황태

황태덕장은 인제의 겨울풍경 중 단연 으뜸이라 할 수 있다. 겨울의 추위와 볕에 의해 얼었다 녹았다를 반복하며 쫀득하게 마르는 황태의 맛과 그것들이 가득한 덕장의 눈 덮인 풍경은 그야말로 겨울이 주는 선물과도 같다. 황태 덕장을 둘러보며 명태가 황태가 되어 우리 식탁에 올라오기 까지 서른 세 번의 손길이 가는 과정에 대한 이야기를 들어 볼 수 있다. 인근 매바위는 아이언웨이가 있어 초보자들이 암벽등반을 체험하기에 좋지만 겨울동안은 전문가들을 위한 빙벽타기 장소로 이용된다.

Hwangtae

Throughout history, pollock has been the most commonly enjoyed fish for Koreans. "Hwangtae" refers to a certain variety of dried pollock. They are frozen and thawed repeatedly around 20 times over 40 days during the frigid winter winds, until they become thoroughly dried and yellowish. Although the drying process requires enormous labor, the end product is a convenient foodstuff easy to store and use for home cooking. In Korea, there is no fish like the pollock, and certainly none with as many names. The freshly-caught pollock is called “saeng-tae;” frozen pollack, “dong-tae. Dried pollack has several names as well: the fully-grown one (when dried for about 60 days) is known as “bugeo,” while the young dried pollack is called “nogari.” The half-dried one is “kodari.” Finally, the one that becomes swollen with yellowish flesh due to multiple temperature changes is also known as “hwang-tae.”