VISIT JEJU

Yellowtail fish is Jeju’s finest winter delicacy. The chewy texture along with its thick layer of fat makes it just as savory and soft as tuna belly. The winter yellowtail fish is one of the finest Korean seasonal fish, alongside the springtime ‘frog flounder’, and summertime ‘croaker’. The people of Jeju often eat yellowtail with sour kimchi, as they believe that the thick fat layer and acrimoniously sour kimchi are a good match.

You can find eateries near Moseulpo that serve a variety of foods other than yellowtail sushi, such as boiled tomatoes, butter roast, shabushabu, tempura, and kebab. Giant yellowtails that weigh more than 5kg are considered a must-eat abroad, along with tuna and salmon. Like the common saying, ‘dogs don’t even eat summertime yellowtail fish’, the yellowtail fish is certainly a winter delicacy. In addition to its tastiness, it has excellent nutritional value, as it has the largest quantity of vitamin D after the striped bonito fish, which promotes the absorption of calcium and phosphorous in adults and helps prevent the process of aging in a variety of ways. Yellowtail’s unsaturated fat is abundant in DHA, EPA and Taurine which is effective for the prevention of arterial stenosis, high blood pressure, myocardial infarction, and stroke.

Yellowtail sushi

The yellowtail fish, whose flesh is partially red, effectively stimulates one’s appetite. Although the most common way to eat wintertime yellowtail sushi with ample belly fat is with soy sauce and red chili-pepper paste with vinegar, it is also a unique delicacy if you eat it with spicy soy sauce. The yellowtail fish caught near Jeju’s Marado is considered to be of the highest worth in Korea, because its firm flesh tastes superb when eaten raw. A winter delicacy, the yellowtail fish should be the first thing you try on your to-eat list.

Yellowtail spicy fish stew

You will be full of regret if you only try the yellowtail raw, thus missing out on the delicious spicy fish stew. A spoonful of the hot yellowtail spicy fish stew will make you fearless against the cold Jeju wind. Moseulpo bustles with people who are seeking to eat wintertime yellowtail, and when they order yellowtail sushi, they will also get the spicy fish stew as a side dish. A tasty yellowtail fish has more fat content than other fish, and when its big bones are boiled for a long time into a thick stock, it becomes just as savory as the beef bone stock.

Restaurants where you can enjoy yellowtail sushi and spicy fish stew

During the winter time, Jeju residents used to store pheasants that they caught in the snow. They only cooked upon the arrival of important guests, and ate the breast as raw meat and the rest as dried meat. Summertime pheasants don’t taste good as it is their breeding season, but they begin to fatten up as fall unfolds, and in the wintertime their taste is at its finest.

Pheasant meat has a warm property, which protects the digestive system and helps stop diarrhea. Rich in protein, pheasant contains the 8 types of essential amino acids that our body cannot produce on its own. In addition, it contains a large quantity of omega-3 that suppresses the buildup of cholesterol, has thin fibers relative to chicken or duck, and is tender with virtually no fat. Full of nutrition, pheasant is prepared in a variety of dishes, such as raw pheasant, pheasant leg roast, shabushabu, tempura, jeongol, dumpling soup, and naengmyun. As diverse as the dishes are, the method of ordering pheasant dishes in Jeju varies as well.

You can choose a particular dish to taste, or try a little bit of each dish through a course that consists of various pheasant dishes. During Jeju’s winter, pheasant buckwheat noodles and pheasant dumplings are typical pheasant dishes that you must try.

Pheasant buckwheat noodles

Jeju-do lacks farmland, which results in grains being more common than rice and a large production of buckwheat. Pheasant buckwheat noodles, created from combining precious pheasant and buckwheat, has been eaten regularly as a postnatal care food. The combination of buckwheat, which purifies the blood and cools down one’s temperature, and pheasant, which helps with regaining energy is appropriate for postnatal care.

Pheasant dumpling soup

Pheasant dumpling is the cheapest way to try the taste of a pheasant dish. The dumplings are made with a mixture of pheasant meat, various vegetables and buckwheat powder which is finely minced, and dumpling skin. Boiled in a meat broth, pheasant dumpling soup is a highly nutritious delicacy that you can taste during Jeju’s winter as a hot soup. The soft texture and taste of pheasant dumplings goes perfectly with the savory soup.

Restaurants that serve pheasant buckwheat noodles and pheasant dumpling soup