Stir-fried Dried Anchovies (Myul Chi Bokkeum)

I love myul chi bokkeum. I can eat it by itself or with a bowl of rice, seaweed paper and kimchi. Easy meal, done. In fact, I had it today for breakfast instead of my usual cottage cheese with flaxseed oil sprinkled with granola, which I've been eating every morning for the past month.

I've tried several different recipes from family members and from recipes I've found online. Truthfully, they all taste good and it's pretty versatile. If I'm in the mood for more of a sweet taste, I'll add in more sugar or honey. If I want something more salty, I'll add in some soy sauce. Generally speaking, I do prefer simple ingredients and I definitely try to cook in a way so food isn't salty.

The basis of this recipe is from Maangchi. I added the almonds and walnuts to give it extra nutritional value and bulk it up.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup small dried anchovies
• half a handful almonds and and half a handful of walnuts roughly chopped
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1 Tablespoon of water
• 1/4 teaspoon of Stevia or 1 Tablespoon of sugar or 1 Tablespoon of honey
• olive oil

Instructions:

Mix garlic, water, sugar in a bowl
Set aside.

In a heated pan on medium high heat, fry the anchovies for 1-2 minutes.

Push anchovies to the side of the pan and throw in the chopped almonds and walnuts. Toast for 1-2 minutes. Be sure to keep the anchovies side of the pan off the heat.

Drizzle olive oil into the pan. I do 2 swirls around the pan. Stir for 1 minute more.

Add the sauce previously mixed in a bowl.

Mix everything in the pan and turn off the heat immediately. Remove the anchovies from the pan immediately and serve!


Julia's Notes: I think anchovies are salty enough as is, so I prefer not to use soy sauce. You can add in chili peppers for a kick, sesame seeds and sesame oil. You can also add in 1 Tablespoon of hot pepper paste for a spicier version. They all taste great to me!