Who wouldn’t like something sweet, crunchy, & nutty?! Today’s recipe, myeolchi-ttangkong-bokkeum is exactly that: stir-fried dried anchovies and peanuts. It tastes like a sweet, salty, crunchy snack.
This is one of the most common and popular side dishes for Korean lunch boxes (dosirak), and almost every family has its own recipe for it. Sometimes chopped green chili peppers are added, to make it spicy or Korean gochujang (hot pepper paste) is added. If you want to add hot pepper paste, just add 1 tablespoon hot pepper paste to the seasoning sauce.
This version includes peanuts because I found out the crunchy and nutty peanuts are something special. You have a peanut allergy? Then you can leave them out or replace them with your other favorite nuts such as sliced almonds, walnuts, and/or pecans. If you skip the peanuts, the dish name will change to myeolchi-bokkeum because ttangkong (peanuts in Korean) is removed. : )
In the old days, myeolchi-bokkeum tended to be saltier because we added more soy sauce or hot pepper paste, but I use less salt for this version. It still tastes a little salty because the dried anchovies by themselves are a little salty.
This is a kind of mitbanchan, or preserved side dish, that you can keep in the fridge for up to one month. Like I do in the video, you can make it ahead of time and then take it out and combine it with different side dishes and rice to quickly make a well-balanced, delicious meal. You can serve it as a side dish with rice and also it will be a good side dish for beer!
Ingredients
- 1 cup tiny dried anchovies (2 ounces: 60 grams)
- ½ cup roasted peanuts (or walnuts, sliced almonds, or any of your favorite nuts), optional
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 tablespoon brown (or white) sugar
- 1 teaspoon rice syrup, optional
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Directions
- Put the dried anchovies in a colander. Shake and toss them so that the smallest bits and broken pieces fall through.
- Combine the soy sauce. water, sugar, and rice syrup in a small bowl. Mix well.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add vegetable oil. Add the garlic and stir with a wooden spoon for 10 seconds.
- Add the anchovies and peanuts. Turn the heat down to medium and stir for a few minutes, until the peanuts and anchovies turn light brown and crunchy.
- Push the anchovies and peanuts to the edge of the skillet. Remove from the heat and add the seasoning mixture to the cleared out-spot. The skillet will still be plenty hot enough, so gently stir the seasoning with a wooden spoon until is starts bubbling.
- Mix the seasonings with the anchovies and peanuts until they are well coated.
- Stir in the sesame oil and sesame seeds.
- Serve right away with rice, or let it cool down and transfer the anchovies to an airtight container. You can keep them in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
this, the su jung gwa, and mandoo and kimbap were a few of my favorites that my grandma made. i’m so happy i found your site now i can (try to) eat like i’m back east with my halmonee again! except the brown sugar turned black on my first try before i even got the garlic in the pan (probably too hot) i’m still eating it and it’s still delicious but i’ll do better next time. i was wondering, on a “seafood” note, my grandma used to make this blue crab stew – i think it was some sort of den jang? and she’d take the “lids” off the crab and put rice and denjang stew in it…. is that a normal korean traditional dish? it was crazy…!
Namine,
Hoho what else can you do? Maybe someday he will change his mind.
I love this dish! I made it for my first time today.
Unfortunately, my boyfriend hates the smell and how it fills the whole house and doesn’t want me to make it anymore. :(
Lisa,
Oh, I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for your update.
Hi Maangchi,
It’s raining like crazy here so I had to make dinner with whatever I had available. It was the perfect night to try your anchovy side dish, which I love getting at Korean restaurants. It was SOOO good – way better than any restaurant. I made it extra crispy, just the way I like it. Next time I will make it a little less spicy, because I had to keep stopping and drinking a lot of water in between bites =)
Thank you so much for this recipe!
I agree with you that Maangchi’s recipe is awesome. This anchovy recipe tastes so much better than a lot of Korean restaurants efforts in Michigan. My husband and I love this recipe.
samwei,
oh, your “myulchi bokkeum” looks delicious! I will link your site to my website under “blogger who made my recipe”. Thanks a lot!
Maangchi,
I have tried to make this Korean side dish. thanks for your recipe. Best wishes
http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/samwei840/article?new=1&mid=5698
Yan,
You can use just sugar.
Jimmy W,
You are very creative cook! It sounds delicious!
Hi, Maangchi. I wanted to let you know that I tried another batch. I mixed 1TB each of hot pepper paste and brown sugar, added garlic and a little water, and mixed them together. Then, I added the mixture to the pan, simmered, and added the corn syrup. It turned out great! I love the hot-sweet-salty taste. Thanks.
i was wondering is it necessary to use corn syrup?? or is there anything else that can replace corn syrup? thanks!
hi Maangchi.i’ve tried this recipe.both turn out delicious.mild for my little girl n spicy for me n hubby.she love it ( she think it’s a snack).also yummy mix with bibimbap.i become a Maangchi’s fan
Cynthia,
I am happy to hear about your Soon du bu jjigae! You already know a lot about Korean dishes. : )
Maangchi – I just wanted to thank you so much for creating these videos – I dare not try a recipe without first consulting your website! We are trying out as many of your recipes as we can and your Soon Du Bu Jiigae is so much better than anyone elses! I took it to work and everybody scarfed it up – I sent them your website so they can try it at home.
