Korea: 홍어회 in화정 or Hongoe in Hwajeong

Throughout my entire stay in South Korea, I lived in the small town of Hwajeong, in Goyang prefecture. It's only a short commute outside of Seoul, about 30 minutes by train in to Anguk area which was without a doubt one of my favorite neighborhoods to spend time in. Hwajeong was a charming little suburb to reside in, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time living there! Not only was it easy (enough) to commute to and from work on the daily, but there were multiple options for shopping, recreation, and dining throughout the area. While your typical suburb in Las Vegas has at least one convenience store nestled in its midst, there's no real guarantee that you'll be able to get to a grocery store on foot, not in any timely manner anyway..this issue is referred to as "food deserts", where fresh foods are less readily available and residents need to commute to have access to amenities. In Hwajeong I could walk 5 minutes and have my pick from several small groceries, multiple convenience stores (of different brands/names) and countless fast or slow food restaurants. Who says that Americas the greatest country in the world? For sheer capitalistic indulgences and opportunity, South Korea certainly seems to have learned from us and upped the ante.   

Another thing South Korea does well, that we don't really do much here, is fermented fish. Tangent much, eh? In the United States, you might find some form of pickled fish hiding in a dusty, forlorn corner of the grocery store's "ethnic" section, but in Korea, there's a famous fermented fish whose name strikes fear into the hearts (and nostrils) of those familiar with it: Hongoe. This funky beast is the result of fermenting skate, those cute little mini-mantas who have the peculiar habit of urinating through their skin. This, naturally, gives the fermented variety of their flesh a distinctly ammonia-heavy odor that even I, a girl whose sense of smell is laughably non-existent, found challenging. To be fair, hongoe is a challenge even for native Koreans who grew up around the stuff. Typically eaten with super-ripe kimchi and sweet milky rice alcohol in the form of makkgeoli, you can also find hongoe prepackaged at some grocery stores. It's much more affordable to buy the prepackaged variety, and so I decided to give it a go, but I have to admit I wasn't able to eat the whole package on my own. The texture of the fish is unusual, too, with a cartilaginous crunch that's hard to compare to anything that hasn't been rotting in its own urine for an extended period of time. 

Even just looking at these photos is giving me olfactory flashbacks. Oof. Enjoy the photos of the pretty view from here out, to hopefully get some of the funk out! You might also enjoy noticing the little bird, who perched atop the tower here. 

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!

🐟

XOXO,

NAU

Korea: 청국장 Deadbody Soup! (aka Cheonggukjang)

What is the scariest thing you've ever put into your mouth?

(that's what she said)

There's actually a surprisingly large amount of ethics and consideration that can go into food if you put any thought into it. After all, as anyone who's met a vegan can attest, they've invariably put a lot of time and energy into their diet of choice. Personally, I'm not going to be a vegan, not for any extended period of time in the foreseeable future unless it's as a temporary dietary change, key word being temporary. I'm not terribly shy about putting weird and potentially disturbing things in my mouth in the name of trying new foods, and that adventure led me to eating 청국장 or cheonggukjang. This particular breed of soup has a very pronouncedly pungent odor, sometimes dubbed vaguely reminiscent of "wet socks". So strong is the smell that it's lead to the alternative name of "Dead body soup" after an urban legend cropped up about the notorious smelly soup leading to false accusations of murder. If that doesn't hint to the fact this is some seriously stinky shi*t, I don't know what else to tell you guys. It's made with fermented soybeans, which are also eaten in the form of natto, a mucilaginous dish that has its own notoriety for being famously divisive.

I'm sure the fellow denizens dining in the tiny little restaurant I opted to go to for my helping of this stinky soup were probably less than excited about my decision to order it. It's considered a healthy dish, nourishing to help power you through the depths of winter's chill, but the winter chill also meant that the doors to the small establishment were shut. The stinky little sauna was strongest in my immediate vicinity, but there's no escaping the severity of the stench on this one, not in a space this small. I've eaten this dish in the past and gotten a wretched case of indigestion, but this time through it went without issue. The soup itself is rich in umami with a bleu cheese kind of fermented depth, which I find enjoyable but may not be palatable for some. I've never been one to be put off of a food due to its odor, so the famous smell isn't a problem to me. I know that I'm in a rare camp on that count, and I am grateful.   

For what its worth, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal!