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Fish and seafood from Korea: Gangneung district

Ojingeo bap sikhae오징어(밥)식해

Ojingeo-sikhae is Gangneung's squid (Todarodes pacificus) sikhae, a traditional salt-fermented squid made with grain, red pepper and garlic. A 2012 study found the best product with 4 % sun-dried sea salt and 6 % each of chilli powder and garlic, fermented 6 days at 10 °C.

Fully documentedFish and seafood21 daysFamily: Sikhae

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceNo full recipe is given in the abstracts read. They give percentages only (4 % sun-dried sea salt, 6 % red pepper powder, 6 % crushed garlic in the 2012 optimum) and do not state what the percentages are of or the grain type.
Squid (Todarodes pacificus)[kim2012][kim1994a]
Sun-dried sea salt4 %Best level in the 2012 study; the abstract gives no basis for the percentage[kim2012]
Red pepper powder6 %Best level in the 2012 study; 5 % and 10 % were compared in the 1994 trial[kim2012][kim1994c]
Crushed garlic6 %Best level in the 2012 study; 2, 3 and 4 % were compared in the 1994 trial[kim2012][kim1994b]
Grain30 % or 50 %The two levels compared at 20 °C in the 1994 trial; the type of grain is not given in the abstract[kim1994c]

Total time across the recorded steps: 21 days

Start
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What changes: Starting material: whole squid, Todarodes pacificus

Step 1 of 4
Start with whole squid
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Bacillus
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Ojingeo-sikhae is Gangneung's squid (Todarodes pacificus) sikhae, a traditional salt-fermented squid made with grain, red pepper and garlic. A 2012 study found the best product with 4 % sun-dried sea salt and 6 % each of chilli powder and garlic, fermented 6 days at 10 °C. Made in 4 steps over 21 days. The longest step, ripen to the 1994 optimum, takes 15 days (Kim S.M 1994). Salt is 4 % (Kim S.R 2012). Lactic acid bacteria does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step15 daysReported[kim1994a]Ripen to the 1994 optimum
Temperature10 °CReported[kim2012]Ferment cool
Salt4 %Reported[kim2012]Mix with grain, salt, red pepper and garlic

What makes this one different

Made from squid instead of fish. The Gyeongsang squid sikhae studied by Lee et al. 2001 is a dried-squid version (see Mareun ojingeo sikhae).

Salt
4 % sun-dried sea salt gave the best squid sikhae
Fermentation
6 days at 10 °C gave the best squid sikhae
Chilli and garlic
Red pepper powder and crushed garlic both at 6 % were best
Microbes over time
In Gangneung squid sikhae, lactic acid bacteria peaked on day 15 at each temperature, and lipid oxidation (TBA) peaked on day 5
Fermentation period by chemical changes
The 1994 Gangneung study concluded that about 15 days is the best fermentation period at 10, 15 and 20 °C; pH fell with storage time at all temperatures except 5 °C
Grain and red pepper
A trial at 20 °C compared grain at 30 % and 50 % and red pepper at 5 % and 10 %; the effects on chemical changes were not significant
Garlic
A trial compared garlic at 2, 3 and 4 %; lactic acid bacteria counts and pH differed with garlic concentration early in storage but little later

Related ferments

Safety

No source read tests this sikhae for pathogens or toxins. In general, biogenic amines such as histamine are a recognised hazard of traditionally fermented fish, and a review (Narzary et al. 2021) cites elevated histamine and tyramine in 47 fermented fish samples made from anchovy, squid, clam and shrimp. That is a general finding, not a measurement of Gangneung squid sikhae. The method in these sources does not cook the squid. The FDA says brining and pickling do not eliminate parasites in seafood, and that freezing at -20 °C for 7 days kills them. This mix is also low in salt, since the 2012 optimum used 4 % sun-dried sea salt (the abstract does not say 4 % of what) and 10 °C. For refrigerated, reduced-oxygen-packed fish the FDA lists a water phase salt level of at least 5 %, or a pH of 5.0 or below, among the ways to stop type E C. botulinum, which can grow from 3.3 °C. A low-salt batch kept at 10 °C is not protected by salt alone, so do not ferment it at room temperature.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Kim et al. (1994) describe Kang-Nung squid sikhae as a traditional fermented fish food that survived only as a local food of the Kang-Nung district, and began a series of papers to preserve its traditional culture and develop it as a commercial product.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [fda-ch5] US Food and Drug Administration, Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance, Chapter 5, Parasitesgov
  2. [fda-ch13] US Food and Drug Administration, Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance, Chapter 13, Clostridium botulinum Toxin Formationgov
  3. [kim2012] Kim S.R., Han D.W., Im M.J., Cho S.Y. 2012, Optimal processing conditions and concentrations for red pepper powder and crushed garlic in the manufacture of squid Todarodes pacificus sikhae, Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 45(6):640-647, doi:10.5657/KFAS.2012.0640 (abstract)paper
  4. [kim1994] Kim S.M., Cho Y.J., Lee K.T. 1994, The development of squid (Todarodes pacificus) sik-hae in the Kang-Nung district, 2, the effects of fermentation temperatures and periods on chemical and microbial changes, Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 27(3):223-231 (abstract)paper
  5. [kim1994a] Kim S.M., Jeong I.H., Cho Y.J. 1994, The development of squid (Todarodes pacificus) sik-hae in Kang-Nung district, 1, the effects of fermentation temperatures and periods on the properties of squid sik-hae, Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 27(3):215-222 (abstract)paper
  6. [kim1994b] Kim S.M., Bank O.D., Lee K.T. 1994, The development of squid (Todarodes pacificus) sik-hae in the Kang-Nung district, 3, the effects of garlic concentrations on the properties of sik-hae, Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 27(4):357-365 (abstract)paper
  7. [kim1994c] Kim S.M., Bank O.D., Lee K.T. 1994, The development of squid (Todarodes pacificus) sik-hae in Kang-Nung district, 4, the effects of red pepper and grain contents on the properties of squid sik-hae, Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 27(4):366-372 (abstract)paper
  8. [lee2001] Lee H.D., Choi H.J., Choi C. 2001, A study on quality characteristics and establishment of fermentation process for traditional Kyungsando squid sikhe, Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture 16(2):118-127 (abstract)paper
  9. [narzary2021] Narzary Y., Das S., Goyal A., Lam S., Sarma H., Sharma D. 2021, Fermented fish products in South and Southeast Asian cuisine, Journal of Ethnic Foods 8:33 (general review of biogenic amines in fermented fish)paper