Category Archives: South Korean

I Don’t Know Karate, But I Do Know Crazy

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Mark T

Well, I managed to take down another culinary milestone in my life:  I ate something that was still alive.  Naturally, I would only be able to do this sort of thing outside of America where we prefer our animals dead and processed into slabs, tubes, or patties.  Now that’s some “fresh food”, but nothing comparable to 산낙지 or sannakji or live octopus.

While everyone around the world has heard of Japanese sushi, Korea has its own version of it called 회 or Hoe.  I’m not the biggest sushi fan, but when I heard that you could order and eat an octopus that is still alive made me want to try it even more.  I began researching eating live octopus in Korea, and I found out that people have died from it due to the suction cups sticking to their inside of their throats while swallowing.  This element of danger lingered in the back of my head as I made my way to the restaurant (Sinjung-dong metro stop, exit three.  Take a left, then take a left on the first street on your left.  Take a right on the first street on your right).  Simple, right?

Bucheon's finest

Bucheon’s finest

When we sat down, I quickly ordered sannakji for 15,000 won.  I got a Cass beer on the side just in case the octopus wanted to get frisky.  Nothing stops an octopus from killing you faster than being doused in terrible Korean beer.

Eventually my meal came out with a mystery omelet that resided within a small cauldron.

Mystery egg dish to the left, silk worm larvae to the left of the seaweed soup

Mystery egg dish to the left, silk worm larvae to the left of the seaweed soup

It seemed that the eggs were whipped somehow into a fluffy foam that spread out and filled the bowl almost to the top.  Plus, they brought out a small dish of bondegi or silkworm larvae.  As if eating live octopus wasn’t enough, they thought I needed some bug babies to munch on.  I had already tried them though (See Ssam bam a loo bop), so I waited until they brought out the beast on a large plate.

Still squirmin'

Still squirmin’

Unfortunately, they didn’t sell whole octopodes, but this plate was still writhing about without poking it too much.  I could see the head and the tentacles all chopped up in one, big goopy mass.  I found the flavor to be not as briny/fishy as I was anticipating, but it was more earthy in nature than anything.  It went went well with the savory soy paste a.k.a. chogochujang (초고추장).  However, the rubbery texture combined with the suction cups grabbing my teeth and roof of my mouth were a bit unnerving.  It was also hard to pick pieces up because they were suction-cupped to the plate , squirming out of my reach, and had the consistency of slimy pudding.  Mission impossible for someone with metal chopsticks.  I decided to take one last bite with my spoon to cap off this monumental moment in Mastication Monologues history.  I will try and seek out a place that sells whole octopus and will follow up this post in the near future.  Kudos to Carolyn for being a brave camerawoman even though she was quite nauseated for a majority of my dining experience.  Click here for the video of me struggling against live tentacles and eventually eating the octopus’ head!

One last spoonful

One last spoonful

10 Comments

Posted in Far East Asian Cuisine, South Korean and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Bits and Bobs

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Mark T

Welcome to another edition of Mastication Monologues!  Today’s post is in the same vein as some previous posts where instead of offering reviews on local restaurants, I comment on some random, small snack foods that I have tried while living in Korea (See:  Got The Munchies?).  I’ll begin with probably the healthiest snack my coteachers have given me.  One day I was in my cubicle after lunch, and I noticed that my coteachers and other teachers were crowding around the table in our office.  I could tell they were eating something with their hands, but I couldn’t see what.  I approached, and they offered me a plate covered in small, bright red fruit.  They looked kind of like cranberries but tinier.

I eated the red berries

I eated the red berries

I popped one in my mouth, and I was greeted with a complex rush of sweet, bitter, and sour flavors.  Plus, I quickly found out that they have a pit.  One of my coteachers told me that these were Korean cherries which made sense with the pit.  When the teachers saw my approval, they insisted that I eat the rest of the plate.  I naturally obliged as they were saying I wasn’t eating them fast enough, so I went from teacher to chipmunk in 1 minute flat.  I didn’t feel that bad because fruit is insanely expensive in Korea, and I can’t say that stuffing my cheeks with fruit is bad for my health.  Now that I’ve described the healthy food, let’s get to the good stuff.  First there are the spicy Pringles.

Now, I’ve had my fair share of Pringles since I love their flavors, texture, and I’m from Amurika, so I wanted to see what kind of flavors they would have in Korea.  I needed something to go with my kimbap lunch for my hiking trip, and I settled on the Wild Spice Pringles.

Tube of disappointment

Tube of disappointment

I read the can, and I saw that they were Thai in origin.   This made me really excited since some Thai food is spicy enough to leave you using a colostomy bag.  However, they were a very big let down.  They looked like normal Pringles chips seasoned with a light brown powder, but this supposed firework show of spicy hellfire was more like a damp sparkler, unimpressive at best.  It just tasted like a potato chip with some soy sauce.  However, it hasn’t all been doom and gloom.  I found some Korean bakery that was quite nice.

