Mulhoe: A Very Cold Bowl of Raw Fish, Crisp Vegetables and Red Broth
This dish contains raw fish. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises people at greater risk of foodborne illness to avoid raw fish. That includes pregnant people, children under 5, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems, such as those with cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, an organ transplant or an autoimmune disease. If you are cooking for anyone in these groups, choose a different, cooked dish from our Korean recipes.
Koreana, the Korea Foundation's magazine, describes mulhoe (물회) as a meal fishers ate on their boats, without lighting a fire. Whether the story is the full origin of the dish is another matter, and the magazine's account is best read as a published telling rather than a documented beginning. The picture it leaves is still a useful one: raw fish, spicy seasoning and cold water in a single bowl.
Mulhoe is not a hot fish soup. It is a chilled raw fish dish whose broth should be very cold, spicy and sour, with a little sweetness. This version follows the 4-serving recipe published by Maangchi: strips of fish, onion, carrot, tomato, green chili and lettuce in a gochujang-and-vinegar broth, with thin somyeon noodles served alongside for mixing in at the table.
Maangchi's recipe allows fresh fish or frozen sashimi-grade fish, and mentions a version made in New York with frozen sashimi-grade tuna. We use only that frozen tuna here. White fish, mackerel, and fish you caught yourself or chose on freshness alone are not part of this recipe.
We have not kitchen-tested this recipe. The amounts and order come from Maangchi's published recipe, and the raw fish guidance comes from public health agencies. Neither makes raw fish risk-free.
Ingredients for 4 Servings
Keep the two waters apart: 10 cups for the noodles, 2 cups of ice-cold water for the broth.
Choosing and Handling the Fish
Start with the fish, because this is the one purchase that shapes everything else.
Buy frozen tuna the seller presents as being for raw consumption. Ask two things when you buy it: is it sold to be eaten raw, and how was it frozen? "Sashimi grade" is a name, not a safety guarantee. If the seller cannot answer, do not use that fish for this dish.
Look for the freezing conditions public agencies describe. These are the benchmarks to ask about:
| Agency | Freezing conditions described | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) | −20°C for 24 hours or longer | An anisakis measure, in guidance aimed at businesses |
| FDA | −20°C (−4°F) or below for 7 days, total time | Parasite control, in guidance for the seafood industry |
| FDA | −35°C (−31°F) or below until solid, then stored at −35°C or below for 15 hours | Same |
| FDA | −35°C (−31°F) or below until solid, then stored at −20°C or below for 24 hours | Same |
The FDA notes that these conditions may not suit very large fish. They also describe what a business should do, and they do not certify any particular product you bring home.
Do not rely on your own freezer. MHLW's household guideline for a freezer is −15°C or below, and a home freezer cannot be assumed to meet the conditions above. Freezing fish yourself is not a substitute for buying a product frozen to these conditions by the seller.
Do not assume tuna is exempt. MHLW lists tuna among the fish that can host anisakis. Freshness alone does not remove parasite risk either.
Keep it cold. Put the fish in the freezer or refrigerator as soon as you get home. Thaw it in the refrigerator. MHLW's household guidelines are 10°C or below for a refrigerator and −15°C or below for a freezer.
Equipment
- Knife and cutting board for the fish only
- A separate knife and cutting board for the vegetables
- Covered plate or container for chilling the cut fish
- Large pot
- Colander
- Large, deep mixing bowl
Taste and Safety
Taste. Aim for a broth that is very cold, spicy and sour, with slight sweetness. The fish, crisp vegetables and noodles should each stay distinct. You can adjust heat, sourness and sweetness to your liking within the seasonings already in the bowl. If the broth tastes too concentrated, add a little more ice-cold water at a time.
Vinegar and chili are flavor, not protection. MHLW states that ordinary vinegar, salt, soy sauce and wasabi do not kill anisakis, and chili should not be treated as parasite control either. The FDA notes that brining and pickling may reduce the parasite hazard but do not eliminate it. Cold broth does not change this.
Hygiene. MHLW's household guidance asks cooks to keep raw fish juices away from other food and to wash hands. Knives and cutting boards used for raw fish should be washed and scalded with boiling water before reuse. Keeping fish and vegetable tools separate follows the same advice. Prepared food should not sit at room temperature for long.
Who should avoid it. The FDA advises pregnant people, children under 5, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems, including those with cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, organ transplants or autoimmune diseases, to avoid raw fish. MHLW also urges particular care for people with low resistance, such as children and older adults. For these diners, please make a different dish.
Each measure here lowers risk, but none of them makes raw fish risk-free.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Broth tastes too strong | Too little water for your taste | Add a little ice-cold water at a time, tasting as you go |
| Broth isn't very cold | The water wasn't cold enough | Serve right away. Next time, use properly ice-cold water, or the water-and-ice option below |
| Noodles have a hard core | Not cooked long enough | Next time, keep cooking until no hard core remains, then rinse and drain |
| Noodles are falling apart | Cooked too long | Next time, start checking them sooner |
| Noodles feel warm or sit in water | Rinsed too briefly or not drained | Rinse longer under cold running water and drain well |
| You can't confirm how the fish was frozen or whether it's sold for raw eating | Seller couldn't answer | Do not use that fish for this dish. Make something else |
| You spot a parasite while cutting | Parasites can be present in tuna | Remove it. Visual checks work alongside properly frozen fish, not in place of it |
Variations
| Variation | How it works | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Water and ice | Maangchi's optional broth uses 1 cup water plus 1 cup ice in place of 2 cups ice-cold water | The method above uses cold water only |
| Heat, sourness, sweetness | Adjust the existing seasonings to your taste | This is a change of flavor and does not affect fish safety |
| Pear or fruit broth, or rice | Koreana reports fruit-based chilled broths and rice as forms of the dish elsewhere | They are not part of this recipe, and we give no amounts for them |
We don't offer a cooked-fish version, since that would be a different dish. Fish other than the frozen tuna described here are outside this recipe as well.
