My Seoul gastronomical affair

Everything about Korea is pretty amazing (no I am not biased). Korea is truly a country full of discoveries, many of them culinary.

There’s just something unique about how Koreans present every aspect of their lives. I came to realise I was taken aback by the korean culture through watching K-dramas. The emotions and good looking-ness of the characters in the movie I was definitely drawn to, the sense of fashion awed me, the animated expressions of the characters amuse me, the beautiful scenery of the locations mesmerised me and last but not least, I am so totally intrigued by the korean etiquette and the way the Koreans have their meals makes me almost want to taste them immediately.

I’ll let you know a secret – I have a fetish for the Korean spoon, have you ever noticed how cute they look? Just eating my meals with the long metal spoons somehow makes the food tastier! I sometimes have my instant noodles with the korean spoon, just because.

If you have not noticed all that I mentioned, try watching an episode of a Korean drama – there is bound to be at least one scene in every episode where the family is having a meal. Or could just be one of the characters preparing their breakfast (rather elaborate if you ask me – can’t compare to a cuppa coffee and toast) or eating from a porcelain pot or simply sampling soju (Korean alcohol akin to the Japanese sake) at the road side, more or less you get the picture.

I always dreamed of visiting Korea, and I finally fixed that part of my wish list last year. Best trip ever (for my belly too), no regrets! My regret: I wished I had done it sooner.

Today, I will take you through the TOP must have Korean food and streetfood (in no particular order).

Bibimbap : hard not to love at first bite. wow. wow. wow.

Bibimbap is a mixture of rice and a variety of vegetables (beans sprout, carrots, lettuce). Notice how dainty and thinly sliced the veggies are? Easy for digestion presumably.

Japjae: clear pork/chicken broth vermicilli (with tofu, carrots, bean sprouts)

After sampling many spicy Korean dishes, this is the perfect spice reliever for your throat and tongue. Often, japjae comes fried as well.

Daeji bulgogi: marinated thin sliced pork loin.

The pork is marinated in a specially blended red chili pepper paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, sugar, ginger roots, rice wine and gojujang (bean paste) which is the base sauce for this dish. Usually served with a side dish of lettuce to wrap this tender daeji (pork) together with slices of raw garlic and dipped with gojujang. Just thinking about it makes me drool.

Samgyetang: ginseng chicken soup

Clear chicken broth with a dash of ginseng on a cold day is just purrr-fect! Occasionally paired with japjae. If you feel you need to get away from alcohol but yet just maybe would like a little reminiscence, splash your samgyetang with a shot of shoju – it tastes amazing and helps keep you warm too. Seriously, do it.

Kimchi: Cabbage (or radish, cucumber etc)

And that’s how kimchi is marinated. In a porcelain pot, cabbage or radish is marinated with minced garlic, diced green onion, salted fish and salt. Then bury under soil in your backyard until it is ready to be savoured.

Haemultang: seafood stew

Various seafood are boiled together, this includes clams, crab, shrimp, fish and loads of veggie. Healthy yet refreshing with a tinge of sweetness.

Stir fried korean rice

After finishing all the meat, try frying the glutinous rice with remnants of the cabbage. It was really nice and definitely (full)filling.

Different types of kimchi: cabbage kimchi (most common), cucumber kimchi, radish kimchi, cubed radish kimchi, green onion kimchi, tofu kimchi (?) and more. And if you can’t enough of them, just reach for them – with ladles, plier, chopsticks and they come in big metal bowls (totally Korean style) too.

Moving on, streetfood is also a  must try in Korea. Your trip would not be complete without sampling these:

Stuffed Cuttlefish (with glutinous rice): so deliriously good! Best street food ever!

Panjeon: savoury Korean pancakes (sliced into square pieces for you to snack on the go with a toothpick or your fingers)

Seasoned dried cuttlefish: crispy, fried, baked, grilled (any way you like them). Wonder if they come steamed…

French fries, breaded sausage & pressed squid

Checking off the quintessential Korean food list: my trip was complete. My belly was completely, truly and madly satisfied.

Verdict: What do all Korean food have in common: they are fabulous! Best of all, they are pretty affordable and really, bursting in flavours…

Where can you find all of the above?

Arrhh, well here comes the tricky part. They are generally available in most Korean F&B outlets or any corner of the Korean streets. I am not a Korean food connoiseur, enough to tell you where to find the best of them – just trust your instincts. You just gotta be a wee bit more adventurous, and if all hells break loose, you have your diarrheoa pills (on standby). On a serious note, you’ll survive.

My advice: practice safe eating – when in doubt, always use condiments! 🙂

Fabulously yours x

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