1. raw blue crab in spicy broth - a meal we splurged on in the insadong district of seoul. we were each served a whole blue crab, legs and claws cracked, served in a soy sauce based broth, slightly sweetened and seasoned with sesame, scallions and fresh chiles. it was ice cold, sweet and very spicy. we were a little trepidatious in getting started, but once we had gotten a taste for it, there was no stopping us. the primary accompaniments were toasted nori (seaweed) squares and steamed white rice seasoned with cooked black beans. the server, realizing we were inept americans (even if i am a professionally trained chef…), showed us how to scoop the rice, dredge it through the crab broth wrap the nori around it and make a delicious little snack in-between picking apart the crab. admittedly, this was the first time i had raw crab like this, it was very sweet and almost creamy in texture - arguably the tastiest blue crab preparation i have ever had. although, i hear that the chile crab in singapore will probably top it, a test i am looking forward to. along with the crab, we were served a wide array of banchan and other little shared dishes, including cold ribbon fish with stewed onion, pumpkin and celery in chile sauce; a bubbling, spicy hot pot of clams, crab and tofu in a slightly fermented fish broth; a cold radish consommÈ flavored with rose water (maybe?); a warm sweetened pumpkin bisque; assorted pickled mushrooms, greens and radishes; kimchi (maybe the best we had, effervescent like a perfect kosher dill); salad greens with a creamy ginger dressing; and for dessert, an ice cold tea steeped with cinnamon and garnished with a raw pine nut. a pretty elaborate, not to mention enormous, meal for 40,000W (about $45).
2. traditional salted, grilled mackerel - a lunch we had a little outside of andong. andong is a popular stop in korea, mainly because it has maintained much of the traditional charm of old korea. one such tradition is the art of salting fresh mackerel. there are several mackerel restaurants along the nakdong river, all serving similar dishes for about the same price. we picked what looked to be the most crowded and walked in. after being escorted to a table in the main dining room, where everyone (all korean) would be able to watch us and critic our dining abilities, we played charades with the owner (since he spoke the most english) and settled upon the modestly priced, grilled salted mackerel meal for two. within about ten minutes, we were served a crispy, hot-off-the-grill split mackerel along with boribap, steamed rice with barley, hot miso-seaweed soup, a few different types of kimchi, salted cabbage and leeks, fresh greens with cucumber dressing, pickled leek bulbs (just the oniony bottoms) with a spicy chile hot sauce, shoyu marinated quail eggs and konyaku ( a type of japanese wheat gluten cake, i don't know the korean name…) with fresh chiles and fried chile peppers served cold with a sesame soy marinade. the mackerel was moist, perfectly cooked, a little salty and crispy from the grill. it was an amazing experience, especially considering the price - 6000W a person (about $13 total). i think we made a good showing, leaving only the fish bones and empty plates behind.
3. jjimdak in andong. on the back streets of the food market in andong, we found a little street full of small restaurants all serving jjimdak, a spicy chicken, rice noodle, vegetable and soy stew loaded with chile peppers and sweetened with korean corn syrup. after mustering up the courage to walk into what looked like a 'locals only' type of place, i attempted to decipher the korean menu. after a few minutes of examination, i found the characters for jjimdak and pointed to it for the server and cook to see. they nodded in approval and quickly went to work on what would turn into a feast for two people… about fifteen minutes later the cook, whose pictures adorned the walls posing with news reports and what must have been korean celebs, brought in an enormous wok full of food. she quickly poured the bubbling mixture into a clay casserole pan and the server quickly brought it to the table, showing us how to cut the rice noodles with the scissors and then retreating to the kitchen area to watch us fumble around trying to serve ourselves (a common pastime among the servers who have helped us through he last two weeks). the jjimdak was sublime, unlike any other korean food thus far in our trip and almost overwhelming in volume. we had our work cut out for us, but after skipping breakfast and waiting until late in the afternoon we were ready for the challenge. jjimdak is composed of chicken chopped into manageable pieces, lots of rice noodles, carrots, potatoes, bitter greens, fresh red chiles and a little ginger. the cooking liquid was a deep rich brown, made up of chicken stock, korean corn syrup, soy sauce and more ground chiles. as the food started to disappear, the liquid did too as the rice noodles expanded, soaking it all up and turning a translucent brown color themselves. as we made our way to the bottom of the dish, it was evident that the cook and serve team were pleased with our progress as they periodically checked in on us. as our bellies filled up, we gradually started to recline more and more on the ondol floors (heated from below) - they were so comfortable, it took all of my energy to not lay down and take a nap right there. after paying the bill, we made our way back into the cold november air and slowly walked around the city for a little while before retiring to our room for that inevitable late afternoon nap.
