KOREA’S FISH SPECIAL: A SMELLY MIX OF OUTHOUSE, AMMONIA

South Korea has a generous list of foods some find hard to swallow, but fermented skate from Heuksan Island tops them all. The fish, called hongeo, is described by lovers and detractors alike as releasing odors reminiscent of an outhouse. Served most often as chewy pink slabs of sashimi, hongeo is prized by enthusiasts for the ammonia fumes it releases, sometimes so strong they cause people’s mouths to peel. Some South Koreans who are otherwise fiercely proud of their fiery, often odoriferous foods, like kimchee, admit to being repelled by hongeo and baffled by its rising popularity.