@ Gwangjang Market: Dinner Is Served!

Gwangjang Market is one of Korea's oldest markets. Although I pass by this market most of the time either on my way to Hyewha-dong or to Dongdaemun, I never had the chance to savor the bindaetteok this market is famous for. My binddaetteok usually came from Namdaemun Market as it's closer.

So, when my friend, Sasa's nephew Neil came to Seoul for his research, a chance came up! I invited my other two friends, Joonho and Hyunsung, to join me and Neil at the Gwangjang Market. 

We went there on a cold Thursday night, and were surprised that most restaurants and stalls were full! We couldn't even get a table at a restaurant; we had to wait!

               (A crowded night at the market)

       (Flaglets adorning the ceiling of the market; 
                         no Philippine though)

But after checking other bindaetteok places, we finally got lucky; we got a table on the second floor on one of the more popular restaurants. 

Bindae-tteok, or mung bean pancakes, are like hash browns in texture, and are made by grinding those beans and frying them in round shapes. I saw a Korean ajumma downstairs frying those binddae-tteoks. I wondered how many of these did she actually fry in a day. Must be hundreds! 

We ordered a binddae-tteok and a haemul pajeon, or seafood pancake, which was a mix of seafood, onions and other ingredients held up in a batter and also fried. The haemul pajeon usually needed a sauce dip.

And with bindae-tteok and haemul pajeon as our dinner, we introduced Neil to Korean cuisine at one of the oldest markets in Seoul. But the introductory lesson for Neil didn't stop with these dishes. 

After cleaning up both plates, we went around the market and decided to eat some more! This time, soondae! 

                (Mung beans being ground)

                         (Haemul pajeon)

                   (Bindaetteok on a plate)

I would usually enjoy soondae in a hot stone pot with rice, but this Korean delicacy is usually enjoyed as street food served in slices on a plate coupled with slices of cooked liver. Yes, liver!  

As if our Korean dinner at Gwangjang Market wasn't interesting enough, the Korean lady at the soondae stall told us she had been working at the market for about 50 years; she was in her 70s. She must know a lot of about the market's history! If only the stall could talk! Ha-ha-ha!

            (Bindaetteok: frying and cooked)

                       (Whole soondae)

       (Soondae slices topped with liver slices)

I have always enjoyed patronizing these markets in Seoul, where their delicacies could match those of pricey restaurants. Their dishes are not only better tasting; they're cheaper!

So, on a cold week night, our dinner of bindaetteok, haemul pajeon and soondae was served at one of Korea's oldest markets! I hope Neil enjoyed his introduction to Korean cuisine... with a piece of Korean history. 

(The Korean lady's soondae stall number; 
                         I plan to visit again)

PS. When in Seoul, Gwangjang Market is a few meters out of Exit 8 of Jongno 5-ga Station (Line 1). Just follow the smell of deep-fried bindae-tteok.

My Last Soondae of the Year!

Yes, it's my last hot stone pot of boiling soondae-kukbap of the year. Lunar year, that is!

Before the start of the five-day holiday in Korea to celebrate the new lunar year, I have to satisfy my craving for this Korean dish one last time before this restaurant, that's next the Korea Post building by the Exit 1 of Sinyongsan Station, closes for the holidays.

Soon-dae is up there as one of my favorite Korean dishes, right next to buddae-jiggae, al-tang, mandu, and patpingsu. Yes, a list of my favorite things is not complete without dessert. Ha-ha-ha! 

But it's not just the ordinary soon-dae that's served at any pojang-macha, sliced, salted and served. It's the soon-dae slices that are in a hot stone pot and swimming in a unique tasting broth of spices, herbs, black pepper, and cut innards. This is soondae-kukbap, or soondae in a hot broth and served with rice.  As soon-dae is actually in a form of a sausage, it has many varieties. Fillings range from cut innards of cows or pigs mixed with pig's blood, and cooked by putting all these inside an intestine that would now look like a long sausage, and then steamed.

And a few slices of it are submerged at the bottom of this hot stone pot, drowning in the broth whose smell alone makes a hungry customer salivate just by looking at the menu. Ha-ha-ha!

But these slices don't remain submerged in the pot for long. I fish them out, put them on my rice sitting on this small tin bowl, brush them with some doenjang (fermented soy bean paste), scoop them up and ferry them into the entrance of my digestive system. Ha-ha-ha! After a few enjoyable munches, they will be submerged somewhere else.

So, there. Spoonful after spoonful, my last soon-dae kuk-bap for the lunar year. This customer leaves the restaurant happy, thankful, and just so full.

Burp!