What is Pollock (Myeongtae) ?
<image source - NOAA>Pollock (Myeongtae 명태) is probably the most popular fish in the Korean cuisine. It is a type of cod and the full name is Alaskan pollock or walleye pollock to be precise.
The most confusing - even to Koreans - thing about pollock is the different name it gets depending on the way it is processed. Myeongtae is the original and generic name for pollock while Saengtae (생태) refers to the fresh pollock fish.
Not To Be Confused With
Pollack or Atlantic Pollock, European Pollock, Coley, Boston blue, lythe.
Pollack or even sometimes called Pollock to make things even more confusing - refers to 2 species of the North Atlantic marine fish in the genus of Pollachius: Pollachius pollachius and Pollachius virens.
Where and What To Buy
Just make sure you are buying the right kind of Pollock.
In Korean grocery stores, you can sometimes get fresh ones but most of them will be in a frozen form known as Dongtae (동태). They are probably on display in the seafood fish stand or packaged and frozen in the freezer. Some may already be cut into large pieces and frozen.
Bigger Korean markets may sell a package with this fish and various vegetables for you to make Dongtae Jjigae 동태찌게.
How to Use/Cook
For fresh ones, you can make spicy jjigae (fish stew) or make jeon with it. But again, most will sell frozen fillets for jeon and frozen whole fish for the stew.
How to Clean/Store
You can freeze the whole fish if you are not going to cook with it right away. If it's a pre-frozen fish, thaw it until you can handle it and then gut out the fish, cut the fins and cut according to recipe.
You can watch my short How to Clean Dongtae video HERE.
Nutrition/Health Info
Alaska Pollock is low-calorie, low-fat, and high-protein fish.
A 4 oz fillet is only about 80 calories with 19g of protein, 70 mg Omega-3. It also is a good source of -
- Vitamin B-12
- Amino Acids
- Phosphorous
- Selenium
It is also in the low-risk category for environmental toxins, such as mercury and pesticides so Alaska public health officials frequently advocate for unrestricted consumption of Alaska Pollock for people of all ages.
