• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to footer-bottom navigation
  • Skip to privacy navigation
  • Skip to recipes navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Kimchimari

Authentic Korean recipes even YOU can cook!

Free Korean BBQ Cookbook! TAP HERE to GET IT
POPULAR: our 10 takeout favorites
Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube

Authentic Korean Recipes Anyone Can Cook

  • New to Korean cooking? Start Here
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Recipes by Alphabet
    • Latest on the Blog
  • Ingredients
    • Korean Ingredient Glossary
    • Pantry Essentials
    • Pantry – Beyond Essentials
    • Korean Ingredients in Depth
  • How To
    • Cooking Basics + Tips
    • Buy + Use
    • Meal Plan
    • Make from scratch
    • Korean Veg Garden
  • Travel
  • Videos
    • Video Recipes
    • Web Stories
  • About
    • About Me
    • Press Interviews and Mentions
  • New to Korean cooking? Start Here
  • Shop
  • Free Korean BBQ Cookbook! TAP HERE to GET IT
  • Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube
Home Soups and Stews

Fish Cake Soup (Odeng Soup aka Eomuk Guk)

df kf
Posted:5/15/20188 Comments
Recipe Print
Fish Cake Soup - Korean Odeng Guk

Fish Cake Soup (Odeng Soup) is one of the most favorite comfort food for Koreans. It can be enjoyed by itself or goes wonderfully with bunsik style foods like tteokbokki and spicy bibim noodles.

Fish Cake Soup - Korean Odeng Guk
Fish Cake Soup – Korean Odeng Guk

Fish cake soup is also known as Odeng Guk or Eomuk Guk in Korea. The word Odeng originally comes from the Japanese word Oden (おでん) (‘Japanese one-pot winter dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon, konjac (kelp), and processed fishcakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth‘ Wikipedia). There’s a slight change in meaning here though.. Japanese Oden refers to the one-pot dish containing fish cakes whereas in Korean culture, Odeng refers to the fish cake ITSELF. Eomuk on the other hand is the pure Korean word, with Eo meaning fish, Muk meaning cake like state, similarly used in the name Dotori-muk.

Interestingly, even though these two soups are basically called the same thing, the Korean and Japanese fish cake soups taste somewhat different. Both soups start with the same basic dashi broth made from dried anchovies, radish and kelp but it is seasoned differently. Japanese style oden soup has a darker color because it’s seasoned mostly with Japanese dark soy sauce and will be sweeter tasting. Korean style eomuk guk (어묵국) is lighter in color and is seasoned with both salt and Korean soup soy sauce (guk ganjang). Both taste good in their own way but with Korean bunsik, the Korean style eomuk guk definitely tastes better together. 😉

How to enjoy Fish Cake Soup (Odeng Soup) – Korean Style

  • Serve Korean fish cake soup with bunsik like tteokbokki, bibim noodles or twigim
  • Serve with fish cake soup with some rice, kimchi and other banchan like myeolchi bokkeum or ojingeoche
  • Add udon noodles to fish cake soup and enjoy it as Odeng Guksu.
  • If you have seen any Korean drama that involves someone broken hearted, drinking in some makeshift tent restaurant (pojang macha 포장마차), you would have seen people drink this fish cake soup in-between drinking soju and either crying their eyes out or yelling because they are angry… 😝 😜 It is Korean drama’s most favorite scene for showing that someone is having a rough time. HAHAHA..
  • OH BTW, DO NOT USE the package soup powders that come with many Odeng packages. They are full of MSG.

What’s in a fish cake?

A high quality fish cake is made mostly from fish meat and sometimes includes ground fish bones. The fish can be sea bream, or other white fish – some seasoning and usually flour as a binding agent. Some fish cakes contain MSG so you may want to check that if that is a concern. The ground fish batter mix is then shaped and then deep-fried. It is then cooled and frozen or refrigerated for distribution.

In my opinion, the best fish cakes are the ones that are freshly made, fried and served right as they come out of the fryer. As a kid I remember following my mom to our local market and tasting the freshly made Odeng that was sold right as the seller was making it. I remember thinking that this tasted sooo different from the ones that comes in packages. Odeng was one of my mom’s favorite snack to have in the car on our way back home from the market.

I remember my mom saying to me with a smile as we are both eating –

“It’s funny how this Odeng will not taste as good once we go home and eat it. So we should eat it now, right?”

Fish Cake Soup (Odeng Soup) Recipe

Servings: 2-3              Cook Time: 40 minutes          Difficulty: EASY

Instructions

  1. Peel and cut Korean radish (mu) in big chunks. It should weight about 5-6 oz (150 g).
  2. In a large pot, add 6 cups water, cut radish, a handful of dried broth anchovies (gukmul myeolchi 국물멸치) and one large piece of dried kelp (dashima 다시마).