While I was waiting for my friend, who is currently visiting me, at Bupyeong station on the platform going towards International Business District, I managed to be lured to a small food stall by an enchantingly sweet aroma.  The board on the top of the mini establishment said, “Manjoo Hana”, and I could see that they were selling different types of waffles.20130105-235347[1]  However, I was intrigued by the conveyor belt that consisted of small metal moulds being filled with batter and custard and then being baked in an oven.  I went for a 3,000 W bag which got me about 15 of these small pastries.  They were fresh out of the oven, so I had to take care not to bite in too soon and have my fingers/mouth coated in the napalm-esque custard inside each pastry.  When they finally cooled down, I found them to be great finger food since I was starving after a long day of work.

A litter of newly born Manjoo

A litter of newly born Manjoo

The dough was soft and buttery like a cake donut while the custard on the inside was creamy and had understated vanilla notes.  It would go nicely with this 19 grain cereal milk my coteacher gave me this week in honor of finally finishing recording our final exams.

It does a waygook body good

It does a waygook body good

It tasted like a less decadent vanilla milk shake which was surprising since it allegedly contained wheat, kefir, buckwheat, and sorghum to name a few grains.  Oh, Korea.  You do surprise me sometimes.  Especially with the last treat that tasted a lot better than it looked.

Since Korean summer is starting to get into full swing with sunlight that can make you feel like a roasting pot roast and humidity that can make you feel like you’re walking in a steam bath, all of the teachers in my office got ice cream.  I picked one that looked like chocolate, but when I opened it up it looked like something a bit more unsavory.

Before...

Before…

What I was staring at was a chocolate popsicle that looked suspiciously like a log of stool.

After: A real poopsicle

After: A real poopsicle

I bring up this association due to the fact that Korean culture seems to celebrate poop and don’t see it as something that is an object of revulsion in the West.  So I eventually managed to open this tube after what seemed like an eternal struggle to find what was the equivalent of a fudgesicle inside.  It was a treat that managed to cut through this crappy summer heat.

So here is another small glimpse at the vast variety of snack foods that Korea has to offer.  Some may seem more appetizing than others, but the main thing is that I ventured out and tried something new.

2 Comments

Posted in Far East Asian Cuisine, Snack Food, South Korean and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Achin’ For Some Bacon On A Lazy Sundae

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Mark T

Hello everyone to another edition of Mastication Monologues!  In this installment, I am not going to review a restaurant (tear tear), but I am actually going to talk about a couple interesting little snacks/meals I’ve had over the past couple weeks in Korea.  First, there are the school lunches.

Where to begin with the school lunches?  From what I’ve heard from my orientation cohort, I think I got off pretty easy in terms of the variety and quality of food my school serves.  My favorite days are either tonkatsu or “breaded pork cutlet” day or curry day.  However, then there are days like when they serve a variety of cold seafood omelets where they try and see how many different types of mystery meat and tentacles they can fit in one pan.  Frankly, I’ve tried them all, and I’m not a huge fan.  One day, I even saw something that looked a bit familiar to me.  There was a pan filled with small, purple-ish/crimson colored disks.  Naturally, I scooped up a ladleful and put it in one of my tray compartments.

The sundae's in the upper right hand compartment

The sundae’s in the upper right hand compartment

I chopsticked one into my mouth, and I realized that it was 순대 or Sundae.  However, instead of a rich mix of vanilla, butterfat, and chocolate syrup, I was greeted with a semi-coppery flavor of blood sausage.  If odd textures disgust you, stay away from this sausage’s rubbery skin.  It was somewhat similar to the Polish kiszka, but the Korean blood sausage had noodles on the inside of it which kind of put me off of enjoying it more.  A more positive experience during school lunch was when they were serving stir fried baby squids.  Now, I’m not the biggest seafood fan in the world, but I’ve found after living in Korea that they make some mean squid dishes.  This meal was no different.

I love it when you can look your food in the eye

I love it when you can look your food in the eye

The baby squids were stir fried in a sweet, orange based glaze and were accompanied by dried squid jerky on the side.  I personally preferred the stir fried squids because the sauce really made the savory essence of the seafood pop, and the squid jerky wasn’t as good as the barbecue squid jerky they served on a separate occasion.  It was very dry and tough which made for an unpleasant eating experience.  Moving on from the more intense elements of my culinary journeys through Korea, lets talk about some junk food.

First, there was the discovery of bacon chips.  Yes, bacon lovers in Korea rejoice.

You can never have enough bacon

You can never have enough bacon

There are chips that are literally shaped and flavored like bacon.  I originally found them at a rest stop on my way to go paragliding, and I definitely made the right choice.  The texture could be likened to a veggie chip, and it was strangely colored like a semi-raw piece of bacon.  As for the taste, it actually tasted like eggs’ natural companion.  Not the most natural thing in the world, but I’m glad I tried it.  Moving from the good straight to the ugly, there is the Chicago Style pizza from Emart.  For those not living in Korea, Emart is basically a giant department store that sells everything you could ever need.  So some friends and I split the cost for a couple pizzas including one that was supposedly a “Chicago Deep Dish” style pizza.

