Streets of Seoul : Desire of the Culinary Kind

Compared to most other Indian colleagues and friends in Seoul I seem to be quite eager to experiment around with food. I will restrain myself from writing about why they are not. I would rather focus on my experiences. Somewhere I find a lot of similarities between India and Korea when I look at the range of foodstuff available on Seoul Streets.

Tempuras are very popular here and they make them out of anything. For the uninitiated a Tempura could be compared to the Indian Pakora. Its basically a batter fried anything. The batter is a mix of flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. The tempura owes its crispiness and colour to this mix when fried. The most popular tempuras on the streets are the ones made of sweet potatoes, brinjals ((aubergine), potatoes, shrimps, boiled eggs and octopus.

Fruits especially Pineapple pieces conveniently installed on a stick is quite popular. Another popular item are the rice cakes. There are quite a lot of variations with different fillings of bean paste or fruit jams. You would also find rice cakes cut into pieces mixes with hot chill sauce and people loving it.

I am sure you would have noticed the different varieties of meats barbecued and available all over. While they look delicious, they actually are.

Then you would find those fellows selling peanuts, walnuts, chestnuts and other sago (rawa or suji) based items either salted or sweet. You also find sweets made of puffed rice (murmura) and sugar syrup.

In Singil station, there is this biscuit vendor selling at least 20-30 types of biscuits and cookies. You would find them elsewhere too.

Typically Korean, the dried Octopus and Squids are very popular as a snack. I have seen the local kids freaking out on them. I have tried them too, and they are not too bad!! They are a good exercise for the gums.

Another extremely Korean specialty, are the boiled silk worms. I had the courage of trying them once after three or four shots of Soju and they were cool. I dare you to try them.

Have you seen those small carts selling fish shaped sweet patties with bean curd filling? They are quite good and the best part for me is that they are not too sweet. My favourite one sits very near Gondeok Station Exit 3.

If you like oysters, you could visit the small street behind Seoul Cinema in Jongno 3 ga. The street is known as Oyster Street and you would find anything to do with them.

The standard popcorns are quite good, but I like the ones available just outside Mapo station.

Fish cakes are a standard item and especially on a cold evening, boiled fish cakes in soup could warm you up. There is more stuff available all over but perhaps I will stop here. If you are a vegetarian that you have reached this point in piece is itself an achievement. I promise to look out for more vegetarian stuff, but till such time if you are mind allow you, the goodies around are waiting for you! Sphere: Related Content