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.
thanks loads for the recipe maangchi! i’ll be taking this recipe home with me to malaysia to try…anchovies are a lot cheaper and the variety is wider compared to belfast =)
fingers crossed my family will like it ^^
yes, I think you will impress your family with this special side dish! : )
maangchi if i have the large anchovy for stock how do i keep them and do they go bad? this recipe looks very good i hope to make it soon.
Keep them in the freezer. That’s what I’m doing.
Hi Maangchi!
Your myulchibokkem is so good we made a mountain of myulchi and about 15 minutes later, I have eaten most of it!!! :)
myulchi has lots of calcium. Good for you! : )
Yay!!! : D
I just made this a few mins ago (both of them), and it is SO yummy. Almost burned my tongue as I was picking at it right out of the pan lol.
: ) Congratulation! Be careful not to burn your tongue!
Hi Maangchi,
I really love the recipes you provided. By the way, is it possible to teach us how to make Lotus Root banchan (연근정과). I really love that whenever I go to a Korean restaurant! :)
Did you request this side dish through the forum, too? :)
Just in case it’s not you, I’m answering this again. Yes, lotus stem side dish is one of the upcoming video recipes. There are 2 kinds of recipes for lotus stem dishes that I know of: salty and sweet lotus stem called Yeongeun jorim and sweet and shiny lotus stem dish called Yeongeunjunggwa.
Yeongeunjorim:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Korean_cuisine-Yeongeun_jorim-01.jpg
I found this reicpe on the internet. It looks good!
Yeongeunjunggwa:
http://www.chow.com/recipes/11396
Dear Maangchi,
I’ve tried out this dish 3 times today, although the first was a failure though.. because I am a beginner in cooking, i can’t manage the time well when putting in the different ingredients for the sauce and in the end it burned. Well, i manage to solve the problem by mixing all the sauce ingredients in a bowl beforehand. The second and third try was totally awesome! me and my mum get really addicted to it! we tried to cook the anchovies longer to make it taste crispier. Instead of corn syrup, i used honey instead. really hope to try out more of your other recipes. Thanks :)
I tried making this recipe last night and I loved it! It was easy, very quick and delicious! Thanks Maangchi for posting all these recipes! I have been spreading the word about you in Chicago. I hope you will have a cooking class in Chicago in the future.
you are freakin awesome. i love all your recipes!
hi maangchi,
is it possible to substitute the corn syrup for something else? if so what can i substitute it with? thanks so much
You can use more sugar in the recipe.
I made this recipe, and this recipe reminded me of taegu – the kind my great grandmother use to make :) It brought back many good memories of Hamane sitting on the kitchen floor making taegu.
Hi Maangchi,
I found 2 types of anchovy at my supermarket, one is salted and one is not, which one is better for this dish? This is my favorite korean side dish, can’t wait to make it, thanks!
unsalted dried anchovies that’s what you need.
Maangchi,
How i need recipe of fish cake side dish please
tengkyu…
I’ve already posted the recipe here.
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/uhmook-bokkeum
thank you,
Hi Maangchi
I recently ate in a korean restaurant that gave this side dish made of fried anchovies and green chillies. It was SO GOOD. It tasted sweet and the chillies were not hot or spicy at all but still had some crunch to it. Can you please post the recipe for this side dish? Thanks so much!
You can also caralmalize the sugar and dilute it with the water or a squeeze of lemon juice for a nutty-candied flavor. Instead of corn syrup, try other water-aborbant sugars, such as glucose sugar(clear,neutral flavor), light-colored honey (contains inverted sugar;fructose & glucose) for slightly different results.
It’s important to use such sugar-syrops in this dish because it absorbs more humidity than regular sugar, to much regular sugar will harden as the syrup cools and the product will clump.
The amount of sweet and salty must be balanced, so play with it. An addition of an acid works well with anchovy and can cut the sweetness.
*Note-Regular Sugar retains less moisture and expands when cooled, thus it can harden or crystalize.
Chef Jeff
Hi , maangchi
if i make big postion of this. can i keep one or two weeks ?
yes, you could keep it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. No problem!
Hi maangchi !
can i use the big anchovys for this side dish?
yes, you can!
Great recipe…followed it to the ‘T’. So addictive…
Now family and friends are addicted too!
Am going to try out other recipes posted on your website..will update you.
sure, I’m already waiting for your update! : )
Thanks so much for your recipes Maangchi!
I’ve tried out this recipe & it’s so easy & turned out so good! I’ve made it 3 times now, & adjusted the sugar/ corn syrup portion, as well as added in some fresh red chilli…. oh & i’m using the american style corn syrup which works just as well ;)
will try your other recipes, thanks & please keep it coming!
Wonderful! You modified the recipe to your taste.
Dear Maangchi,
I’m Indrawati from Indonesia. I like korean food. I make kimchi and looking for the anchovy side dish recipe,
Find you just in time. Thank you for posting it.