Blasphemy incarnate

Blasphemy incarnate

When we opened up the box, it wasn’t the same as the genuine article back home aside from the crust.  That was the least of our problems.  The taste was terrible.  Do not buy this pizza from Emart.  Just get the regular 11,000 Won pizzas.  They are a much better deal.  Anyway, the taste to put it simply was everything that is wrong about Korean pizza.  First, I’m pretty sure they didn’t use real cheese since it tasted like we were eating sticks of non-salted butter.  On top of that, we were greeted with a lovely flavor wave of very sweet Korean pizza sauce.  I’m not sure if the pepperoni was real, but it was the only redeeming feature. In short, it was the perfect storm for a terrible pizza recipe.  Putting this unpleasantness behind us, lets talk about some sweet things.

I have spoken about my love for my Kindergarten classes before, but I might also be swayed by the fact that I get free food from the teachers every time I teach.  One of the best days was on Childrens’ Day because I got something that didn’t think existed:  Korean bakery.  Up to this point, I had been inundated with so many different types of tteok or “rice cake” that it would make your head spin, but today was a special day with special food.  On my tiny plate, they served me 소보로 빵 or Soboro Bbang which I could only describe as a type of peanut infused streusel bread.IMG_0091  The bread itself was light and airy which was complimented by the generous, peanut butter crumble topping.  It was like a messier and sweeter version of a peanut butter sandwich.  Not something I was really complaining about when I was siting at a table that was lower than my knees.  In more recent news, today I received another sweet treat from one of my coteachers that inspired me to write this post.  I don’t know what they’re called in Korean, but I’m going to call it a Yuja cookie.

Tasty tart

Tasty tart

Yuja is the Korean name for citron which is a fruit that is similar to a lemon.  I first tried the fruit in a traditional Korean drink, 유자차 or yujacha, and I was instantly hooked on  its sour and semi-bitter bite.  With the cookie, the bitterness of the jellied citron pieces was toned down to a certain extent, but it still blended perfectly with the buttery crust that was not too crumbly.  It was a pleasant surprise to start the week off right.  So that’s about it for now, but keep watching for my next post that will most likely be about the best fish and chips shop in Seoul.

8 Comments

Posted in American Cuisine, Bakery, Far East Asian Cuisine, Pastries, Pizza, Snack Food, South Korean and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Egg and Rice That’s Really Quite Nice

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Mark T

Hello and welcome to another installment of Mastication Monologues!  Today is a pretty laid back day, but last night was a special dinner for one of my friends who is having surgery on Friday.  So we went out to wish her good luck and have a safe procedure.  We ended up going to a kimbap chungu called Tomato Kimbab.

I couldn't get their entire Engrish slogan in the shot sadly

Got to love the Engrish slogan.

Now you might be wondering to yourself, “Hey Mark, what in the name of kimchi is a kimbap chungu?”  Well for all of those uninitated to Korean cuisine, a kimbap chungu is a sitdown restaurant that serves Korean cuisine stalwarts that range from different varieties of bibimbap, kimbap (hence the name), jjigaes (soups), and even one of my personal favorites, tonkatsu.  These restaurants also serve a good amount of food for a decent price.  However, instead of getting bibimbap like everyone else in the party, I went for a Japanese dish that was adopted by the Koreans and once again slightly modified:  omaraisu (오므라이스).  Like other foods in the Korean diet, this meal was born out of the Japanese occupation of the country which spanned from 1910 to right after World War II.  The name itself is a contraction of the words, “omelet” and “rice” pronounced in a Korean fashion.  It’s a relatively simple but delicious idea for a dish.  First, there is the omelet shell that should be thin yet strong enough to withstand the stresses of holding in all of the delicious rice inside.  As I just mentioned, there is the second element of the rice which lurks within its large, yellow coccoon.  Most of the time it’s chicken fried rice with vegetables like peas and carrots which is flavored with beef stock, but sometimes it can even have pieces of spam or hot dogs in it (a culinary trace of Amurica from after the Korean War).

After everyone in my party received their bowls of regular bibimbap and dolsot bibimbap, I got my food last, but it looked absolutely perfect. IMG_0081 It was about the size of a football or perhaps a small baby, but I was ready to get it in my belly.  There was also a generous drizzling of ketchup on the top that looked like an audacious thunderbolt alerting me to the amazing flavors contained within the meal in front of me.  I also utilized some of the sweet, semi-glaze on the side to balance out the ketchup.  Once I opened up the yellow blob, a ton of fresh chicken fried rice spilled out and was piping hot.  Once the raging inferno inside the omelet subsided, I tried a forkful of the rice, and it was delicious.  The rice wasn’t over or undercooked, and the chicken pieces were juicy and just the right size to not need a knife.  As for the egg, it was light and fluffy and went well with the tangy ketchup and the sweet brown gravy.  Overall, it was a good meal, and Tomato Kimbap does make a mean omaraisu.  If it’s your first time having it, I guarantee you won’t have egg on your face due to a bad meal.

