[Namhae County, Gyeongnam] In Namhae, anchovies are given more credit

[Namhae County, Gyeongnam] In Namhae, anchovies are given more credit

Chosun.com Media Reporting Team media@chosun.com

Namhae County is famous for anchovies, so much that an anchovy-themed festival is held every May, when they are most abundantly caught. The following are some of Namhae's most popular anchovy-inspired menu items. 

<Spicy raw anchovy salad>

# Anchovy-inspired dishes

Anchovies are cooked in various ways in Korea. Some households like them dried, and use the ingredients to add flavor into other dishes like sea mustard soup or tteokbokki. But in Namhae County, they're given way more culinary significance, so to say, because anchovies are presented as the main dish. 

One chief main dish using anchovies is the spicy raw anchovy salad. Other regions usually don't serve raw anchovies because they will rot while shipping. 

<Anchovy and rice wrapped in greens.>

Anchovies are normally grilled on a fry pan and then seasoned with sesame seeds and starch syrup. But in Namhae County, where the tiny fish bites are fresh and tender, many restaurants serve them raw. 

If you'd rather have them cooked, try the ssambap course, in which anchovies are served with a bowl of rice, greens, and various other side dishes. The key point to this course is that it all comes out with anchovy stew, a hot bowl of anchovies, chili pepper, bean paste and dried radish leaves. 

<At the Mijo Anchovy Festival, held every May,  watch fishermen sort the day's catch by shaking their nets.>

# Mijo Anchovy Festival

The best month to visit Namhae County, if you're interested in buying the best and cheapest anchovies, is May, during the Mijo Anchovy Festival. In 2013, the festival attracted more than 500,000 visitors from around the country, as the festival offers various programs, like catching fish with bare hands and trying out sample roasted anchovies for free. 

Visitors to the festival can also get a closer look at fishermen sorting the day's catch by shaking their nets, and see shimmery anchovies soar up through air. 

※ Mijo Port relevant information 

 -Address: Mijo-myeon, Namhae-gun, Gyeongnam

 -Contact: 055-860-3114