Anyway, in Indonesia you can find both fresh and frozen. Is there any different using them instead of dried one?
Thank you
Indrawati
I’m sorry about late reply. I am just reading your question.
You could use either fresh dried anchovies or frozen dried anchovies to make myulchibokkeum.
Q1.There is no need of Removing Head & Intestines Of Medium Sized Anchovy?
Q2.Can I Make Stock With Medium Sized Anchovy? Because Here Only This Size is Available.
Yes, you can make stock using medium size dried anchovies. I would still remove intestines. You could use the heads though.
Hi Maanchi,
Do you wash or rinse the anchovies before using them? The reason I ask is that I see bulk big barrels, they probably pick up dust and other stuff from customer handling….
Another question – is it necessary for authentic Korean taste to always use sugar or sweeteners? I have friends and family who are diabetic (insulin and Type 2-hypoglycemic), so anything sweet is a no-no.
Lastly, thank you very much for sharing your recipes and making videos of authentic Korean food. Your site lets me learn very quickly about making Korean food. And everything looks DELICIOUS!!!
JB
I don’t wash dried anchovies before using them. I buy a box of frozen dried anchovies, so I have never worried about dirt on them. Anyway, if you feel uncomfortable, why don’t you use wash them before using?
You can skip the sugar in my recipe.
Thank you very much for your interest in my recipes!
Miyuki,
It’s “ohjinguh bokkeum”. Ohjinguh is squid. Yes, I will post the recipe someday. Thank you!
Anna,
I’m glad to hear that! thank you!
I made the first anchovy recipe and after tasting this and my other maangchi banchans my mom said that there doesn’t seem to a be a side dish that I can’t do (while following your instructions and recipes)! Thanks Ms. Maangchi!
I am so happy to find your web site! I am not sure what it is called but recently my friend found a spicy, sticky cuttlefish at a local oriental store. It was really like myulchi bokkeum except it was cuttle fish (dried squid) and not anchovy. What do you call the dried squid version? and will you publish it?
Loren,
Use less mulyeot(Korean corn syrup) or sugar next time you make the dish, then it won’t get harder even though you put it in the refrigerator.
Hi Maangchi,
I succeed in making spicy myulchibokkeum. They taste exactly like what my Korean friends made for me. I put them in a container box and put in in my refrigerator. But the next day, the anchovies is getting harder, so that we really need to use effort to eat it ^_^ (but still it taste delicious). Is there any way that can make my anchoovies soft ? thx !!!
Teresa,
sorry, I read your message just now. seasoned dry radish is “muwoo malaengi muchim” I think. Yes, I am going to post the recipe someday. Thank you!
Loren,
yes, of course you can use regular sugar. The taste will be the same. Good luck with Korean cooking.
Hi maangchi,
can I replace brown sugar with regular sugar ?? will it change the taste?? thx !!!!
Maangchi,
I’m very excited to have found your site. I LOVE soondubu jjigae and look forward to trying your recipe. The anchovies I’ve had at Korean restaurants are delicious and glad to have found your recipe.
Another side dish I enjoy is the seasoned dry radish. I hope you will post a recipe for that in the future. Thanks!!
Dominique
Yes, dried anchovy has lots of calcium, so it’s good for children. : ) I’m glad your children like it.
Julie,
My recipe for cuttle fish (dried squid strips) side dish is a little different from dried anchovy side dish. I’m going to post the recipe someday. Thank you!
Hi, Maangchi,
Thanks for stir fried dried anchovy side dish; my mother used olive oil to make this as well but she never gave me the measurements for the ingredients – it was always a little of this and a little of that, so it’s great to have tangible measurements. Would you also use the sauce ingredients for the anchovy stir fry to make stir fried dry cuttle fish strips? Dried Cuttle fish stir fried in hot suace is one of my favorite and I have yet to find a recipe on how to make it.
Thanks
Hi Maangchi,
Thankyou for the delicious recipe! It is often difficult to get my children to eat fish, but they love anchovies cooked this way. I always have to remind them to eat their “bbap” together with the sidedishes or else they will only eat the sidedishes!
Thankyou!!!
Claire,
roasted mackerel is very delicious. You can broil, bbq, grill, fry, or steam it.
Hi Maangchi,
Thank you so much for your website! I love eating korean food. Your recipes are awesome and easy to follow. I have tried cooking the soon doo boo, the bean sprout side dish, and the dried anchovies. They all came out perfectly. I was wondering whether you had a recipe for broiled mackerel that’s sometimes offered as a side dish in the korean restaurant. I think it’s called Godenguh Gui. Where can I buy this fish and how would I cook it? Is it broiled or grilled?
adeleb,
Your grandmother must have invented her own crab stew porridge. ; 0) I never use rice in crab stew.