Doesn't Get Any Fresher Than This!

South Korea's fish markets are a must see. If you're a seafood lover this is the place you want to be and if not it's still an amazing sight to see. It's stall after stall of freshly caught seafood...and the best part, you can bargain with the vendors. Prices will vary from vendor to vendor and we were fortunate to be with a local who translated and bargained on our behalf.

The Deal: 3 fresh fish and 5 fresh scallops for only $50 US dollars. You can take it home to cook it yourself or if you would like to dine in their upstairs restaurant and have them prepare sashimi for you it's only an addition $5 sitting fee per person. Great deal if you ask me! They do it all right in front of you and prepare your sashimi immediately. It was a bit difficult to watch but it's how the do it here and it doesn't get any fresher than this!

She was trying to entice us with LIVE octopus, which is a traditional Korean delicacy but with it flapping around in her hands kept me walking right passed. Maybe next time, I had fresh sashimi on the brain J

The beautiful spread of the freshest fish in South Korea. The $5 dollar sitting fee includes unlimited sides of kimchi, korean pancakes, chilies, garlic, rice, wasabi and lettuce [it is common practice to make lettuce wraps out of most anything]...this was more than enough to feed 5 people.

O-gook, our amazing tour guide, translator and cultural ambassador, showing us how to make his special dipping sauce. It would have been a completely different dining experience without him...we are so grateful for his help!

The crew

South Korea's Drink of Choice

Let me introduce you to makgeolli, pronounced ma-co-lee. It is an alcohol beverage native to Korea made from fermented rice with a low alcohol content of about 6-8%. It is sometimes called 'rice beer' or 'rice wine' and originated from the farmers, which is why the beverage is also known as nongju, meaning farmer in Korean.

 

It is traditionally served from a large ceramic bowl and ladled out for drinking into smaller cups or bowls. 

Makgeolli is unfiltered, hence its milky, opaque appearance and should be shaken well before serving.

Makgeolli has a mild and slightly tangy flavor that makes it a perfect pairing for strong flavors of Korean foods. There are many makgeolli bars throughout South Korea that offer many different types of makgeolli served with traditional Korean pancakes like this bindaetteok...please excuse the pretzels, they're not traditional cuisine J

Makgeolli's taste primarily depends on its main ingredient, rice. Despite an identical recipe, the flavor depends on where the rice is produced. Some provinces are known for sweetness while others produce a bold character. Above is a tasting flight from different provinces and it is surprising the difference you can actually taste. I found some to have more sweetness or fruit notes like apple or pear and some even tasted sour compared to the others.

Makgeolli can even be infused with many different types of fruit; the above is infused with tomato. 

Our smiling faces after a great makgeolli night!

Korean Markets

After Vietnam, I headed to South Korea to visit some friends from college who are English teachers. Being back in the Northern Hemisphere was a bit of a shock. The cold kind of smacked me in the face after leaving the warm embrace of Southeast Asia but the food did more than make up for it! It’s obvious the Koreans love their food and so do I J Just walking through their markets and there was fresh food everywhere…to eat now or take away and I did a bit of both. 

Kimchi Bar or that's what I call it. Kimchi is Korea's national dish and served with practically everything. This bar had different types of kimchi ranging from the traditional cabbage to radish and all with different ferment ages. 

Fresh seafood was ubiquitous from snails to scallops to many different freshly caught fish...most still alive!

Huge range of dried fish and shrimp...it's a Korean thing!

Dried stingrays...not sure what they do with them but I never ate them...well I don't think I did J 

And one of my favorites, mandu. Cheap and tasty steamed dumplings to snack on while I make my way through the market 

Never guess what this is? I've never seen it before...it's whale. I'll try anything once?!

What's a seafood market without some live crab?!

One of the many street carts. Take your pick from Korean pancakes, Korean rice cakes in a spicy sauce [that'll warm you up] and hot fish cake soup [and boy is it fishy!!!]

Meet my lovely tour guide, O-gook. He showed me all the ins and outs of Seoul and most of it revolved around food. And yes, I’m eating mandu again…not sorry bout itJ