Korean-Style Hoe from Pike with Onion and Carrot

Name: Korean-Style Hoe from Pike with Onion and Carrot
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 180 min
Yield: 15 servings
Ingredients: Pike – 2 kg. Onion – 1 pc. Garlic – 6 cloves. Carrot – 1 pc. Salt – 1 tbsp. Vinegar 9% – 3 tbsp. Water – 1 cup. Vegetable oil – for frying.

Published: 05.09.2026

Updated: 05.09.2026

🤤 Здорові рецепти щодня

Cooking time 180 minutes Portions 15 servings

With pike, the freezing rule is stricter than for any other freshwater fish in Ukrainian waters. It is the main carrier of the broad tapeworm, and no vinegar solves that: acid denatures protein, but it does not kill the parasite's larva. A week in the freezer at minus eighteen is a requirement without which this dish is not made at all.

The vinegar here is diluted with water, and that's not a shortcut. Three tablespoons of 9% vinegar per cup of water is a milder acid than in the classic hoe, and that's enough for pike: its meat is drier and more porous than pike-perch's, and it takes on the marinade faster.

The onion is sautéed and added together with the oil, hot. This is the only heating step in the whole recipe, and it's exactly what carries the garlic flavor through the fish — raw onion can't achieve that.

Pike meat is drier than pike-perch, so this recipe leans harder on carrot and oil — classic pike-perch hoe with vinegar uses different proportions. Almost no vinegar at all goes into silver carp hoe in vegetable oil.

Caloric content: 120kcal

Ingredients

Pike – 2 kg.
Onion – 1 pc.
Garlic – 6 cloves.
Carrot – 1 pc.
Salt – 1 tbsp.
Vinegar 9% – 3 tbsp.
Water – 1 cup.
Vegetable oil – for frying.

Clean the pike

Scale the fish, cut open the belly, and remove the innards together with the dark membranes. Rinse it, remove the fillets, and cut them into centimeter-thick slices.

Salt it

Lightly salt the pike and mix, and peel the garlic at the same time.

Add the garlic

Press the garlic cloves through a garlic press and add them to the fillet.

Prepare the acid

Combine the water and vinegar in a glass.

Pour it over and chill

Pour the mixture over the pike and place it in the fridge for an hour.

Cut the carrot

Peel the carrot and cut it into thin strips.

Add the carrot, sauté the onion

After an hour, add the carrot to the fish, mix, and return it to the fridge. Cut the onion into half-rings and sauté until translucent.

Add the onion

Add the sautéed onion together with the vegetable oil, mix, and let it sit in the fridge for at least another hour and a half, preferably overnight.

Serve

Arrange the appetizer on a plate and serve it cold.

Notes

A week at minus eighteen is mandatory. Pike carries the broad tapeworm more often than other freshwater fish in Ukrainian waters. Vinegar does not kill the parasite.
Remove the dark membranes from the belly cavity. They're bitter, and in a raw dish that bitterness isn't masked by anything.
Cut the fillet into centimeter slices. Thicker pieces won't marinate through in an hour and a half and will stay translucent inside.
Add the onion hot, with the oil. This is the only heating step in the recipe: it carries the garlic through the whole fish.
A night in the fridge beats an hour and a half. The minimum is met, but overnight the flavor evens out and the texture becomes firmer.

Questions and Answers

Is pike hoe safe to eat?

Only after freezing for a week at −18 °C. Pike is the main carrier of the broad tapeworm among predatory fish in Ukrainian waters, and vinegar does not replace that step.

How long should pike hoe marinate?

An hour in vinegar with garlic, then with carrot, then at least another hour and a half with sautéed onion. Overnight is best.

Why is the vinegar diluted with water?

Pike is more porous than pike-perch and takes on acid faster. Undiluted vinegar makes it rubbery.

Can pike be replaced?

Yes, use pike-perch or silver carp. The freezing rule applies to any freshwater fish, and especially to carp-family fish.

Recipe and step-by-step photos — kolizhanka.net.ua.