Korean Honey Glazed Salmon: sweet and scorched Korean healing hidden flavor

when traveling to Seoul in late winter, I deliberately avoided the crowded online red business circles of Mingdong and Hongda, and plunged into the old residential area of Chengbei Cave, looking for small home-style restaurants that locals often go. On that day, there was fine snow and the cold wind was blowing on my face. I wrapped my coat tightly and walked slowly along the slope. when I passed a small restaurant with Korean window grilles on the doors and windows, a warm sweet fragrance suddenly penetrated into the nasal cavity-not human industrial sweet, but warm honey fragrance mixed with fish fresh air, garlic and soy sauce, accompanied by the sound of pan sizzling, it was especially attractive in the cold air. Almost subconsciously, I pushed open the door and went in. There were only three tables in the store. The warm yellow light wrapped the aroma of food, which instantly dispelled the cold. Almost all the tables and tables ordered the same dish- Korean honey glazed salmon with bright color and amber sauce. At that moment, I was sure that this small shop was a treasure.

During the meal, I stared at the back kitchen. The shopkeeper's aunt slowly fried the salmon steak with a small fire until the edge of the fish was slightly rolled up and showed a pink color. Then she picked up a small brush and brushed the thick sauce on the surface of the fish steak over and over again. The sauce slowly tightened when heated, wrapped in a shiny sugar coat, and with a little burnt pot gas. Just looking at it made people swallow saliva. The moment when the table was served was even more amazing. The thick salmon steak was placed in a matte white plate. The sauce hung evenly and did not flow. A handful of cooked white sesame seeds were sprinkled to improve the flavor. Next to it were pickled radish slices and a handful of cold spinach. The meat and vegetables were properly matched. I carefully cut off a small piece and put the belt meat into my mouth. The first bite was completely amazing: the outer sauce was sweet and salty, with a slight burnt fragrance, and was not greasy at all. The salmon in the inner was tender until it was gently sipped. The juice was very full. The fresh air of the fish was perfectly blended with the warmth of the Korean honey sauce. Even the fish skin was fried slightly crispy, the more fragrant and chewed, originally, I thought that Korean cuisine was spicy and salty, but I didn't expect this gentle honey-glazed salmon to be able to handle the fresh seafood and the skillful Korean seasoning so well.

I forgot to introduce myself to you. I am Mia Henderson, a girl, born on August 22, 1991. I am a home-cooked food blogger who has been working in aifoodnews for seven years. On weekdays, I like to find authentic home-cooked food in residential areas of various countries. I am especially obsessed with Korean home-cooked food. I like to study the simple taste of Korean home stoves without chasing fancy online dishes. I am extroverted and careful. I always pull the shopkeeper to chat for a long time when I meet delicious food. I write down my core skills in my notebook. my pet phrase is "delicious food is the most direct and gentle, and the homely taste is the most touching". my taste prefers Korean sweet and salty balanced flavor. I can't stand the taste that is too weak or spicy. when cooking, I always like to slowly adjust the sauce ratio and firmly believe that sauce is the soul of cooking, I have always insisted on changing the authentic home-cooked taste of foreign countries into a zero-difficulty, easy-to-purchase home version and sharing it with every friend in the aifoodnews.

Only after chatting with the shopkeeper's aunt did I know that this honey-glazed salmon was her family's signature for more than ten years. The first time her daughter came back from studying abroad, she combined the western-style fried salmon with Korean seasoning and slowly improved it into a home-cooked dish suitable for the local people's taste. Unexpectedly, the surrounding residents and office workers all like to eat it. The old people and children are suitable for it, not as heavy as spicy cabbage and army pot, is the whole family can rest assured to eat mild. Before I left, I specially pestered my aunt to ask about the core know-how of the sauce. My aunt also generously shared it. She said that the key to Korean honey glaze is to use Korean sweet soy sauce with local honey, add a little bit of flavor and garlic powder to improve flavor. You can't use the sweetness and greasiness of western honey, and you can't let go of many spices to steal the limelight of fish. Slow fire and slow fried and slow wrap sauce is the essence.