2 Comments

Posted in Far East Asian Cuisine, Japanese, South Korean and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Flick and Swish

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Mark T

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Mastication Monologues!  Today I will be talking about a Korean dish that is another adaptation of a “Japanese” dish:  shabu shabu.  First, even though everyone thinks that shabu shabu is Japanese, its roots stretch all the way back to Mongolia, and the meal was made popular in Japan after WWII.  Then Korea acquired it through Japanese occupation and made it their own.  Which brings me today when my principal and vice-principal treated all of the teachers to a celebratory dinner before the midterm exams at Yoree Shabu Shabu in Incheon.

I already knew that shabu shabu involved putting raw pieces of meat in boiling water, and then swishing them about to cook them.  Hence the name, “shabu shabu” which is supposed to be the onomatopoeic representation of the meat moving about in the bubbling cauldron of water.  So, when I sat down to enjoy the meal, I suddenly had a moment of deja-vu.

I think we've met before

I think we’ve met before.

Looking at the mini-mountain of beef bales and the steaming pot of broth, assorted greens, and enoki mushrooms, I was brought back to the Chinese/Taiwanese hot pot dinner at my friend David’s house (Part 1 and Part 2).  However, it was different because the broth was on the milder side instead of boasting bold Sichuan spices, and Yoree Shabu Shabu also allowed us to help ourselves to their buffet.  I’ll describe that later, but first, the shabu shabu.  Once I found some pieces of beef that were fully cooked, I gingerly took them out and placed them in the side dish of soy sauce, vinegar, and wasabi.

Yeah, I got a side of gummi bears with my shabu shabu.

Yeah…I got a side of gummi bears with my shabu shabu.

The meat was succulent and flavorful, but I personally wasn’t a fan of diluting the potent kick of the wasabi by putting it in the soy marinade.  I even noticed that there were a couple of pieces of orange squash that were bobbing about in the soup, but they didn’t have much flavor aside from the beef I was enjoying.  I did like the mushrooms and the greens though because they added some body to the meal, especially the kale leaves with their semi-bitter bite.   Shabu shabu aside, the buffet at Yoree was fantastic.  Not only did it have Western classics like bread that isn’t filled with sugar, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Caesar salads, but they even had pretzels filled with peanut butter and…gummi bears.  Yeah, I had to restrain myself from attacking the whole plate, but needless to say I was overjoyed at seeing gummi candy towards the end of the dessert table.  When I say “dessert” table, I just mean that there was fruit, not cake or anything like that.  They also had standard Korean dishes like different types of rice cake, apple salad, cucumber salad, and kimchi, per usual.

So overall, I had a great time at Yoree Shabu Shabu, and I recommend this place to anyone who wants to try a Korean twist on a Japanese classic or is missing some Western food but doesn’t want to go all the way to Itaewon to get some guilty pleasures.

3 Comments

Posted in Far East Asian Cuisine, South Korean and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

From Snoop Dogg to Soup Dog

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Mark T

DISCLAIMER:  If you are squeamish at the thought of eating dog meat, then stop reading here.  Now that I’ve warned you, I hope to not hear any sort of negative comments on how I’m a monster for eating pets or that the Korean people are cruel towards animals.

Hello and welcome to another very special edition of Mastication Monologues!  What makes it special?  Well, the food I tried this evening could be considered very controversial from a Western perspective.  After playing a couple of games of volleyball with my Korean co-workers, they remained faithful to indulge one of my wishes to try an element of Korean cuisine that Koreans nowadays are reluctant to acknowledge when in the presence of foreigners:  dog meat soup or bosintang.  While I have heard many people back home in the states make jokes that the Chinese and Koreans eat dogs regularly, this is no longer the case.  In the West, we see domesticated dogs as pets, and so do the Korean people.  The dogs that are bred for bosintang in Korea are different from domesticated dogs and are viewed as livestock like cows or chickens.  Where one draws the line at “pet” and food is completely arbitrary based on societal views.  Korean society most likely took the concept of eating dog from the Chinese centuries ago as there is an ancient Chinese manual that describes three types of dogs, “Ones for working, ones for living under the table, and ones to be eaten”.  One of the main reasons why dog meat was consumed was that it was considered to have medicinal properties that promote stamina and balance one’s qi (personal energy) during the hot days of Summer.  I also learned that Korean hospitals serve it to patients recovering from surgery because it encourages robust health.  However, just like in China, younger Korean generations are firmly against the consumption of dog but still respect the wishes of those who want to consume the “fragrant meat”.  All of this brings us to my meal.