Background: Boats, Pohang and a Changing Bowl
Koreana has published two accounts that help place the dish, both of them cultural reporting rather than precise records of its origin.
In "Mulhoe – A Uniquely Korean Summer Delicacy," food columnist Park Sang-hyun describes the dish in the context of fishers' meals on boats. He also describes a common balance of soup, fish or seafood, crisp vegetables, and rice or noodles.
In "Delicacies that Originated in Traditional Markets," under the section "The Fishermen's Humble Meal," Hankyoreh reporter Park Mee-hyang links mulhoe with Bukbu Market in Pohang and reports that it spread in the 1980s. According to that feature, early descriptions combine raw fish, rice, gochujang and water, and noodles sometimes replaced the rice from the 1990s. Later versions added cucumber, red fish and soybean powder, or used a chilled broth with fruit and sweet-sour elements.
So mulhoe has no single fixed form. Fillings, broth, and the choice of noodles or rice vary by region and restaurant. The bowl on this page is Maangchi's fish, vegetable, cold gochujang-vinegar broth and somyeon version. It is not the only style from Pohang, and it should not be read as the standard for all of Korea.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is mulhoe a hot dish?
No. It is a cold dish, built around raw fish and a broth made with ice-cold water.
Can I use fish that isn't sold for raw consumption?
No. Use only frozen tuna that the seller presents as being for raw eating, and ask how it was frozen.
Does Maangchi's recipe allow fresh fish?
Yes, it lists fresh fish or frozen sashimi-grade fish. We narrowed this to frozen tuna for raw consumption, because public guidance points to freezing conditions as the parasite measure and freshness alone does not remove that risk.
Does the vinegar or chili make the raw fish safe?
No. MHLW states that ordinary vinegar, salt, soy sauce and wasabi do not kill anisakis, and chili is not parasite control either.
Can I freeze the fish at home myself?
We don't recommend relying on that. MHLW's household freezer guideline is −15°C or below, and a home freezer cannot be assumed to reach the conditions agencies describe. Buy a product the seller says was frozen to those conditions.
Is pear required?
No. Maangchi's recipe does not use pear. Fruit-based broths are part of the wider variety Koreana reports.
How do I eat the noodles?
Serve them chilled and drained on the side, then mix them into the bowl at the table.
Can I keep leftovers?
Maangchi advises eating mulhoe all at once rather than refrigerating what is left. We follow that advice and give no storage period, so make only as much as you will eat.
Sources
- Maangchi, "Mulhoe (Spicy raw fish soup)." The 4-serving recipe, its amounts, order and serving style, and the advice on eating it all at once. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/mulhoe
- Park Mee-hyang (The Hankyoreh), "Delicacies that Originated in Traditional Markets," section "The Fishermen's Humble Meal," Koreana / Korea Foundation. Pohang's Bukbu Market, the spread of the dish, and later changes, as reported in the feature. https://www.koreana.or.kr/koreana/na/ntt/selectNttInfo.do?bbsId=1114&nttSn=120485
- Park Sang-hyun, "Mulhoe – A Uniquely Korean Summer Delicacy," Koreana / Korea Foundation. The fishers' boat meal account, cold serving, and the usual balance of the bowl. https://koreana.or.kr/koreana/na/ntt/selectNttInfo.do?bbsId=1116&nttSn=125773
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), "Preventing food poisoning at home" (in Japanese). Refrigerator and freezer guidelines, keeping raw fish juices away from other food, hand and utensil washing, scalding knives and boards, and care for children and older adults. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/shokuhin/syokuchu/01_00008.html
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), "Familiar Dangers: Food Poisoning, No. 11 (Anisakis)" (in Japanese, PDF). Freshness alone does not remove parasite risk, confirming raw-consumption labeling with the seller, and visual checks. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/houdou_kouhou/kouhou_shuppan/magazine/2019/dl/1902_07.pdf
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), "Let's prevent food poisoning caused by anisakis" (in Japanese). Tuna as a listed host, freezing at −20°C for 24 hours or longer, visual removal, and the failure of vinegar, salt, soy sauce and wasabi to kill anisakis. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000042953.html
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), "Six points for preventing food poisoning at home" (in Japanese). Cold storage, refrigerator thawing, and separate utensils and cutting boards. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/www1/houdou/0903/h0331-1.html
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance (June 2022 Edition), Chapter 5: Parasites." Industry freezing conditions for parasite control, their limits for very large fish, and the limits of brining and pickling. https://www.fda.gov/media/80637/download
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "People at Risk of Foodborne Illness." Groups at higher risk and the advice for them to avoid raw fish. https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/people-risk-foodborne-illness