After returning to China, I immediately started to do it again. I stepped on the pit twice before: either the honey was too sweet to make it greasy, or the fish was fried too hot to make it old, or the sauce was too thin to hang, too thick and easy to paste. I didn't worry. I took apart the details my aunt said little by little. I recorded the sauce ratio and frying time in the aifoodnews's gourmet account in detail every time I debugged it. I adjusted the ratio of honey and soy sauce, controlled the slow frying rhythm with small fire, and after four or five attempts, I finally made almost the same taste as Seoul's shop. The sense of accomplishment at that moment was really indescribable. It was not how complicated the dishes were, but how to heal the warmth of the foreign land. I moved back to my kitchen intact. I didn't have to go to South Korea. I could eat authentic Korean honey glazed salmon at home. This is also the reason why I have always loved food re-carving. Food has never been more than just a belly, but a warm connection across the distance.

Speaking of the historical and cultural background of Korean honey-glazed salmon, it is not a traditional ancient Korean cuisine, but a typical representative of the integration and innovation of modern Korean cuisine. It accurately meets the current food trend and health needs of South Korea. In a short span of more than ten years, it has spread all over South Korea from family dining tables and has become a necessary explosive dish for home-made small restaurants, light food shops and izakaya. South Korean food culture has always been good at combining foreign ingredients and giving unique flavor with local seasoning. Salmon was originally a deep-sea fish commonly used in western cuisine, but it was not popular in South Korea in its early years. With the concept of healthy diet and low fat and high protein deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, salmon slowly entered South Korean families with the advantages of easy digestion and high nutrition. Koreans who are good at seasoning abandoned the original western fried salmon and combined with the local sweet and salty flavor, the exclusive honey glaze seasoning is created to make this dish completely local.

The seasoning logic of Korean honey glaze is the core epitome of Korean home cuisine-sweet and salty balance, gentle and soft, refusing excessive spicy and greasy, and focusing on a strong palatability. The positioning of this dish is very broad. It is not only the daily main course of Korean families, but also the preferred meal for fat reduction people and fitness enthusiasts, and also a decent dish for light food and hospitality. It is different from the heavy taste of traditional Korean cuisine. It takes a mild and healing route and is suitable for the elderly, children and people with sensitive intestines and stomach, so its popularity is extremely high. In South Korea, the formula of honey glaze from different families will be slightly different. Some will add a little Korean chili sauce to improve the slightly spicy taste, some will add lemon juice to remove fishy smell and increase fragrance, and some will add a little white sesame and seaweed. However, the core is always the golden ratio of honey, soy sauce, miso and garlic powder, retaining the fresh air of salmon itself, and then using Korean sauce to give layers, this is also the core feature that distinguishes it from honey salmon in other countries.

From the perspective of food culture, this dish also reflects the current dietary pursuit of Koreans: from the satiety in the past to the direction of health, palatability and delicacy, less oil and salt, high protein and high nutrition, taking into account taste and health, no complicated cooking process, close to home, grounded, can easily integrate into daily meals, no sense of distance. It has no geographical restrictions and can be eaten all over South Korea. Whether it is a high-end restaurant or a small street restaurant, it can make its own characteristics, but it always retains its warm and sweet core flavor. It has gradually become a landmark dish of Korean light food. It has also spread overseas and become a representative of many people's cognition of Korean mild cuisine.

I sincerely recommend every friend who likes seafood and prefers mild taste to try this Korean honey glazed salmon. It has too many bright spots, and every point is in the daily diet. The first thing that touched me most was that the flavor was excellent, sweet and salty balance was not greasy to the mouth, Korean honey sauce was properly adjusted, sweet but not sweet, salty but not astringent, and light garlic and burnt flavor, which perfectly neutralized the grease feeling of salmon. Even people who do not like to eat deep sea fish at ordinary times could easily accept it. The more you eat, the more addictive you become. There was no heavy oil feeling in your mouth, only a warm lingering fragrance remains.

