Street food in Seoul

My experiences with food and different cuisines were some of the highlights of my backpacking trip this summer. It's been no different in Korea, where the food has yet to disappoint.

Closest-furthest: tempura, odeng, dukbokki, dukbokki w/ sundae (photo cred)

My first night in Seoul, we flew into Incheon Interational Airport at 11pm. We hopped on the last subway headed for the Hongdae district in downtown Seoul . First sight upon exiting from the subway station: STREET FOOD STANDS (I was starving because apparently Air Asia doesn't believe that passengers require anything besides drinks on six hour flights). Stands are UBIQUITOUS across the city and typically operate well into the AM hours, with many of them running 24 hours. You can usually expect the same mix of foods at every street food stand in Seoul. You've got your run-of-the-mill...

Dukbokki (떡볶이): A staple street food, and by far MY FAVORITE. Dukbokki is a dish made with sliced ddeok (rice cake), gochujang (hot pepper paste), odeng (fish cake), and green onions. I love it for its spice and for the distinctly chewy texture of the rice cake. You'll see food vendors here constantly stirring a huge rectangular pan of gochujang sauce with ddeok, so as to prevent the ddeok from sticking and burning. They simply refill the pan with more ddeok pieces once they run low on ddeok. Mmm...

Odeng (오뎅): Odeng is fish cake, made from pureed fish and wheat flour. It's an ingredient in dukbokki, but you'll often see it threaded onto sticks like kebabs, simmering in a salty broth (vendors will usually give you a small cup of it with your order of odeng). It's mild and savory, and sometimes it really hits the spot for a small snack!

Sundae (순대): Err, there really isn't any way of describing sundae in an appetizing manner, but I promise it tastes better than it sounds. BASICALLY, sundae is pork intestine stuffed with cellophane noodles, barley, pork blood, and seasoning. Yummy, right? When you think about it, it's pretty close to your average sausage, probably the Korean equivalent of the American hot dog. It's savory, satisfying, and pretty tasty when done right! Street vendors usually have a long length of this "sausage", and when you order sundae, they will cut off pieces using scissors, then provide you a tiny pile of chili salt to dip the sundae in. It has a chewy texture because of the noodles, and when I had it, it was good dipped in the dukbokki sauce.

Tempura: Deep-fried potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn dogs, potato-covered corn dogs, a million varieties of sausage, shrimp, even kimbap! I've only had the sweet potato tempura, which is delicious :9

Food ranges from ₩500 - ₩5,000. Pretty ingenious/convenient how they serve the food, if you ask me; most stands use small, reusable plates that are simply covered in a thin plastic bag. They pile up your order on the plate and after you're finished eating, just the bag is discarded and voilà - a clean plate ready for immediate use.