First, the place that I went to, Oban Bosintang located at Gyeyang-gu Seoun-dong, was very secluded.

If you're looking for a doggone good time...

If you’re looking for a doggone good time…

We had to go down a small alley to actually find the place, and I definitely wouldn’t have known where to look if it wasn’t for my “uncle” teacher who is like my adopted father figure at work.  Hooray for Confucian values in the workplace!  Anyway, it was a very typical Korean restaurant inside with low tables and all of the side dishes laid out.  After taking in the ambiance, I was face to face with a small bubbling cauldron of copper-colored broth that seemed to be mostly filled with mixed greens like any normal jjigae.

Exhibit A: Bosintang

Exhibit A: Bosintang

I then began to sift through the vegetables to find the dog, and I quickly muddled my way to hefty chunks of meat.  It looked like pieces of pot roast since I could see the tender, individual strands of meat.IMG_0056  As my Korean coworkers watched me, I popped a piece in my mouth and slowly savored the taste.  The verdict:  it was delicious.

Crazy waygook

Crazy waygook

It tasted like beef with a spicy chili background from the broth with slight gamey undertones in the aftertaste.  It also came with a chili and oil sauce on the side to “reduce the fragrance” according to my vice-principal, and it seemed to do away with the gaminess which resulted in an overall better taste.  The other parts of the meal like the buchu (garlic chive salad) and the green peppers with gochujang were okay, but the bosintang was the star of the show.

So I’ve finally eaten dog meat during my time living in Korea.  Would I go out of my way to eat it again?  Probably not.  Would I eat it again if someone served it to me?  Yeah since it was quite tasty.   Thus checks off one of my major bizarre foods that I have always wanted to eat in the world.  Watch out Andrew Zimmern, I’m coming for you.

5 Comments

Posted in Bizarre Foods, Far East Asian Cuisine, South Korean and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Ssam Bap A Lup Bop Wop Bam Boom

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Mark T

Hello and welcome to another edition of Mastication Monologues!  If you’re thoroughly confused about my title, it’s a reference to “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard and one of the many foods I tried over this past weekend in Gyeongju.  It was a great time where not only did I enrich myself in terms of friendships but also in food knowledge.  Gyeongju is located in the southern part of the Korean peninsula, and we were going there by bus to see the cherry blossoms.  Ergo, we stopped at Korean rest stops along the way to stretch and get the old bones moving again.

I soon realized that Korean rest stops are a lot more intense than rest stops in the US.  First, there are so many different types of shops in these places.  Not only are there vending machines with every type of item from coffee to sunglasses, but they even sell jewelry and CDs outside in hawker stalls.  However, I was not there to buy a techno remix of Gangnam Style nor get a brand new pair of knock off Oakleys.  I was more interested in perusing the wide variety of Korean fast food each shop was offering.  Naturally, there were a lot of fish products, but I saw something that perhaps was a bit of Konglish.  It was a food labelled, “Hot Dog Pizza”.  Now, coming from Chicago where we do both of those foods right, I was curious to see what the Koreans meant when they decided to put these two delicious items together.IMG_0036  Turns out, there was nothing even remotely resembling a hotdog or a pizza involved in the snack.  It was about a six-inch long tube of crunchy, fried, bread-crumb encrusted outside. IMG_0037 Then, I bit into a gooey center that did not contain a sausage of any kind.  Instead, I was met with a slightly more viscous sauce that I could only liken to a Chinese-American sweet and sour sauce.  It went well with the fried dough (as most fried things are inherently delicious) and left me satisfied.

After we got to Gyeongju, we biked around the city for a couple of hours which led to us working up quite an appetite.  So, we piled onto the bus for a ssam bap dinner.  We weren’t sure what exactly constituted this meal, but thanks to our rudimentary Korean skills we at least knew that it contained rice because of the word “bap”.  However, almost every Korean meal comes with rice, so it didn’t help us that much.  When we arrived and sat down, we were immediately face to face with the international food of mystery.IMG_1399  The ssam bap meal consisted of galbi and chicken mixed with various types of leafy green vegetables and grilled in a big metal bowl in the middle of our table.  Once it was fully cooked, we took the meat and rolled it up in the lettuce and pepper leaves that were provided to us on the side along with other types of banchan like the omnipresent kimchi, sour bean paste, pickled radishes, a green salad with sweet sesame dressing, and seaweed soup to name a few. IMG_1398 I should have had more rice, but I was still hungry after the meal.  However, it was more of a case of quality over quantity as the semi-spicy chili sauce the chicken was marinated in really brought some intense savory flavors rushing over my palate.  It was countered with the smooth, cool texture of the lettuce leaves.  While this dinner seemed par for the course in terms of Korean dinner, what I ate the next morning was anything but normal.