4. bibimbap in haeinsa. we visited haeinsa temple, a UNESCO heritage site outside of daegu on a day trip one afternoon. after the bus ride we were ready for lunch before hiking around the national park and temple grounds. sometimes, you have the best dining experiences when you are least expecting it. we thought we would have a quick, cheap lunch of dolsot bibimbap (rice, assorted veggies, egg and chile paste in a hot clay pot) for lunch since it is an easy meal and filling. we took a recommendation out of lonely planet and headed to the restaurant on the second floor of the bus depot. since i never expect culinary genius above a bus station, we were very surprised when served a perfectly arranged hot clay pot of rice, raw egg yolk and assorted mountain vegetables from right in the area. the banchan accompanying the meal took the experience to next level and included, boiled glazed fresh peanuts; crispy deep fried, sugar glazed chile peppers that were more like candy than chiles; spinach greens, salted and dressed with sesame; dried fermented shrimp with a chile glaze, pickled beef and garlic, kimchi, tofu-peanut stew in fermented fish broth; and salted kimchi diakon radish. after lunch, it took a few minutes for me to muster up the excitement to make the hike up to the temple compound. i guess for a chef, sometimes the food is the main attraction…
5. korean barbeque - on almost every street corner in korea, we have found some variation of the korean barbeque. beef, pork, chicken, even tofu - all grilled over hot coals at your table and accompanied by lettuce (red oak) and sesame leaves (spot on shiso leaves with a less pronounced flavor), chile paste, raw onions in shoyu, sesame oil with salt and pepper, shaved leeks or scallions dressed with a spicy chile sauce, assorted kimchi, pickles, soft tofu dressed with raw chiles, shoyu, seaweed and sesame and some sort of sweet (not spicy…) dish, more often than not a few pieces of fruit or lettuce with a mayonnaise based sweet dressing. our first of several barbeque meals was at a restaurant in the itaewon district of seoul (after the sauna experience if you read alina's entry). we ordered beef striploin and pork belly meat. afterwards we realized that the pork was better and not even half the price - as is often the case, less expensive cuts of meat tend to be more flavorful… anyways, the beef was very well marbled, akin to kobe beef, and the pork was basically thick sliced bacon. as the pork rendered out it's fat on the grill it transformed into crispy charred pieces, sizzling hot - awesome. wrapped with the cold lettuce leaves, seasoned with sesame, sea salt and chile and laced with the spicy scallions, it makes for a sublime meal.
street food - i know, street food is a little harder to pin down than the previous five, but koreans know how to do street food right. vendors sell their specialties along every street, off of carts, the backs of trucks, in make shift roadside tents and even out of the back of their vans. you can eat a wide range of food, from tofu skewers, fish cakes, hot dogs, corn dogs, snails, silk worm larvae (one we didn't try) to walnut cakes, noodles, mandu, red bean cakes, blood sausage, tripe and liver. the list is pretty much endless. it is funny, because many little restaurants offer the same basic dishes at sit down tables for a few dollars more, but it seems like something is lost in translation once it makes it's way to the table. we ate some type of street food every day and it's safe to say that it was always better standing outside eating it like the locals do. most vendors offer chopsticks, dipping sauces and a large thermos of hot green tea. hard to beat when the prices rarely exceed $2… - david
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