Review: Korea

I know. I know. Much to everyone’s dismay, there hasn’t been a FREATS post in a quite a while. With school over and summer well underway, I haven’t touched a task that’s required brainpower – so much so that I even escaped abroad for 2 weeks. I spent these past 2 weeks exploring the streets of Korea and Japan, soaking in sites and devouring some dishes. Both these countries are so culturally and historically rich, with beautiful palaces, sprawling nature, and bustling streets; but obviously, I’m here to discuss food.

Korean cuisine is largely based around rice, vegetables, and meat. It often emphasizes fermented and pickled dishes such as kimchi and pickled radish. These 2 side dishes are extremely common in Korea, and you’ll likely receive them with every single meal. The kimchi in Korea is much better than that in Toronto, as they’re able to use higher quality and fresher ingredients. The depth of flavours, texture, and health benefits make kimchi something you can enjoy with any meal. It’s also interesting to see how different restaurants and vendors add their own twist to it, whether it’s the sweetness, crunch, or even the pungent-ness. It’s one of my favourite side dishes but I think eating it for literally every meal has gotten me tired of it. By the way, when I say every meal, we really did eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – I don’t know how Koreans do it.

Street food is also immensely popular in Korea, with lively night markets and vendors lining the streets and alleyways of cities. Some popular items are tteokbokki (rice cake), mandu (dumplings), tanghulu (fruits coated in hardened sugar syrup), and sundae (not ice cream, but blood sausage). Unfortunately, we never tried sundae, but the tteokbokki and mandu were amazing there. The tteokbokki was so chewy and was coated in a spicy, almost sweet sauce that gave it a really nice kick. Each bite was not only satisfying but comforting as well. Mandu is just a term Korean’s use for dumplings and can come in various different ways, whether big or small, steamed or pan-fried. One of my favourite meals I had this trip was from Gaeseong Mandu Koong, a restaurant on the Michelin Guide serving mandu and jeon.

These huge mandu which are filled to the brim with napa cabbage and meat are the size of your palm. We got the Steamed Pork Mandu and the Mandu Soup. The skin was soft and didn’t fall apart despite the heaping amounts of filling inside. The filling was fresh, and the ingredients were all in unison, creating a harmonious bite. The soup broth is made with beef brisket and wasn’t heavy at all, which provided a different tasting experience compared to the steamed dish. Lastly, don’t sleep on their Jeon either, which is essentially a fried pancake. We ordered the Pepper and Chive Jeon which was perfectly crispy on the edges with a soft and aromatic filling. It was really cool to see a worker make the mandu at a table near us as a I got to compare their technique with the traditional Chinese way, which was really similar. Near Bukchon Hanok Village, a major attraction in Seoul, Gaeseong Mandu Koong is a must-visit, which is kind of ironic for me to say as we weren’t originally planning on going. I guess it was just a blessing in disguise as this place earns a FREATS rating of 9/10.

Noodles are also widely popular in Korea, with dishes such as jajangmyeon, japchae, and kalguksu enjoyed along with various others. When we went to the Seoul Tower, I was craving cold noodles because it was HOT. The noodles utilized in this dish are made with buckwheat and potato starch which makes them very chewy, which is why you cut them with scissors to make it easier to eat. These noodles are then topped with an ice-cold broth made from the brine of fermented radish water and beef stock. It was the perfect dish to counteract the scorching heat and humidity. The noodles were chewy, cold, and were able to soak up just the right amount of the broth’s flavour. The broth by itself was a little too strong for my liking but still provided a refreshing taste nonetheless.

Another dish we had with noodles was from Mapo Ok Beef Soup, which is another Michelin Guide restaurant serving seolleongtang, a bowl of soup made by boiling brisket and ox bones. Pair this with rice, noodles, and slices of tender brisket, and you have a simple yet comforting meal. The soup was so light and refreshing while the beef was tender, but not that flavourful. Overall, this meal was delicious, but nothing that blew me out of the water. As such, Mapo Ok Beef Soup gets a FREATS rating of 8/10.

The last thing I wanted to cover was grilled food. Cooking your own food is very popular in Korea and we went to both a skewer and barbecue place. In Korea, their barbecue is based on meat quality and creating the perfect bite. Pork belly is often the meat of choice; however, several different cuts and types of meat are used. The side dishes offer different flavour profiles, whether it’s through texture or taste. The restaurant that we went to cooked the meat for us and it was a juicy, greasy love-fest. The kebabs that we had were also amazing - the meat was tender and juicy while the outside was nicely charred with a smokey flavour. With such great options, it’s no wonder going out with your co-workers for dinner after a long day is such a common occurrence.

Korea is a country with such a unique culture around food. It’s extremely common to eat out, even late at night. When we ate at a local restaurant right beside our bnb at 11:30, I noticed people coming to catch up with their friends over fried chicken and beer. They have such a wide range of dishes and it’s a shame I was only there for 1 week – I wasn’t able to try so many of their popular and renowned foods. With their excellent fermenting techniques, bustling street food scene, and emphasis on fresh and high-quality ingredients, Korea has a food scene that’s a joy to experience. While I may not have been able to try everything this time, there’ll definitely be a time in the foreseeable future where I return to finish my conquest of Korean cuisine.

I’ve got nothing but love for Korea despite the humid weather. Stay on the lookout for the Japan edition coming out soon and thanks for reading everyone!