We rose early to a drizzly morning, but we still decided to see the grotto to see a giant carved Buddha statue.  As we were walking back from the amazing sanctuary, I saw people in my group were getting corn dogs and hot dogs.  I, being the natural weirdo that I am, saw beondegi in a pot next to the tube steaks everyone else was buying.  You might be wondering what beondegi is, and it is not for the squeamish.IMG_1450  It ‘s boiled silkworm pupae or little worm babies in layman’s terms.  I don’t know if I’m foolish, crazy, and/or brave, but it was an interesting experience.  They were a little bigger than kidney beans and possessed an amber hue.  I popped them into my mouth, and their exoskeletons were crunchy. IMG_1448 The insides were the tough part to stomach because texture-wise they were like smooth mashed potatoes, but the taste was somewhat overwhelming.  It tasted like hay smell mixed with manure mixed with a slight nutty undertone.  I’m glad I didn’t buy a whole cup of these little buggers, but it was worth the experience like the whole weekend making unforgettable memories.

8 Comments

Posted in Bizarre Foods, Far East Asian Cuisine, South Korean and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Got the Munchies?

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Mark T

Hello everyone to another installment of Mastication Monologues!  Life continues in Korea, and I’m writing this since the weather is cold and wet outside.  I don’t think the seasons really know what they’re doing around here.  One day it’s sunny and warm and the next day it’s cold and wet.  Oh well, at least one thing has remained constant:  me trying new and crazy foods.  This post will talk about different odds and ends of Korean snacks I have tried since touching down here.  First, there are the items I have received from my teachers.

I’ll start with one food that my teachers have given to me in various forms, but I have yet to find one that really catches my fancy:  rice cake or tteok in Korean.  Obviously, rice holds a special place in Asian cuisine as a staple grain just like wheat and corn in the West, and therefore, there will be many different products made from it.  However, I have never tried so many different types of rice cake in my life.  It seems like there are as many varieties of rice cake as there are varieties of kimchi.  The rice cake is made by pounding sticky rice into a dough, mixing in various ingredients, and then portioning them out into more manageable to eat pieces.  One of the first types of rice cake I tried with my coteachers was coated in semi-dehydrated red beans.  It was dry, gummi, and tasted like bland beans…yummy.  On another day, I saw strange purple squares saran-wrapped on the table, and I found out that it was rice cake with cut almonds in it.  I took one bite, and it had a strange floral flavor that clashed with the almonds.

Very natural looking...

Very natural looking…

The only two types of rice cake that I actually enjoy are the black sesame coated type or one infused with raisins.  The black sesame powder one is quite expensive, but tastes like sweet sesame seeds.  As for the raisin tteok, the absence of flavor in the actual rice dough allows for the sweet raisins to really shine.  Overall, rice cakes have failed to grow on me as of right now.

Moving on to treats my teachers have given me that I actually enjoyed, I’ll start with the mystery 12 grain sticks.  One of my teachers who occupies a cubicle kiddie corner from me gave me a small foil package and said “For you”.  I looked at it, and it just said, “12 grains crispiroll.”IMG_0015  So I was expecting some sort of granola bar to emerge from the wrapper, but what I encountered was something completely different. IMG_0016 Instead of seeing a granular bar, I was greeted by a light yellow, crumbly tube.  I took a bite, and it was an interesting experience.  Not only was it crumbly, but the interior somehow seemed to be filled with some sort of cheese flavored substance I couldn’t see for the life of me.  It must have been hidden under the interior layer, but it was like eating a healthy version of cheese puffs.  Another great treat from my students was chalboribbang.

Although the name is somewhat long, these little sandwiches really hit the spot.  Our 5th graders took a trip to Gyeongju, and they came back with boxes of chalboribbang.IMG_0017  Apparently they are the region’s specialty and have been made since the Silla dynasty of Korea (57 BC to 935 AD).  The perfect combination of freshness and delicious taste explains why they have been around for millennia.  The small pancakes are made from barley and between the cakes is a sweet paste made from azuki beans.  They’re moist, chewy, and have a very slight maple syrup taste.IMG_0019  Perhaps that last part comes down to my love for pancakes, but chalboribbang pack a lot of quality flavor into a small package.  Finally, there are two small snacks I tried this weekend that I would like to comment on.

First there are the Doritos.  World recognized food brands adopt their flavors to suit the local population in order to boost sales and be respectful to their potential consumers if they have religious qualms with the ingredients.  Naturally, the Korean Doritos I picked out for our guys night seemed to be flavored like barbecue ribs since Koreans love to barbecue any type of meat.

Not all that and a bag of chips

Not all that and a bag of chips

However, they were a gigantic letdown in terms of flavor.  The chips were like back in the states in terms of size and texture, but the bold, savory barbecue flavor that is synonymous with a rack of ribs was severely lacking.  On the other hand, my friends took me to a shish-kabob place in Bupyeong in Incheon right outside of the club Shelter that brought both the flavor and the heat.