Meanwhile – my husband and I tried Korean BBQ this last Friday for the first time and aside from not having any clue what to do – there were two banchans we especially loved – seasoned bean sprouts and myulchi bokkeum – which we didn’t know that was what it was called. I was able to find all of the recipes for the banchan but was very happy to see you had a video of the myulchi bokkeum. Again, thank you so much and keep going!!!!
oh, ok, When you put it at room temperature before eating, actually you won’t need to pull them apart.
Anyway it’s a good idea to cut down the amount of sugar. : )
Turned out very good as far as taste was concerned. Next time, however, I’ll cut back on the sugar, only because the anchovies were a little too sticky, and I had to pull them apart. (I left the anchovies whole.)
JimmyW,
haha, it’s your project for this weekend! Good luck!
Actually you can eat all body of dried anchovies, but if you feel uncomfortable with eating it, remove the heads and internal parts. It totally depends on your choice. I’m looking forward to your update. : )
* When you make stock, you will have to remove internal parts.
Spicy stir fried anchovies are my project for this weekend. I received a bag from http://www.koamart.com along with a tub of hot chili paste. The anchovies are the size between the tiny and large ones in your video. Can I just use them whole, as they are, or must I remove the heads of anything else from the little critters? (The peanuts sound like a great addition!) Thanks.
Christina ,
Yes, you can use roasted peanuts, too. Put them in a heated pan with dried anchovies and follow the next steps of the recipe. Thanks!
Maangchi,
Hello, first thank you for this wonderful website. I spent last summer in Korea and loved all the dishes my co-workers made. This anchovy one got me very excited because there used to be a side dish at lunch that had anchovy’s and peanuts in it (it was one of my favorites). I was wondering if you knew of that recipe or maybe if this recipe can be modified to include peanuts.
Thanks
Christina
Anh,
oh, you are living in New Jersey! I heard that there are many cheap korean grocery stores there! I would like to go shopping there someday.
Yesterday I went to the korean grocery near herald square in Manhattan and brought some korean groceries and cooked my first korean meal. It was exciting, but it was a little pricey. : )
Luckily I found some cheap vegetables and fruit market near my apartment which made me feel very comfortable.
I can’t wait to see you soon, too.
Let’s keep in touch!
Dear Maangchi,
Thanks for posting the recipe for myulchi bokkeum. Several years ago, when I lived in Vietnam, my grandmother made this for me everyday. It’s still one of my favorite dishes and to watch your video brings back good memories!
Hope you’re settling well in your new home. I live in New Jersey, but often go to New York. I can’t wait to have the opportunity to meet you personally!
Koe,
oh, did u request it? I’m glad to hear that!
Oh Maangchi, thanks so much! I’m one of those who asked you to show us how to make dried anchovies side dish :) Now I got 2!!! :)) I will try them when I get the anchovies :)
Hi,Liz,
No, you don’t have to use corn syrup if you don’t have. Sugar is enough.
A little bit of corn syrup helps this dish look shiny.
Amazing! You tried out all the recipes? Busy busy cooking. : )
Hi Maangchi,
I was wondering – is it necessary to have corn syrup for this dish to turn out? Thanks!
ps: I’ve tried making your jeon, kimbap, jia jang myung, duk bok ki, kimchi and cucumber kimchi.. and they all turned out great..thanks! Liz
wizzers!
I’m glad about your successful myulchi bokkeum. Thanks!
I’ve tried your myulchi bokkeum recipe and its really delicious!
Thanks Maangchi!
Vb,
I was going to mention it!
Yes, it will go with beer! : )
My first thought was that the spicy version must be good with ice cold beer!!! Do pp eat it as a beer snack?
sourapril,
ok, I will try to post more side dishes. Thanks
Maangchi, can you please post more side dishes videos/recipes? I don’t have anything specific in my mind, but I really enjoy those side dishes whenever I eat at a Korean restaurant.
Dear,anne.h,
Most korean are using vegetable oil, but I like to use olive oil. ; )
When I visited Korea recently, I found that grape seed oil is popular these days
Dear Maangchi, It’s so interesting that you use olive oil for Korean dishes. “Authentic” doesn’t always trump “exciting and delicious.” However, I was wondering what people typically use in Korea. Is olive oil readily available there? Are there other East Asian oils tastier than veggie that can be used?
Hi, James,
You can use less sugar and corn syrup if your myulchi bokkeum is too sticky.
Maangchi, when I make this (someone else’s recipe but with sugar also) it becomes all stuck together and hardens like a solid block when it cools. I will try your method and tell you how it goes.