Myeongran
Encyclopedia
In Korean cuisine Myeongran or Myeongran jeot (명란젓) (mjʌŋnandʑʌt) is a jeotgal
(salted fermented
seafood) made with the roe of flathead mullet
or pollock
and seasoned with chili pepper
powder. It is commonly served as a banchan
, or small dish accompanying rice or as an ingredient for altang (알탕), a kind of jjigae (Korean stew). Mentaiko
in Japanese cuisine was derived from Myeongran jeot.
Myeongran has strong cultural connotations with fertility and is often served at weddings, where it is traditionally packaged in small bamboo canisters and presented to the bride.
Outside of weddings it is commonly served as an appetizer with kimchi and other pickled vegetables.
Jeotgal
Jeotgal or jeot is a salted fermented food in Korean cuisine. It is made with various seafood, such as shrimp, oysters, shellfish, fish, fish eggs, and fish intestines....
(salted fermented
Fermentation (food)
Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...
seafood) made with the roe of flathead mullet
Flathead mullet
The flathead mullet, Mugil cephalus, is a mullet of the genus Mugil, found in coastal tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically 30 to 75 centimeters...
or pollock
Pollock
Pollock is the common name used for either of the two species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. Both P. pollachius and P. virens are commonly referred to as pollock. Other names for P...
and seasoned with chili pepper
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
powder. It is commonly served as a banchan
Banchan
Banchan refers to small dishes of food served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. This word is used both in the singular and plural....
, or small dish accompanying rice or as an ingredient for altang (알탕), a kind of jjigae (Korean stew). Mentaiko
Mentaiko
is the marinated roe of pollock, and is a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine. Mentaiko originated from myeongran jeot of Korean cuisine and was introduced to Japan after the Russo-Japanese War. , a Busan-born Japanese, adapted Korean mentaiko to Japanese tastes in Fukuoka in the 1950s. The name...
in Japanese cuisine was derived from Myeongran jeot.
Myeongran has strong cultural connotations with fertility and is often served at weddings, where it is traditionally packaged in small bamboo canisters and presented to the bride.
Outside of weddings it is commonly served as an appetizer with kimchi and other pickled vegetables.
See also
- Botargo, a Mediterranean salt-cured mullet roe.
- KarasumiKarasumiKarasumi , Romaji: karasumi; ) is a food product made by salting mullet roe and drying it by the sunlight. A theory suggests that it got its name from its resemblance to a block of sumi imported from China and used in shodo...
, an East Asian dried mullet roe