We had just finished our guys night at my friend Nate’s place, so we headed to Bupyeong to check out some new bars.  Instead, I ended up in front of this food truck that had a chef inside who was diligently pressing chicken skewers on the red hot griddle and slathering the piping hot meat in different sauces.

Poetry in motion in Bupyeong

Poetry in motion in Bupyeong

I was goaded into trying the “So Spicy” option, and I took it down no problem.  I’d liken the spiciness to probably a couple jalapenos consumed at once.  The chef saw that I finished it so quickly, so he decided to make a special sauce just for me.  He was laughing while putting chili powder and vinegar into a cup.  As he mixed it he said, “Ok I kill you”.  Culinary challenge accepted.  Eventually my skewer of death was finished, and I went to town on it.

I can play with fire and not get burned

I can play with fire and not get burned

The pieces of chicken were succulent and the green onions had a nice crunch to even out the chewy, grilled chicken.  As for the spiciness, it was more in the Habanero/scotch bonnet range.  As I was taking it down, other Koreans waiting for their skewers were staring at me like I was a supernatural being and wanted to know where I was from.  I finished my complimentary death skewer in no time, and the guy asked me if it was too much.  I said nope, and he smiled, nodded, and said, “You very strong”.  Got to love being able to consume spicy foods and make friends along the way.  Not too bad for only a $1.50.

2 Comments

Posted in American Cuisine, Far East Asian Cuisine, South Korean and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Hair of the Waygookin

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Mark T

Hello and welcome to another edition of Mastication Monologues!  However, this is not any regular edition of my wonderful food blog, but rather it is my 60th post.  I never honestly thought I would stick with writing a food blog for this long, but when I realized that people from all over the world enjoy my food adventures, I kept the reviews and ideas flowing.  So if you have any suggestions for new restaurants and/or new foods to try, please send them my way.  I appreciate all of the views my blog has gotten so far, thanks! Anyway,  I decided to do something a bit different for my 60th post where I would comment on the different types of drinks I have tried while living in Korea.  First, I’ll go for the lifeblood of Korean nightlife:  soju.

King of Korea

King of Korea

Soju is an interesting character in comparison to all of the other types of  drinks I have tried.  I had briefly tasted it stateside when I went to a Korean restaurant/noraebang for karaoke, but I didn’t really remember it making much of an impact on my palate.  However, upon arriving in Korea, I was in the middle of many toasts with co-workers, new friends I made through my orientation program, and old friends who were already living in Korea.  Soju is probably consumed more than water here, and it’s definitely cheaper than water in 7-Elevens.  Plus, in orientation we were informed that it is the number one liquor in the world in terms of consumption even above Smirnoff vodka.  Then again, after watching drunk Korean businessmen stumble down the street on Tuesday nights, I’m not surprised.  As for the actual taste, it kind of is like Korea’s answer to vodka.  It’s clear, nearly scentless, and can be used with many different mixers.  However, there is a somewhat off-putting, slightly sweet aftertaste if you take it in shot form.  A Korean friend told me the taste is due to the distilling process since soju is no longer derived directly from rice but rather through using artificial sugars and potatoes or tapioca roots.

The fancy bottle hides a nasty surprise inside

The fancy bottle hides a nasty surprise inside

I even tried a different soju that was distilled with turmeric,  pears, and ginger to name a few ingredients.  It didn’t go down so well since it tasted like vodka mixed with an herbal tea.  So that’s a little blurb for you liquor-only drinkers.  Next is for wine afficionados:  bokbunja and flower wine.

Bokbunja is a traditional Korean blackberry wine that was exquisite.IMG_0023  It tasted similar to a Western sweet red variety or for those who are not well versed in wine types, it had a very high sugar content.  Ergo, it seemed closer in taste to fruit juice in comparison to a more intense and full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon.  Another fun fact about this delicious Korean wine is that supposedly it promotes mens’ sexual health and drive.  Personally, I didn’t feel any sort of heightening of my sexual spidey senses or anything like that.  Perhaps it’s just another gimmick to sell more wine.  As for the flower wine, I have sampled two varieties:  Baekhwaju and another variety that I don’t know the name of.  The Baekhwaju is made with over 100 different flowers (Baek in Korean means 100), and it was very smooth.IMG_0025  It was like drinking a chamomile tea with minimal alcohol aftertaste.  The other bottle was a bit more intense in regard to flavor, and I think that it might have been Dugyeonju which is made with azalea petals.IMG_0024  It was slightly more viscous than the 100 flower wine which also added a texture factor that I didn’t particularly enjoy.  Moving on from that slightly negative note, next is a rice wine that I greatly  relish in imbibing.