Secondly, it is healthy and low-fat, nutritious and suitable for the whole population. Salmon is rich in high-quality protein and unsaturated fatty acids, nutritious and easy to digest. It is fried with less oil in the whole process, and is matched with Korean refreshing pickles. It is low-fat and free of burden. There is no pressure after eating during the fat reduction period and fitness period. The elderly eat well and the children eat nutrition. Moreover, it is zero-difficulty and easy to operate, easy to repeat at home, can be made in a pan without an oven or complicated kitchen utensils, and does not need superb cooking skills. As long as the sauce ratio and frying temperature are controlled, the novice kitchen can succeed at one time, and the ingredients can be bought in ordinary supermarkets, without specially purchasing minority ingredients, thus saving time and labor.

What is more important is that it adapts to many scenes, with Yan value and taste online. Making a daily dinner with rice and miso soup is a delicate Korean-style home-cooked meal. Eating alone during the fat reduction period and matching vegetables is a full and delicious fat reduction meal. On weekends, friends get together and bring a plate of honey glazed salmon. It has high color value, good taste, decent and worry-free, without spending too much time, you can make a restaurant-level delicacy. For me, this dish hides the power of healing. After a busy day, I slowly fry a portion of salmon, watch the sauce slowly wrap the fish, smell the warm sweet fragrance, and eat a bite of tender fish. All tiredness can be smoothed, which is the most precious meaning of home-made food.

Since I successfully re-carved this Korean honey-glazed salmon, it has become a frequent visitor to my dining table. I often make two portions on weekends and share them with neighbors and friends. Almost everyone has tasted them and asked about the formula one after another. I have also sorted out and shared the adjusted gold sauce ratio and pit avoidance skills in the aifoodnews, marking the details that are easy to make mistakes for beginners, just to prevent more people from going to South Korea, you can easily make this authentic Korean delicacy at home. I have always felt that the best food is never the remote delicacies, but this kind of down-to-earth, easy-to-operate, can give people a warm homely taste at any time, does not need complicated processes, does not need high-end ingredients, carefully adjust the sauce, control the temperature, can turn ordinary ingredients into delicious food that heals people's hearts.

Every time I fry this honey-glazed salmon, I smell the sweet fragrance in the kitchen. I always think of the snowy evening in Seoul, the warm yellow lights in the shop, the gentle smile of the shopkeeper's aunt, and the amazing and healing when I took the first bite. The charm of delicious food is probably like this. It can firmly lock the beauty and warmth of a certain moment in the taste. No matter how long it takes to eat the same taste, you can instantly return to that unforgettable scene. We are busy every day, and there will always be times when we are tired and irritable, and a simple and delicious honey-glazed salmon can bring full happiness and remind us that there are many small beauty hidden in our life. If we feel it with our heart, we can be treated gently.

This Korean cuisine, which has no strong seasoning but only a warm and sweet fragrance, interprets the essence of food in the most simple way: simplicity, purity and healing. It does not have the pungent stimulation of traditional Korean cuisine, but with its unique mild taste, it captures the taste buds of countless people. Whether it is daily satiety or occasionally rewarding yourself, it is perfect. If you are tired of heavy-tasting cuisine and want to try the mild and healing Korean seafood flavor, or want to make a healthy and delicious home-cooked dish for your family, you must try this Korean honey-glazed salmon. Believe me, it will definitely Become a frequent visitor to your family's dining table, bringing you full of surprises and warmth.

I wonder if you have ever been to South Korea and eaten the local honey glazed salmon? Usually do salmon at home, prefer the original fried or seasoned? Do you have your own original sauce recipe? Welcome to share your food experience with me in the comment area. You can also talk about the authentic and homely tastes of various countries that you want to relive. I will continue to collect delicious food from all over the world, and slowly share the detailed experience and skills with every friend in the aifoodnews. Together, I will feel the warmth and beauty across the region in the homely food.