Korea · Appetizers and Sandwiches · Spicy
Khe (Korean Marinated Fish)
A Korean-style marinated salmon salad where fish is cured in vinegar then tossed with vegetables, garlic, chili and soy sauce. Bold, spicy and fresh — best after marinating for at least 4 hours.
35 min 120 kcal 6 serves Medium🌶️Spicy🇰🇷Korea★★★★★4.7· 7 reviews
Ingredients
ServingsMetric
- 1 kgsalmon fillet
- 1 tspsalt
- 2 tbsp9% vinegar
- 3 onions
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsphot red chili pepper
- 1 tspground black pepper
- 2 tspground coriander
- 2 tspsugar
- 3 tbspsoy sauce
- 5 tbspvegetable oil
- 200 gcarrot
- 1 sweet pepper
- 1 bunchfresh cilantro
Method
- Rinse and dry the fillet, remove skin and bones. Cut into 1 cm thick pieces. Place in a glass or enamel container, sprinkle with salt, mix and leave for 10–15 minutes.
- Add vinegar, mix well, cover and refrigerate 20–30 minutes until the fish changes color slightly.
- Slice onions into thin half-rings. Mince garlic. Grate or julienne carrot. Slice sweet pepper into strips.
- Heat oil and fry 2/3 of the onion until golden. Remove from heat, wait 30 seconds then add garlic and chili. Cool completely.
- Drain liquid from fish. Add raw onion, carrot, sweet pepper, spices, sugar, soy sauce, cilantro and cooled oil dressing. Mix gently. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
FAQ
Acetic acid denatures fish proteins (the fish 'whitens'), but does not kill all parasites. For safe khe, use only fish that has been frozen at −20 °C for at least 24 hours (or −35 °C for 15 hours) — this reliably destroys parasites. Freshly caught river fish is absolutely unsuitable for khe. Store-bought salmon, pink salmon, and chum salmon are generally safe as they pass sanitary control. When in doubt, always use previously frozen fish.
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Comments (1)
I cut everything for khe to bite size — nothing that requires a knife or causes an awkward moment. Appetizers should be effortless to eat so the conversation stays uninterrupted.