Korean Restaurant: Night Snack
Korea is considered paradise when it comes to food. It has it all: Korean, Western, Chinese, and of course such fast food restaurants like McDonald's and Burger King as well as foreign restaurant chains Bennigan's and Outback Steak House. Among these choices the most reasonably priced food can found at street vendors. Korea is unique in that not only does it have street carts to buy food from, but at night the streets are transformed with small tents that pop-up selling reasonable priced food and alcohol. At street carts,
you can choose to eat standing beside the cart or have your food wrapped-up to bring home. Most Korean people consider the food sold here as a snack and is not usually eaten as the main meal. Many street vendors can be found near Sinchon, E-dae, Hongdae, and near many other university areas as well as in the popular shopping districts of Apgujeong, Jongno, Myeong-dong, and Gangnam Station. Seasons also have unique specialties; bingsu is a refreshing iced treat in the summer whereas warm soup, gimbap, hotteok and bungeo-ppang are enjoyed in the fall and winter.
Gimbap
Cooked rice is slightly seasoned with sesame oil, salt, and sesame seeds. Then it is placed on a sheet of dried laver.
Strips of ham, pickled radish, seasoned
spinach, and egg are then placed close together on the rice;
it is then carefully rolled together until the roll is evenly shaped. The street vendors usually sell a mini-roll.
Buchimgae/Jeon
Kimchi or seafood is stirred in a floor mixture, and then pan-fried in oil. Depending on the ingredients of choice, some types of buchimgae include Kimchi-jeon and seafood-jeon.
Tteokbokgi
TRice powder is steamed and made into a long cylinder-shaped rice cake called garaetteok. It is cut into finger size pieces and cooked in a spicy and sweet sauce. Meat, vegetables or ramyeon can be added depending on different tastes. Tteokbokgi, along with gimbap and odaeng (skewered fish cake), is one of the most common foods sold by street vendors.
Sundae
This is a traditional sausage made of pig intestines stuffed with a mixture of bean curd, vegetables and potato noodles.
Eomuk
This is usually referred to as odaeng. Odaeng is a kind of fish cake. The fish cake is made of ground fish. This fish cake is then skewered and soaked in boiling water along with radish and green onions. This popular dish is especially loved during the cold winter months.
Twigim
This crispy fried treat is made in the same style as Japanese Tempura. Squid, dumplings, sweet potatoes, imitation crab, and assorted vegetables are among some of the most popular varieties of Twigim that served up on the street.
Bungeo-ppang
Bungeo-ppang gets its name from its fish-like shape. This sweet snack is molded in the shape of a carp, which is called 'bungeo' in Korean. A pancake batter-like shell is filled with red-bean paste and then baked; it is especially enjoyed in the winter. Gukwa-ppang is shaped like a flower and is slightly smaller than that of the similar tasting bungeo-ppang. Gyeran-ppang is also made of a pancake batter-like shell, but this is filled with an egg instead of the red bean filling.
Hotteok
Flour and sugar are kneaded together and shaped into a small ball. Vegetables are sometimes added to the batter. Sugar and cinnamon are usually the staple fillings.
Jwipo/ Dried Squid
Jwipo is a type of dried fish. At street carts, Jwipo and dried squid are roasted over a bed of pebbles.
Dak-kkochi
Small pieces of chicken are skewered, coated in spicy sauce, and then grilled.
