 500g raw cod, not half the bath or an industrial surimi formulation. Original: {"item":"Vegetable oil for deep frying","amount":"440g"}. Authored: {"item":"Vegetable oil for deep frying","amount":"440g","notes":"Bath for homemade cod paste cakes; drain before serving."}.
- Vegetable oil for deep frying: Keep the 440g oil bath. Use a clearly labelled chosen cod-paste allowance based on the 500g raw cod, not half the bath or an industrial surimi formulation. Original: {"item":"Vegetable oil for deep frying","amount":"440g"}. Authored: {"item":"Vegetable oil for deep frying","amount":"440g","notes":"Bath for homemade cod paste cakes; drain before serving."}.
- Cod fillets, raw, boneless: 500 g · USDA reference 171955
- Cornstarch: 16 g · USDA reference 169698
- All-purpose flour: 7.81 g · USDA reference 168894
- Egg white: 33 g · USDA reference 172183
- Soy sauce: 16 g · USDA reference 174277
- Mirin: 15 mL · Food reference
- Garlic, minced: 3 g · USDA reference 169230
- Ginger, minced: 1 g · USDA reference 169231
- Green onion, finely chopped: 12 g · USDA reference 170006
- Carrot, finely diced: 16 g · USDA reference 170393
- Sesame oil: 4.5 g · USDA reference 171016
- Salt: 1.5 g · USDA reference 173468
- Black pepper: 0.6 g · USDA reference 170931
- Vegetable oil for deep frying: 440 g oil bath; estimated 50 g oil eaten for the whole recipe · USDA reference 172370 · Frying estimate reference: raw cod in homemade paste cakes
eomuk · fish cakes · potato starch · ginger
Estimated nutrition per serving
268 calories · 23.8 g protein · 9.3 g carbohydrate · 14.6 g fat · 451 mg sodium
Source and basis: USDA FoodData Central and reviewed product references; ingredient-based calculation per serving. Documented USDA or manufacturer portion weights; measured inputs included with disclosed retention or uptake estimates where supported. Nutrients with incomplete inputs omitted. Full ingredient matches and assumptions below.
Featured in: Around the World in 80 Meals
Explore the art of Eomuk (Korean fish cakes) in Busan, South Korea. Discover the unique shapes, flavors, and traditions behind this beloved street food, and learn how to make a simplified version at home.
Read the StoryRecipe Context
This recipe was created with the following context in mind:
Sunday
afternoon snack
winter
Requested: 8 min
1 person