Makkoli is a rice wine that I actually really enjoy compared to the other Korean beverages I’ve tried so far.IMG_1172  I knew Japan had its signature sake rice wine, but I didn’t know that Korea had their own version of it.  While sake is consumed either cold or warm, Makkoli is typically consumed while cold.  It’s a blend of rice, wheat, and water which ends up as a drink that looks almost like milk.  The first time I had Makkoli was during our orientation trip to Ganghwa island outside of Incheon, and we had lunch at a peasant village with a Korean tour group.  While we were eating our kimchi and chapchae, a bright green bottle caught my eye on the table.  I poured some of the milky liquid into my cup, and I was very satisfied with the taste.  It was almost like drinking a carbonated vanilla milkshake minus the richness of the butterfat and instead had a slight alcohol aftertaste.  Still, not too bad, and I definitely enjoy it more than drinking soju even though both have very low alcohol percentages.  Then there is Korean beer…

Buying mekju in Korea is buying in bulk

Buying mekju in Korea is buying in bulk

Asia really isn’t known for having amazing beer like traditional  brewmasters Germany, England, and the USA due to varying local resources, but Korean breweries have seemingly modeled most of their beers off of many of the large American lagers like Budweiser and Coors.  The three biggest brands are Hite, OB, and Cass.  I’ve tried all three, and they’re nothing to brag about.  They’re pretty run of the mill in terms of taste (minimal hops and quite thin in regard to body), but at least they’re affordable compared to foreign beers.  Sadly they don’t have any dark beer to speak of, but beggars can’t be choosers when in a different place.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this special post celebration 60 wonderful posts of food and drink adventures.  Raise a glass and here’s to 60 more!

2 Comments

Posted in Alcoholic, Beverages, South Korean and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

It’s Easy Being Green

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Mark T

Hello and welcome to part two of my Easter special on Mastication Monologues!  Today I am going to be talking about a classic Korean noodle shop that my friend introduced me to for Easter lunch.

Even though I’m far away from friends and family back home, I at least found a Catholic cathedral in Korea that I could go to to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.  I was interested to see the Koreans’ take on mass since I have been to services in other foreign countries, and each nation has their own take on the Catholic rites.  I went to the Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul on a beautiful Sunday, and the Church was pretty impressive in size and design (Gothic, specifically).  After mass, I didn’t have anything planned for this lazy Sunday since there strangely wasn’t anything Easter themed to do in a country that has tons of fervent Christians yet not even one type of Easter candy or colorful egg.  So my friend, Steph, met up with me for lunch since we both were starving.  We ended up at Myeongdong Gyoja which is a Korean noodle house that has been open for over forty years in Seoul.gyo

They are known for their kalguksu or hand cut noodles, and only have four to five dishes on their menu.  Most of them are noodle broth meals, but they do offer steamed dumplings as well.  Steph told me that their specialty was the meat broth option, but I saw the spicy noodle option (bi bim guksu).  Obviously, I gave into my weakness for all things spicy and decided to give it a try.  The service was very prompt in the extremely busy and semi-cramped restaurant.  You also share tables with other diners if it’s just two of you, so just a heads up for those of you looking for a place to have an intimate conversation or want a bit more privacy while dining.  It was 8,000 won upfront for the noodles along with some kimchi banchan, a bowl of beef broth, rice, and gum for the ubiquitous after-dinner breath in Korea.IMG_1353  All of it looked very fresh and elegantly presented especially the noodles that were unlike any noodles I have seen before in Korea. They were a deep forest green!  It didn’t really deter me much as I tucked into the verdant jumble of deliciousness.  The noodles were very supple and thin and were thickly coated in red pepper powder and gochujang chili sauce.  Plus, bi bim guksu is a cold noodle dish, so I was kind of caught off guard with the first bite.  It wasn’t too spicy for yours truly, but every bite contained an undercurrent of cucumber notes that came from the cucumber slices that were hiding underneath the green tangle and the freshly julienned cukes on the side.  By the time I reached the end of the bowl, I was filling up fast on the glorious noodles, but I had room for finishing off the kimchi.  I’m going to say it now, but this was the first bowl of kimchi that actually was somewhat spicy.  For some reason, the chili sauce they doused the cabbage in had a strange numbing-spiciness I could only liken to a Sichuan chili sauce I had at my friend David’s hot-pot dinner (See Drop It Like It’s Hot Pot).  There was also a lot of garlic powder in it, hence the gum.  I had two helpings of this fiery side-dish much to the surprise of one of the waitresses who went along scooping more into other diners’ bowls.  So if you like spice, definitely check out the kimchi at Myeongdong Gyoja.  As for the beef broth, it was very simple but intensely flavorful.  I’m sure it was quite high in sodium like a lot of broths, but it tasted like I was biting into a succulent steak roasted by God on this holy day.

Anyway, I give Meyongdong Gyoja the waygookin (foreigner) seal of approval if you want to try a piece of Korean traditional cuisine in a famous place or at least try some kimchi that lives up to its spicy reputation.

Leave a comment

Posted in Far East Asian Cuisine, South Korean and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →
Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started