Korean Street Foods

Part of the adventure when traveling to South Korea are street foods. While much has been written about it, It's a different energy of excitement to try it for yourself, although street foods in Korea can get too bizarre don't be too scared, Korea has a huge selections of delicious and not too odd street foods.

Last May, whilst on a shopping expedition to Myeongdong Market, obviously one great spot to discover top street foods in South Korea, with countless vendors selling a wide range of freshly made Korean treats we stumble on the most delicious street foods to snack while enjoying the scenic beauty of Korea

Each day of our 7 days stay in Korea was not complete without passing by this Market specially at night for a tasty treat of our favorite Korean street foods.

let me share with you some of the street foods I've spotted while in Korea.

Twigim/Yache -Korean-style tempura (야채튀김 )

Twigim means fry in Korea, It is the wide, general term for the huge variety of pan fried foods you can discover no less than a few slows down on any given road in Korea.

They are somewhat similar to the Japanese style tempura however they are likewise very diverse. The Korean style batter is not as extra crispy as the authentic Japanese style tempura, but it’s still crispy and more substantial than the tempura. Traditional Korean Twigim is also a lot more flavorful because there are different vegetables mixed in a single bite.

The concept is pretty the same; batter-dipped and deep fried.

Twigim usually use different vegetables such as green peppers, sweet potato, seafood, or kimbap, battered and deep-fried.

I’m not entirely sure if all tempura styled foods are called the same, but it seems to me that you can batter and deep fry pretty much anything and declare it to be twigim. Just about any vegetable, on its own or chopped and mixed with others.

Vanilla Ice Cream top with Honeycomb

This is my favorite treat on our last trip to Korea, Okay fine!...., Ice Cream is my ultimate favorite everywhere I go. I eat Ice Cream perhaps 3 times each week. You can make me upset and bribe me with ice cream in no seconds.

And this one right here is my new ultimate favorite. It is a soft Vanilla flavored ice cream top with honeycomb and served in a fish shape pancake. The honeycomb frame has a wax-like texture, similar to the wax bottles candy. It's almost as if you could make candles out of it... It's extremely sweet and became almost overwhelming halfway through. I had to eat it in tiny pieces with the ice cream.

We ate it almost every night on our way back to our hotel after a long tour but there was one night it rained and all 3 stalls are gone. Although It is quite expensive it was worth it.

Gimbap (Korean sushi)

Is a popular snack or lunch dish in Korea.

Steamed white rice with various fillings all wrapped in seaweed - sounds like a Japanese sushi roll, right? Well, this Korean version definitely stands on its own. The steamed rice used to make Korean sushi/gimbap is flavoured with sesame oil unlike the Japanese who season it with rice vinegar.

Back in years Gimbap was a very simple dish made by wrapping steamed rice in seaweed. However, with time Koreans have experimented with this humble recipe and given it different shapes, sizes and stuffing’s.

Gimbap is a dish that is best enjoyed during outdoor activities such as picnics and camps. They are easy to make, pack and consume plus it is also healthy, versatile and a staple food for Koreans.

Tornado Potato/ Hweori Gamja (회오리 감자)

Well, Its typically not Korean as I've seen this bad boy being sold in the streets of almost all countries I have visited. But Korean's made it more interesting by adding stuffs like hotdogs.

Basically it is a cross between a French fry and a crisp! A whole potato on a large wooden skewer goes through a special cutting machine to produce a very impressive looking “Tornado Potato”

It is then dipped in a thin batter and deep fried to perfection...