8,000 Pyeong Farm, 3 Tons of Catfish a Day: The Secret

Kim Dong-su and his family set a regular schedule, harvesting catfish twice a month and calling it catfish-catching day.

Having raised catfish for more than 30 years, they steadily produce catfish at a large-scale fish farm.

Catfish are highly sensitive to vibration and tend to flee in the opposite direction from a disturbance. Using this, they gather the fish in the desired direction, which makes harvesting more efficient.

Among the harvested fish, the heavy ones weigh about 400 to 500 grams, while the lighter ones that bump lightly against the net are around 250 grams.

Catfish raised in red clay rarely get sick, have little fishy or earthy smell, and have firm flesh.

Kim Myeong-seop lets the caught catfish age for about a day, then fillets and grills it, keeping the flesh intact.

He inherited and recorded his mother Park Hwa-suk's secret seasoning recipe in 7-kilogram batches, which he uses.

During the day, they eat little feed because of predators such as grey herons.

So feed must be given at night, when it is dark, so the catfish feed actively and grow healthy.

In the past, feed had to be scooped by hand and carried, a hard job that caused severe arm pain for workers.

Now feed is dispensed automatically by machine, greatly improving efficiency. When catfish leap out of the water to eat, it shows their health.

For catfish bulgogi, where the freshness of the main ingredient matters more than the seasoning, they borrowed the gochujang-marinade approach, bringing in their mother's pride.

Mother Park Hwa-suk believes that even in seasoned dishes like catfish bulgogi, the quality of the catfish decides the taste. Her pride is reflected in a catfish bulgogi that uses a seasoning similar to gochujang bulgogi.

The signature catfish spicy stew, rich and hot, was a popular dish at the restaurant their mother ran.

Park Hwa-suk recalls that customers especially loved the hand-torn dough soup and often asked for more. After handling catfish for decades, she was at first even afraid to touch fish.

Kim Myeong-seop removes the innards and grills the whole fish until crisp, saying it is mild enough to eat with just salt.

Mother Park Hwa-suk's secret seasoning is based on gochujang, red pepper powder, rice syrup, and garlic, with no other additives. The seasoning was so popular that many people still ask for the recipe even after the restaurant closed.

The fresh taste of the catfish itself is excellent, and the secret seasoning sauce can be added to enhance the flavor.

Boneless catfish bulgogi, which is easy to eat, is also served to villagers to help them get nutrition.

Park Hwa-suk's 15 years of restaurant experience shows in catfish dishes special enough that even people who dislike freshwater fish enjoy them.

Villagers strongly urge her to reopen the restaurant, since the flavor has stayed unchanged for more than 10 years.