In the above picture, action film star Sung Kang gets in on the Korean street food action during some downtime in Seoul, where he was promoting the Korea premiere of The Fast and the Furious 6 last May. He’s eating odeng, or fish cake skewers served with broth on the side.
Read on for our Top 5 Korean street foods, click here to see no. 10 to no. 6.
5. Cup rice
This particular street food can be found on the streets of Seoul’s Noryangjin neighborhood, which is known for its countless hagwons, or cram schools. There are so many students circulating in the area, vendors serving cheap (usually under $2), rapidly prepared street food do a brisk business.
A typical version of cup rice contains kimchi, fried egg, sliced seaweed and small sausages. Just mix it up and eat with a spoon!
4. Beondegi
One unusual snack food in Korea is beondegi, which literally translates to “chrysalis” or “pupa.” The silkworm pupae are steamed or boiled and then seasoned and eaten as a snack. Some people — particularly young women — hate it because of its shape and smell and chewy texture. While the beondegi street vendors may be dwindling these days, vendors can usually be found in front of amusement parks or other hot spots. Cost: 2,000 won ($1.75)
3. Ho-tteok
Ho-tteok is basically a cinnamon and brown sugar pancake, fried on a griddle. This sweet delight is usually eaten during winter, although some consider it a summer dessert. The “nuts and seeds” version of ho-tteok is popular in Busan, while some vendors include green tea flavoring in the ho-tteok. Cost: 500 won; seed ho-tteok 1,000 won ($0.45; $0.90)
2. Bungeoppang
Bungeoppangs, a Korean pastry shaped like a goldfish, are made using an appliance similar to a waffle iron. Red bean paste is added as a filling, and when it’s cooked, the piping hot treat is crispy on the outside, and gooey on the inside. Bungeoppang is sold as a snack by open-air food vendors throughout Korea, particularly during the winter. These days, instead of red bean, vendors have taken to putting cream inside the delicious treats. Cost: 300 won each, 3 for 1,000 won ($0.25, $0.90)
1. Tteokbokki, fried dishes and sundae
This was an obvious pick and these three items are street food staples. Tteokbokki, a popular Korean snack food, was originally called tteok jjim, and is a braised dish of rice cake cylinders in spicy red pepper sauce, often served with meat, boiled egg or fish cake. And fried dishes, called twi gim, is basically Korean tempura and can include deep-fried calamari, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, japchae noodle rolls, and so on.
Sundae, not to be confused with the American ice cream dish, is generally made by stuffing steamed cow or pig intestines with various ingredients, such as coagulated blood, noodles and vegetables. It is a form of blood sausage and is believed to have been eaten for a long time. Many Koreans eat these three together, like a set menu, called “Tteok-Twi-Sun.” Cost: 5,000 – 6,000 won ($4.40 – $5.30)
