Anchovy Broth for Korean Recipes

Anchovy broth is the base stock for many Korean recipes from soups and stews and so it’s a must recipe in Korean Cooking. In this post, I share how to make 3 different variations of this wonderful broth including tips for making ahead.

Anchovy broth (stock) or Myeolchi Yuksu (멸치육수) is a very simple fish broth that adds a very clean and mild umami flavor to many Korean soup or stews. It may almost taste like nothing when you taste it by itself but it adds such a great depth of flavor to your dishes. Knowing how to make this broth was such a life changer for me as a newlywed cook because often times I didn’t have time to make the richer beef broth for soups and stews – which usually takes hours.

As you can see simply from the colors, the differences in flavor between the 4 broths is that broth flavor gets more complex and strong as the color goes dark (from left to right). The number of ingredients added also increases with darker colors. Now you may wonder, why not just make and use the stronger tasting broth for everything??

Well.. you can but I’m sure you heard of the term ‘less is more ‘… and I’m a firm believer that the same concept applies to cooking too. And because broth #4 has shrimps and shitake, they may add some unwanted flavor for some dishes. But you are welcome to try it and see how you like it.

So, be sure to read below, which broth I recommend for which dishes. But first, a little bit about the ingredient.

About Korean Dried Anchovies for Broth/Stock (Gukmulyong Maleun Myeolchi  국물용 마른 멸치)

MEANING – Gukmul 국물 literally means soup water and Yong 용 means ‘for use in‘. Maleun 마른 means dried.

SCIENTIFIC NAME – Also called Japanese Anchovy, Engraulis Japonicus is a schooling fish of the family Engraulidae. It’s commonly found in the Pacific Ocean near Korea, Japan, Philipines and Indonesia. It is said to grow as large as 12-13 cm.

How Anchovies are Dried – Did you know that freshly caught anchovies are boiled in huge cauldrons and then dried in sun? This link is from a Korean site but you can see the pictures of boiling and drying anchovies at the bottom of this post.

SIZES – Korean anchovies (Myeolchi 멸치) comes in all different sizes from tiny ones (1-2 cm) to big ones – as big or even bigger than 10-11 cm!! And for making broth, anchovies bigger than 6 cm are usually used. I tend to use the ones that are a bit smaller than the largest soup anchovies because personally, I don’t think the extra-large ones make as yummy a stock as do these.

I had 2 different sizes in my fridge that I use for soup stock and here’s a picture of the dried anchovies for broth.

The left ones are about 6 cm (2.3 in) long and the right ones are about  7-8cm (3 in) long. I like to use the bigger ones on the right but the smaller ones on the left work fine too. You just need to use more if using the smaller ones.

TIPS for Perfect Anchovy Broth

BUYING TIPS – If you can, buy ones that are from Korea if possible –  they just produce a tastier stock. Buy ones that are less dry (not totally rock hard) which means they are fresher. BEST way is to actually taste the fish and see how it tastes. You will find that one actually taste better than the other. Remember, don’t eat the big anchovy whole including the guts 😝😣- take out the guts before eating them because the gut part can taste pretty unpleasant.

Why do you gut the anchovies before making stock?

The reason for gutting the anchovies is because it can leave an unpleasant bitter taste to the stock if there are lots of it. BUT – you actually don’t have to gut them if they are around the size that I use (above).

Do you ALWAYS NEED to gut them?

NO. Most recipes will tell you to always gut the anchovies before making broth and take the head off. Taking the gut out is necessary only if the fish is really big (around 3 inch or bigger) otherwise, it’s totally fine to use the whole thing. I used to gut them before too because that’s what I’ve always been told but I found that it’s actually fine to use the whole thing when they are about the sizes in the picture above.

How do you gut the Korean dried anchovies for anchovy broth?

Using both hands, hold the anchovies so the back is facing up. Split the anchovies in the middle (from the back) then it will split open in half, exposing the backbones and the gut. Take out the gut. As you do, the head will naturally fall off. Don’t discard the heads, SAVE the heads. My mom used to save all the heads and use it to make stock later. Use about the same volume of heads as when using whole anchovies.

How to choose/buy good quality Myeolchi

• Buy ones that are caught in Korea. I find the ones from Korea have more flavor due to the particular type of anchovies and also how they are dried.
• Buy anchovies that are meaty looking and that actually taste good
• Buy ones that are less dry (if you can). The drier they are, chances are they are not as fresh.

