As y'all current of air your agency through Seoul, the smells in addition to sites of nutrient are everywhere. From fine dining to nutrient carts, Korea has dining opportunities, traditional in addition to international alike.
Korean nutrient is a constantly evolving cuisine. Traditionally, meals were served amongst many plates of banchan (side dishes.) Diets were based upon meat, rice in addition to vegetables. Dishes varied yesteryear province. Food was nearly residuum amongst hot in addition to cold, sweetness in addition to salty, spicy in addition to mild tastes to give harmony.
But force aside the kimchi, gimpap, in addition to galbi, because nosotros are going to beak nearly to a greater extent than or less other side of Korean cuisine. Korea is also known to swallow to a greater extent than or less wild, unique in addition to extreme/strange foods!
For our outset foreign nutrient experience, a grouping of brave souls accompanied me to Noryangin Fish Market inward search of 3 unusual in addition to fishy ‘Korean Eats.’ Noryangin fish marketplace is a wholesale in addition to retail fish marketplace equally good equally an auction house. It is located inward the Noryangjin-dong Neighborhood inward Dongjak-gu merely S of the Han River. The Noryangin station on Metro Line ane is correct close the market. Take Exit 1 in addition to walk nether the span to uncovering it. The marketplace is opened upwards 24 hours a day!
The fish is in addition to then fresh that, when y'all piece of occupation into the building, in that location is barely whatsoever seafood odor. Many of the fish are soundless alive! It is similar a delicious aquarium. The marketplace is bustling amongst an estimated 30,000 visitors daily, in addition to 40,000 employees.
As y'all walk upwards in addition to downwards the rows, hundreds of varieties of fish surroundings you. Merchants’ shouts offering to present in addition to sell y'all their finest catch! We browsed through the fish inward search of my desired foreign seafood dishes:
Live Octopus – Sannakji (산낙지)
Fermented Stingray – Hongeo (홍어)
Live Spoon Worm-Gaebul
None of these items were difficult to find. We shortly discovered a merchant who carried all three. The store possessor showed us the octopus, letting its long legs dangle from her glove. After this nosotros moved onto the spoon worm. Spoon worm is ane of the strangest looking animals I receive got always seen. It looks similar a really large earthworm that swims. As the merchant took the spoon worm out of the aquarium, H2O squirted from its insides. Finally nosotros chose to a greater extent than or less fermented stingray in addition to a few less unique pieces of seafood. The fermented stingray had no initial odor. It was a site to see, equally the animate beingness was filleted but soundless left amongst it’s stinger inward tact.
Once y'all brand your buy at the market, merchants volition fillet in addition to laid upwards the seafood for you. From in that location y'all tin select from many of their restaurants located upstairs. The restaurants volition laid upwards the nutrient all the same y'all similar for a small-scale additional fee.
Live Octopus – Nakji (낙지)
I couldn’t believe my eyes equally this dish was brought to the table. The octopus was cutting into pieces, but the legs continued to quickly motility on the plate. It takes a really skilled chopstick user to fifty-fifty survive able to selection upwards a piece. When I in conclusion got a concur of ane of the wiggling legs, I attempted to house it inward my mouth. The suctions on the leg immediately stuck to my lips. I pried it off in addition to did instruct it inward my mouth. A slimy, chewy in addition to mild tasting animate beingness roughshod onto my gustatory modality buds. It took me nearly a infinitesimal to chew the leg plenty to swallow it. If y'all tin instruct yesteryear the texture, in addition to your dinner literally crawling off your plate, octopus isn’t in addition to then bad.
It is of import to survive careful when eating survive octopus. It is required to thoroughly chew your nutrient because the suctions on the octopus are soundless active when consuming it. Some Koreans swallow small-scale survive octopus whole. One has to survive cautious, however. If the animate beingness is equally good large or non chewed enough, the legs tin instruct stuck inward your windpipe in addition to suffocate you. Yikes! We luckily all made it out alive. I receive got to say, however, that equally I write this, I instruct the eerie feeling that something is soundless slithering inward my throat...
Raw Spoon Worm-Gaebul (개불)
Live spoon worm or urechis unicinctus is merely equally foreign equally foreign gets when it comes to appearance. The fish is ordinarily referred to equally the fatty innkeeper worm or penis fish. I prefer my husband’s description as, “The weird alien swimming worm fish.” Korea is ane of the entirely places inward the populace that eats raw spoon worm, amongst the exception of selected parts of Japan.
When beingness served Gaebul, the worm was also cutting into pieces. I tin honestly tell that I enjoyed the gustatory modality of this fish. It was the mildest of our 3 dishes, having a similar gustatory modality to raw oysters amongst a chewy (instead of slimy) texture.
Fermented Skate fish – Hongeo (홍어)
Fermented stingray or skate has been referred to equally “the smelliest delicacy inward the world.” Interestingly, ane 3rd of all foods are fermented. Koreans receive got genuinely embraced the fermenting procedure in addition to invented hundreds of fermented dishes. Hongeo easily wins the championship of the strangest fermented Korean food.
It is said that Hongeo came to existence yesteryear accident, when a grouping of pirates were traveling from Heuksan Island. They carried a diverseness of fish habitation amongst them, which all spoiled. There was ane exception. The stingray fermented instead of spoiling. The pirates enjoyed the tangy gustatory modality of this fish in addition to brought it dorsum to the mainland. From that, this accidental dish would survive enjoyed for decades to come. Argh!
The skate fish is non technically a stingray. It is from the stark family, but really similar inward appearance to a small-scale stingray. For this argue it is ordinarily misnamed.
Hongeo is apartment in addition to comprised completely of cartilage. Instead of urinating the fish passes a uric acid through its skin. Through this procedure ammonia enters the peel causing skillful bacteria to grow which prevents the fish from rotting. The ammonia produces probiotics. It is said in that location are 100 times to a greater extent than probiotics inward skate fish than inward yogurt. So savour - this ‘strange eat’ is skillful for you!
The ammonia gives off a potent olfactory holding in addition to extremely pungent experience. One must instruct a gustatory modality for eating skate fish. You may non similar it if y'all swallow it once, but don’t worry. After x times, you’ll laid about to crave it!
It is mutual to swallow skate fish amongst boiled pork belly in addition to kimchi inward a lettuce wrap. I ate the fish inward this fashion. Initially I did non notice an overwhelming smell. I was instructed to house the entire wrap inward my mouth, the traditional agency to swallow the fish. I did equally I was told. I began to chew. The fish was extremely chewy, but I institute it had footling taste. It was when I swallowed, that I was striking amongst an overwhelming chemic taste. My nasal passages were cleared in addition to I almost roughshod backwards amongst shock. Wow! This sure was a really foreign eating experience. I suggest entirely the really brave in addition to strong-stomached to examine Hongeo.
