[Ilsan Seafood Market] Fresh red sea bream and flatfish, sliced for sashimi and eaten right away.

Before it got any hotter, I went looking for fresh sashimi at #IlsanSeafoodMarket

Actually, I usually buy sashimi a lot at Noryangjin Fish Market, but that day I wanted to get some fresh air outdoors and take a trip to somewhere nearby. While looking around, I found out there was a #seafood market in Ilsan.

So I decided, “This is it,” and set off!!

Fortunately, it had rained the day before, so the weather had cooled down a bit and it wasn’t too hot, which made it perfect for eating sashimi. Once it gets even hotter, I won’t be able to eat sashimi for a while, so I should enjoy plenty of it while it’s delicious!!

Ilsan Seafood Market

I came to eat sashimi, but the sign said lobster, snow crab, and king crab, so I was a little startled. Still, I thought, since this is a seafood market, it can’t be missing those things, and went inside.

Once I actually went in, I saw not only #sashimi but also a variety of #seafood, so instead of sticking to our original plan, I started wondering if we should try something else too. But we decided not to stray from the purpose of our first visit and chose to eat sashimi!!

Now we had to decide what kind to get.

Since I don’t really know, this is the obvious question I end up asking the staff!!

What fish is fresh and good today?

In a way, this kind of question could lead to a sales pitch, so maybe it isn’t the best thing to ask, but what can you do? All we can do is trust the staff’s conscience!!

And so they recommended #redseaBream and #flatfish.

I had heard a lot about flatfish before, but I’d never heard the name "jjalgwang-eo" before, so I was curious how it would taste.

We didn’t choose it ourselves. After deciding on the type of fish, the staff caught the fish directly from the tank and lifted it out. Seeing it like that felt a little creepy and sorry at the same time, but I knew I’d probably forget that feeling quickly once the sashimi came out and I started eating it deliciously.

Jjalgwang-eo (Daemunjjagneobchi)

#Jjalgwang-eo is #Daemunjjagneobchi, which can be thought of as a large flatfish species. It lives on the seabed in the North Pacific, Baltic Sea, and Mediterranean Sea in saltwater and brackish water.

Jjalgwang-eo

Having sashimi sliced right in front of us definitely made it feel fresh. I think that’s the real charm of a seafood market.

On top of that, we could even choose the thickness of the sashimi. When I buy sashimi from regular shops, it’s often sliced so thin that there’s no satisfying chew, and even something tasty can start to feel less appealing. Being able to ask for the thickness I like is the kind of freshness you can really only feel at a seafood market.

We could have paid on the first floor of Ilsan Seafood Market, packed it up, and eaten it at home, but we chose to go to the second floor and eat there.

It had been a while since I had sashimi sliced and eaten at a seafood market, so it felt less like I was in Ilsan and more like I had come to Donghae or the beach, which gave it a bit of a travel feeling.

Jjalgwang-eo!!

I’ve eaten a lot of flatfish, but since this was my first time trying jjalgwang-eo, I was curious about the taste.

First of all, the shape looked similar to regular flatfish.

As for the taste, unlike flatfish, it had a strong chewy texture similar to rockfish. But if you’re not careful, it could also feel a bit tough.

The texture was different, but I couldn’t really tell that it had a particularly different flavor from flatfish.

The color of the red sea bream is the kind of red I like, with just a slight tint on the top. Personally, I like fish like this, where only the upper part has a reddish color, rather than fish that are completely red. The texture is nice, and as you keep eating, it seems to develop a richer, nuttier flavor. That’s why I personally prefer #sashimi with a bit of red tint over completely white-fleshed fish.

After enjoying another delicious meal of sashimi like this, we also went for a drive and spent a pleasant day.

When the cool breeze starts blowing, it’s king crab season, so I’ll have to visit once more then to try king crab and seafood.