Noryangjin Fish Market Woes

If you're already drowning in seafood, stop thinking about preservation and start thinking about transformation. Make a big batch of haemul pajeon with the odds and ends, it uses up a surprising amount of fish and freezes decently if you pan-fry the pancakes first and reheat them in a dry skillet. For the nicer fillets, go the Korean raw route and portion some out for hoe, then freeze the rest in a single layer on a tray before bagging. That way they don't clump together and you can grab one piece at a time without defrosting the whole block. The vendors at Noryangjin will actually clean and portion your fish for free if you buy from them, so next time let them do the work before you haul it home.

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honestly, if you've got that much fish, just hit up the banchan shops in the market basement level before you leave next time. they sell ice packs and those big styrofoam boxes for like 3,000 won. but for right now, the real trick is to gut and clean everything immediately, then salt the hell out of the fillets before freezing. the salt draws out moisture and keeps the texture way better than just bagging it raw. also, if you got any flatfish or mackerel, just make jeotgal with it, that'll keep for months in the fridge and you'll have a killer side dish for rice

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a little trick i picked up from the older ladies at noryangjin is to wrap the fish in wet newspaper before freezing. sounds weird but the moisture actually prevents freezer burn better than plastic. you gotta change the paper every couple days in the fridge though. also if you got any of the smaller fish like junchi or saengseon just toss them whole into a pot with some gochujang and radish for a quick jjigae, that freezes even better than the raw stuff

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the whispering thing is real but its not about the sauce lol. that guy runs a 2am handoff with the chicken supplier, they drop off fresh birds from a farm near Chuncheon three times a week instead of using the frozen stuff most hongdae spots rely on. thats why the texture hits different, not the sauce itself. if u go back ask for the neck & wing combo off menu, its cheaper & honestly the best cut they do

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the thing nobody mentions is that Dogdogdog's sauce gets its body from cheong, the Korean rice syrup, not sugar. thats why it coats the wing so thick and stays glossy instead of going sticky. i asked a guy who worked there and he said they also add a splash of maesil (plum) extract at the end off the heat. that fruity tang under the garlic is what you're tasting. go on a weekday before 6, weekends the wait hits 40 min easy.

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honestly the "secret sauce" thing is prob just marketing. every fried chicken place in Seoul has a version of that story. the real difference at Dogdogdog is they double fry in rice bran oil and toss the wings in the sauce twice, once right out of the fryer and again after a 30 sec rest. thats where the crunch comes from, not some mystery ingredient. if u wanna taste the actual base, order the banban half plain half spicy and dip the plain one in the spicy sauce yourself.

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