    Anchovy Kelp Broth for Fish Cake Soup
    Anchovy Kelp Broth for Fish Cake Soup
  3. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove dried kelp and anchovies. Leave the radish or cut into smaller pieces so it can be served with the fish cakes.
  4. While broth is simmering, chop green onions. If you can buy ssukat (chrysanthemum leaves), garnish with them also for extra aromatic flavor.
  5. Add fish cake, bring to boil and then quickly bring down to simmer for another 10 minutes.
    Fish Cake Soup -Boiling
    Fish Cake Soup -Boiling

    The fish cakes I am using are the skewered kind called Kkochi Eomuk 꼬치어묵 or Kkochi Odeng 꼬치오뎅. But you can use any fish cake you like. FYI, here’s what I used by Sempio.

    Fish Cake -Korean Odeng Skewers
    Fish Cake -Korean Odeng Skewers
  6. Serve in a bowl. Garnish with green onions and ssukat. Also serve soy sauce and yellow mustard or wasabi on the side so it can be mixed with soy sauce. Odeng tastes great when dipped in soy sauce mixed with mustard or wasabi.
Odeng Soup - Korean Fish Cake soup
Odeng Soup – Korean Fish Cake soup
Follow along on social for more Korean recipe inspiration!
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
My Newsletter
Print
4.73 from 11 votes
Odeng Soup - Korean Fish Cake soup

Fish Cake Soup (Odeng Soup)

A tummy warming soup that makes you feel so good all the way. This soup stock can also be used to make noodle soups and added to tteokbokki instead of water for extra flavor.
Prep: 3 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total Time: 43 minutes
serves: 6 people

Ingredients

  • 6 cups water
  • 1 oz dried anchovies (a handful)
  • 5 oz Korean radish (mu)
  • 0.5 oz Dried Kelp (Dashima or Kombu, 4"x 6" size for 1/2 oz)
  • 3/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp Korean soup soy sauce (Guk ganjang)
  • 2 tsp cooking sake or mirin
  • 1 pack fish cake (approx 20 oz / 567 g)
  • 2 each green onions (chopped)
  • 3 stalks chrysanthemum leaves (ssukat)
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Peel and cut Korean radish (mu) in big chunks to weigh about 5-6 oz (150 g).
  • In a large pot, add 6 cups water, cut radish, a handful of dried broth anchovies (gukmul myeolchi 국물멸치) and one large piece of dried kelp (dashima 다시마).
  • Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove dried kelp and anchovies. Leave the radish or cut into smaller pieces so it can be served with the fish cakes.
  • Season broth with mirin, salt and gukganjang.
  • Chop green onions. If you have ssukat (chrysanthemum leaves), rinse and break or cut into smaller pieces.
  • Add fish cakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. The fish cakes I am using are the skewered kind called Odeng Kkochi 오뎅꼬치 but you can use any other kind of fish cake. See above for the kind I used.
  • Serve in a bowl. Garnish with green onions and ssukat. Also serve soy sauce and yellow mustard or wasabi. Odeng tastes great when dipped in soy sauce mixed with mustard or wasabi.

Tips & Notes:

  • Adjust seasoning by adding more salt/guk ganjang to taste
  • Add sprinkling of red chili pepper powder (gochukaru) for an extra kick
  • Serve with rice or tteokbokki or bibim noodles. 

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 128kcal (6%)| Carbohydrates: 9g (3%)| Protein: 8g (16%)| Fat: 6g (9%)| Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)| Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g| Monounsaturated Fat: 2g| Cholesterol: 33mg (11%)| Sodium: 469mg (20%)| Potassium: 316mg (9%)| Sugar: 1g (1%)| Vitamin C: 5.2mg (6%)| Calcium: 18mg (2%)| Iron: 0.2mg (1%)
Author: JinJoo Lee
Course:Soup
Cuisine:Korean
Keyword:easy, Fish Cake, Odeng, Soup
KoreanCategory:Guk (국)
Did You Make This?I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @Kimchimari or #kimchimari and don’t forget to leave a comment & rating below!

Notes

  • Check out my Know your Soy Sauce link to find out more about Korean soup soy sauce (Guk Ganjang).
  • Add more salt/guk ganjang (soup soy sauce) to taste.
  • To spice things up a bit, sprinkle some gochukaru (Korean red chili pepper powder).

If you can buy uncut Korean rice cakes for soups, you can put them on skewers and cook with your fish cakes. Do not cook the rice cakes too long though since they will start to melt in the soup. Just add it in the last 3-4 minutes of cooking.

FishCake Skewers - 꼬치오뎅 Kkochi Odeng
FishCake Skewers – 꼬치오뎅 Kkochi Odeng
Korean Fish Cake Soup (오뎅국 Odeng Guk)
Korean Fish Cake Soup (오뎅국 Odeng Guk)

Pairing Suggestions

Pairs wonderfully with tteokbokki or bibim noodles or yache twigim. Click on the links or pictures below for recipes.

Makguksu (막국수) close up - Buckwheat noodles with chicken and veggies
Makguksu (막국수) close up – Buckwheat noodles with chicken and veggies
Korean Vegetable Fries - Yache Twigim
Korean Vegetable Fries or tempura (Yache Twigim)
Tteokbokki - Korean spicy rice cake with vegetables, cooking in pan
Tteokbokki – Korean spicy rice cake with vegetables, cooking in pan

Enjoy!