Step-by-Step Directions

1. COLD ANCHOVY BROTH- NO COOKING
   • instead of cooking the anchovies in pot, just soak a handful of anchovies in water for 3-4 hrs at normal room temperature (not too hot) OR leave it overnight up to 3-4 days in the fridge. I found that it had more flavor day #2 or prepare way ahead for best flavor. Also, this way you always have anchovy broth ready to go in your fridge.
   • cleanest and clear tasting broth – great base for any recipe.
   • KEEP in fridge for at least 3-4 days.

     

2. SIMPLE ANCHOVY BROTH  RECIPE
   • in a pot, add water, add about a handful of soup anchovies. Bring to a simmer, UNCOVERED and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Alternatively, you can soak the anchovies in cold water for 30 minutes to several hours (or even overnight) beforehand and then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove anchovies and discard (or give to your dog 🐶or cat 🐱! THEY LOVE these!!)
   • clean and clear tasting broth – great for simple soups
   • Keep in fridge for at least 3-4 days.

     

3. ANCHOVY BROTH with KELP and RADISH
   • DON’T RINSE KELP – when preparing KELP, don’t rinse away the white stuff – this has great umami. Just wipe off any sand or dust with a lightly damp cloth.
   • in a pot with water, add dried anchovies, radish and kelp and bring to simmer, UNCOVERED, cook for 10 minutes. Then remove dasima (kelp or kombu) and simmer for another 10 – 15 minutes. Remove anchovies and optionally radish if your recipe doesn’t need it. Otherwise, you can eat the radish.
   • Keep in fridge for 2-3 days.

     

4. ANCHOVY BROTH with Vegetables
   • prepare the ingredients by either rinsing the shitake and green onions. If you have an organic onion, use the peels too as it adds more flavor otherwise peel. Also adding the green onion roots add good flavor and nutrition so leave it in.
   • in a pot with water, add dried anchovies, dasima, onion, green onion or leek, radish and dried shitake mushrooms. You can also add dried red shrimps (the kind you make banchan  with) but you may also want to omit it if you don’t want too much of a fishy flavor.

     

   • Bring to simmer and cook for 25-30 min. Take out the kelp sooner than 25 min, maybe at 10-15 min – kelp starts to produce sticky stuff if you leave it in too long. Once done, strain the broth.
   • Keep in fridge for 2-3 days.

     

     This is after it has simmered and is ready to be strained.

     

     BTW, instead of straining you can use a cheesecloth bag or a cotton soup bag (here in  my Amazon store) OR I had this giant soup bag that I bought in Korea. For this, you just need to lift the bag out after you’re done. No straining needed.

     

AND THERE YOU GO!!

RECIPES THAT USE SIMPLE ANCHOVY BROTH #1  & #2

• Rice Cake Soup (Tteokguk)
• Soybean Paste Radish Soup (Doenjang Mu Guk)
• Soybean Sprout Soup (Kongnamul  Guk)
• Dried Pollock Soup (Bugeo Guk).
• Spicy Zucchini Gochujang Stew (Gochujang Hobak Jjigae)
• Although I didn’t include it in my recipes,  you can totally add this broth to Kimchi Jjigae or Soft Tofu Stew and it will make it taste even better.

RECIPES THAT USE #3 ANCHOVY BROTH with KELP  and RADISH

• Bulgogi Hot Pot (Jeongol)
• Soybean Paste Stew (Doenjang Jjigae)
• Spicy Pollock Roe Stew (Altang 알탕)
• Fish Cake Soup (Odeng Guk)
• Tteokbokki with Vegetables

RECIPES that use #4 ANCHOVY BROTH with Vegetables and Aromatics

This broth is indeed the ULTIMATE anchovy broth with everything in it but be careful about using it because it can get in the way. So use it instead of 1-3 for more enhanced flavor and also for more heavily seasoned dishes like stews or soups. Depending on the flavor profile, you may want to either omit shrimp or shitake.

• Easy Mille Feuille Nabe (Shabu Shabu) – omit the shrimp
• Use this instead of #1 broth to make Tteokguk, Doenjang Jjigae
• Although I don’t have a recipe for this yet, you can use this broth to make Korean Noodle Soup (Jangteo Guksu).

Hope this was helpful.

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Enjoy!

XOXO ❤️,

JinJoo