If you ask me why I am going to Seoul and I answer honestly, food is in the top three. Possibly top two.
Korean cuisine is one of the most interesting food cultures in the world and it does not get the same global recognition as Japanese or Thai food, which I think is a significant oversight. The depth of flavour, the fermentation traditions, the way heat and sweet and sour and savoury coexist in a single dish. I have been cooking Korean food at home for two years and I know I have been doing a version of it. I want to eat the real thing.
The street food list
Tteokbokki. Chewy rice cakes in a spicy gochujang sauce. I have made this at home more times than I can count and I need to know what I have been approximating.
Hotteok. Sweet pancakes filled with brown sugar, honey, and nuts. Eaten from a paper cup on a cold November street. This one is non-negotiable.
Odeng. Fish cake skewers in a warm broth. The broth alone is worth stopping for.
Gyeran-ppang. Egg bread. A soft, slightly sweet bread baked fresh with a whole egg inside. I have seen this in more K-dramas than I can name.
The restaurant list
I want at least one proper Korean barbecue experience where you grill the meat yourself at the table. Samgyeopsal, thick pork belly, is what I am going for first.
Bibimbap in a dolsot, a sizzling stone pot. The crispy rice that forms at the bottom is the part I am most excited about.
Sundubu-jjigae. Silken tofu stew, spicy, with an egg cracked into it at the table. This is winter comfort food and I will be eating it in winter.
The market I am most excited about
Gwangjang Market is the oldest market in Seoul and the food stalls there are famous. Bindaetteok, mung bean pancakes fried fresh. Mayak gimbap, tiny rolls of rice and vegetables that are apparently addictive enough to have been named after the Korean word for narcotics.
I am going to eat everything on this list. I am going to write about all of it. And I suspect this list is going to get longer the closer we get to November.
