Gyeongbok Palace - Starch Attack

On Sunday we returned to Gyeongbokgung for an English-language tour. I enjoyed walking around the King's Quarters barefoot. Food venders lined the palace's exterior wall:

Chestnuts are a nut by nature but not by nutrition. The chestnut's high starch content rivals that of the potato. It's low in fat and a good source of vitamin C and iron. A 100-g serving has 201 kcals, 45 g carbs, 1 g fat, 3 g protein, 47% of vit C, and 12% iron. For comparison, 100-g of baked potato contains 21 g carbs.

Another vendor actually sold potatoes (and grilled squid):

The potatoes reminded me of the greasy potato sticks my sister loved as a kid. Do cold, thin-cut, oily fries taste good? Crusty, thick-cut, seasoned steak fries with a ramekin of ketchup sound better to me!

The Fruit Man Near Yongsan Station

My friend's favorite fruit man was out late on Sunday night. One bag for 2000 won!They've been pretty bland so far. I hope he threw at least one sweet one in my bag!

Green Buns in Dongdaemun

Most of the shops in Dongdaemun were closed over New Year's weekend, but I still managed to buy something new:

Green tea buns filled with sweet red bean!

The bun was hot, filling, and well worth the 1000 won. The texture of the green-dyed bread resembled that of damp bread with big air holes. The red bean provided most of the flavor.

I was happy that I could finally try a steamed bun. They're normally filled with "mystery meat" that I will not eat. Red bean filling is my favorite fiber source!

E-mart and Buns

On our walk to E-mart, we have somewhat of a ritual. First we look for the lady selling Korean popcorn or the man selling persimmons. Then we walk past the numerous tents of street foods and always vow to take photos next time. We always smell at least one rotten or sour odor. We sneak looks down the vacant street of the "red-light district," where doll-like women pretty themselves behind glass windows. On our return trip, we stop by the bootleg DVD tent to check for the latest seasons of our favorite TV shows. Finally, right before crossing the street, we stop at this tiny shop for steamed buns:Due to language differences, we never know what fillings the buns contain. All we can do is point and hope for the best:

I guess the surprise is part of the fun! (Note to my family: No, I do not partake in this surprise.)

Fish Bread

Cold weather indicates the beginning of fishing season. By fishing, I mean finding a street vendor who sells pang ap bang. Pang ap bang literally means "bread without fish." The fish-shaped cooked dough is actually filled with sweet red bean, not fish paste. It costs 1000 won for three. (Less than a dollar these days, with a rate of 1401 won per dollar as of Nov 30.)

Too bad I missed out on these sweet treats last year. The fish shape scared me away!

Piano Man Does Korea

On Saturday night we went to Olympic Stadium for a Billy Joel concert. I hadn't been to an indoor concert since MC Hammer in the late eighties! Anyway, here was the view of the stadium, where Seoul also hosted the Olympics in 1988:For some reason, I assumed that the food vendors would sell standard stadium fare - burgers, beer, pizza, fries, hot dogs. Instead, vendors sold street food from makeshift stands:Concert-goers dined on ramen, tteokpokki, soup, extra greasy dough-covered hot dogs, and canned Cass Beer. Could you imagine trying to take a bowl of soup back to your seat?

Chicken Drippins'

This lady sells fresh-cooked rotisserie chicken from the back of her bongo truck. This photo serves as proof of hygienic cooking practices: raw chicken at the bottom, lightly cooked in the center, and crispy-cooked at the top. My friend said she would not buy that chicken unless she knew the cooking order. Well, here is her proof. Now she can give it a try! 12,000W for two birds ($6 each).

Korean Popcorn

Every month my friend and I walk to Korea Telecom to pay our bills. I always buy a sack of popcorn on our way back to work. If this popcorn were sold in the U.S., I would be a popcorn fiend. The popped corn is large and gently sweet, with no added oils. I didn't know that a natural popcorn could be so flavorful. I find it hard to believe that popcorn can naturally taste so sweet, but it does. Everyone who translates the label tells me popcorn is the only ingredient.
Convenience stores and street vendors usually sell the popcorn pre-packaged. You can find bags the size of large pillowcases for sale.
At first I thought that the vendors popped the corn themselves. Now I'm not sure since all the popcorn packaging looks the same.
The twist tie is the only safety precaution. In the U.S. one would not find popcorn packaged in this way. It would only be a matter of time before someone dumped staples or poison into one of the bags!

Delimanjoo

The sweet smell of freshly baked Delimanjoo cakes tempts me every time I transfer Metro trains at Samgakchi Station. Usually, the smell alone satisfies me, but sometimes I buy a small sack of the custard-filled mini cakes. I'm disappointed when the vendor hands me a pre-made sack; the best cakes are fresh off the griddle. That way the outside is crisp while the inside is hot and tender. The cakes aren't too sweet, and they're never greasy. One sack has about 320 calories according to the bag.
A small bag contains about 12-15 cakes (about 100 grams) and costs $2. You can only buy them at bus stations or subways, places that usually quell my appetite. Sometimes if you stand next to the griddle and look confused, the vendor will give you a free sample.
My mom enjoyed this treat but liked hotteok best. As for me, I like them all in moderation!

Hotteok at Namdaemun Market

We spent a few hours purse-hunting at Namdaemun Market. For a snack, we tried the Korean street food, hotteok, for a mere fifty cents. The Chinese brought this sweet-filled, fried dough to Korea in the 19th century. Suprisingly, wheat, not rice, flour is the main ingredient. The filling typically consists of brown sugar and nuts. It tends be greasy, though some merchants sell a healthier, baked variety. The vendor folds the hotteok in half and serves it in a small paper cup. It usually takes 10 minutes for it to cool enough to eat. (I always grow impatient and burn my fingers.)
My friend purchased a hotteok baking mix. I am looking forward to a hotteok-making party!

Sunday Snacks

I was searching for a unique baked good at the Lotte World food court...
...and found a green-tinged (green tea, perhaps) glutinous rice cake filled with brown sugar syrup.
Sandy opted for a chunk of pineapple on a stick at Namdaemun Market.

My Favorite Rest Area Treat

Rest areas are festive places with food courts, individual vendors, merchants, and bathrooms with 40+ stalls (including 1/2-sized stalls for kids!)
The vendors sell the foods one would normally buy on the street. The walnut cookies are my favorite. A better name for them would be "walnut & bean filled cakes," but the Korean name literally means "walnut cookie."
The machine squirts the batter into small walnut-sized molds. A second machine squirts the filling into the center. The freshly made product is crisp on the outside, soft in the center, and very hot! If you like red bean buns, then you would love walnut cookies. One sack contains about 10-15 and costs about $2.
Crisp outside
with a mashed, sweetened red bean and walnut center.
Delicious!