30 Mouthwatering Photos Of Street Food In Korea
APR. 9, 2014, 3:44 PM
Steve Kovach/Business Insider
The Insadong neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city.
It’s packed with a bunch of tea shops, markets, dozens of carts selling various kinds of street food with everything from grilled octopus on a stick to delicious custard cakes.
I spent an afternoon stuffing my face with as much of it as possible. Here’s what I saw.
Disclosure: Samsung paid for a portion of our trip to South Korea for a separate series of stories about the company. It paid for the flight and some meals. Business Insider paid for lodging and all other expenses.
This is a twist potato. The chefs put an entire potato in a special machine that cuts it into this twisty shape. They then put it on a skewer and fry it up.
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You can sprinkle it with cheese or chili powder. This was the first thing I ate. It was greasy and delicious.
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A lot of stands sell a variety of different foods.
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This one had fish cakes and hot dogs on a stick.
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I tried one of the fish cakes, which had a big chili pepper inside for some extra spice.
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There aren’t many trashcans on the streets of Insadong, so you have to carry around a bunch of empty skewers unless you want to litter. Some stands will take your empty skewers and throw them away though.
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This is either a kettle of nuts or bugs. I wasn’t sure. And I wasn’t brave enough to try.
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This was one of my favorite dishes. It’s grilled octopus on a skewer.
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The chefs dip it in soy sauce and these flaky things before they serve it to you. It had a rubbery texture, but there was a surprisingly sweet taste thanks to the soy sauce.
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This place had a line out the door. And I saw a bunch of people eating sugary twisted pastries stuffed with…something. I decided to wait until I was ready for dessert to check it out.
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Sweet stuff seemed to be the most popular in Insadong.
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This stand had sweet cakes frying on a big pan.
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This woman poured batter from a tea kettle into a hot mold to make her tiny custard cakes.
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These cakes had an egg cracked in them.
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These guys were making a stringy, sugary dessert.
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The sugar strings were then wrapped around what looked like nuts.
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A lot of the food was spicy.
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And fried! No health food here.
Steve Kovach/Business Insider
This woman was making noodles in a spicy red sauce.
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This stand was packed with people munching on platters of dumplings.
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I couldn’t tell what this was, but it was salty and crunchy.
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If you wanted some booze, there was an outdoor cocktail cart. You could walk around the neighborhood enjoying some liquor.
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Restaurants and food carts have a bunch of crazy signs that try to entice you to stop by.
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Like this stuffed dog holding a menu.
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And this creepy crying kid.
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I stopped inside one random restaurant for dumpling soup and a Cass, a local Korean beer.
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Then it was dessert time. I just had to see what those twisty pastry things were, so I went back to the crowded shop. Lots of kids were coming out with smiles on their faces.
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I paid this guy 5,000 won (about $5 U.S.) and asked for chocolate, but I still had no idea what I was getting.
Steve Kovach/Business Insider
Then I went to the next counter. It turns out they fill the twisty pastries with frozen yogurt.
Steve Kovach/Business Insider
It was really good! You munch your way down through the frozen yogurt. It’s cleaner and more efficient than your typical ice cream cone.
Steve Kovach/Business Insider
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/korean-street-food-2014-4?op=1#ixzz2yUVf6W9e
