Mudfish Soup for 말복

As I mentioned earlier, we are in the midst of a very hot summer in Seoul. Korean gastronomical tradition recommends eating hot foods in the summer; it is good for your health since it will balance your internal and external temperature. I thought I'd try it out this year, so I had 보신탕 for 초복, 삼계탕 for 중복, and left 추어탕 (mudfish soup) for the last hot day of summer, 말복. Of the three, I was surprised to discover that I think I like 추어탕 the best. I like it so much, I'm thinking of having it again for lunch today.

Mudfish (or loach) soup is served with greens and hot peppers which you can add to the soup. You also sprinkle it with a mixture of black peper and prickly ash seed powder to get rid of the smell. I truthfully didn't notice any sort of strong smell, but maybe I was just at a good restaurant.
Andrew Zimmerman of bizarre foods covered this dish in one of his episodes. His mudfish were brought to the table live.

I think that was just for the shock value. The mudfish, similar to a freshwater eel, were barely recognizable in my soup. It had just a touch of a fish taste. If anything, it tasted similar to 감자탕 or a beef stew at home. Mmm, this is making me hungry again. It also is healthy, with a lot of protein, iron, calcium and vitamins. New favorite!
I'm incredibly impressed with the restuarant I visited, so if you are in Suyu, you can check out this 추어탕 restaurant:

From Suyu Station, walk down the street between McDonalds and Lotteria. You can take your second right (at a hair studio across from Tous Les Jours). You will see 남원 추어탕 on your left.