XOXO ❤

JinJoo

Similar Recipes

  • 6 Korean Winter Soups
    6 Best Korean Soup Recipes for Winter!
  • Beef and Radish Soup -Seogogi Mu Guk
    Beef and Radish Soup (Korean Seogogi Mu Guk)
  • Soybean Sprout Soup (콩나물국 Kongnamul Guk)
    Soy Bean Sprout Soup for the Soul (콩나물국 Kongnamul Guk)
  • collage image of 4 different pics of dishes using korean soup soy sauce
    14 Korean Soup Soy Sauce Recipes (Guk Ganjang)
Previous Post
Next Post

Reader Interactions

Leave a Review Cancel reply

I LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or recipe review here. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

8 Comments
  1. Cindy Jorgenson says

    Posted on 14 November 2021 at 8:41 am

    Easy, light and delicious

    Reply
    • JinJoo says

      Posted on 14 November 2021 at 7:44 pm

      Thank you. I totally agree!!

      Reply
  2. Dr Martin Huang says

    Posted on 21 May 2018 at 10:28 pm

    5 stars
    This is easy and nice. It can also be the based soup for steamboat.

    Reply
    • JinJoo says

      Posted on 22 May 2018 at 11:51 am

      Thank you! Yes it can be a base for other soups.

      Reply
  3. Baxter@Foodtalko says

    Posted on 19 May 2018 at 7:44 pm

    Looking amazing!! Can’t wait to try this. Thaks for sharing

    Reply
    • JinJoo says

      Posted on 19 May 2018 at 7:50 pm

      Thank you! Enjoy~👍

      Reply
  4. Of Goats and Greens says

    Posted on 15 May 2018 at 4:08 pm

    Sounds great, and looks awesomely tasty!

    Reply
    • JinJoo says

      Posted on 15 May 2018 at 10:20 pm

      Thank you! Really appreciate it! Have a good one~

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

JinJoo from KimchiMari

Welcome

Hi! I'm JinJoo! Thank you for visiting my Korean Food blog where I share detailed Authentic Korean recipes that even YOU can cook!

My Story

browse by type

gf Gluten Free df Dairy Free pc Pressure Cooker Recipes vg Vegan lc low carb <30 30min or less kf Kid-Friendly ls low-salt
  • by Course
    • Drinks
    • Soup+Stew
    • Appetizers
    • Salads
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Desserts and Snacks
  • by Ingredient
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Pork
    • Seafood
    • Rice
    • Noodles
    • Tofu
    • Vegetables
    • Egg
    • Paste/Sauces
  • by Korean Basics
    • Eumryo 음료
    • Bap 밥
    • Bokkeum 볶음
    • Gui 구이
    • Guk 국
    • Hangwa 한과
    • Jang 장
    • Jeon 전
    • Jeongol 전골
    • Jjigae 찌게
    • Jjim 찜
    • Jorim 조림
    • Kimchi 김치
    • Myeon 면
    • Namul 나물
    • Tteok 떡
  • by Type
    • Easy Meals
    • 30 Minutes or Less
    • Kid-Friendly
    • Lunchboxes
    • Condiments and Sauces
    • Cooking for One
    • Street food
    • Pressure Cooker Recipes
Free Korean BBQ Favorites ebook
free recipe book!

Join to get my FREE cookbook + monthly newsletters + recipe updates!

join now!

Nutritional facts, MSG & gluten free

Nutritional Facts in my recipe cards are provided PER SERVING and it’s an estimate and may not be accurate. Due to different brands of ingredients having different nutritional values, the values I provide here may be different from your preparation.

– Gluten-Free recipe assumes you are using gluten-free soy sauce (since many soy sauces contain gluten or wheat) and/or gluten-free gochujang.

– MSG & Corn Syrup FREE – these are never used in my recipes

Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window
baked chicken on parchment paper with onions caramelized

닭고기

Chicken

소고기

Beef

Spicy Pork BBQ - Korean Pork Bulgogi

돼지고기

Pork

Garlic Scape Stir Fry with Shrimp (Maneuljjong Bokkeum 마늘쫑 볶음)

해산물

Seafood

Soondubu Jjigae or Soft Tofu Stew

두부

Tofu

곡식

Rice

READER FAVORITES

Trending Now

Mini Kimbap tray - kimbap two ways

Mini Kimbap (Mayak Kimbap) with Carrot or Cucumber

Chicken Bulgogi Rice

Easy Chicken Bulgogi (Dak Bulgogi) for Korean BBQ

After stew has boiled for 15 min with cheese melted on top

Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew)

Korean Sweet Pancake - Hotteok/Hodduck (호떡) www.kimchimari.com

Hotteok (호떡)- Korean Sweet Dessert Pancake

featured on
ny times logo
  • COOK
    • Recipe Index
    • Pantry Items
    • Videos
  • LEARN
    • Starter Guide
    • Korean How To’s
    • Travel
join the kimchimari family
Receive Free Cookbook and New Recipes by Email
join now
  • Back to Top
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled

free recipe ebook!

Join to get my FREE cookbook + monthly newsletters + recipe updates!

Thank you for subscribing!

You will receive an email shortly.

  • 878