Gyeongju: Unforgettable Food Experiences

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener

The one place we visited most during our stay in Gyeongju is the 시장 (market). Located right down town, most buses bring you here. Put another way, we have to come down town to catch a bus to most sights, so we dropped by the market for the slightest reason.

We were here for our meals, we were here for daily supplies, we were here for souvenirs to bring back to Seoul.

In the food alley within the market, there are many stalls selling about the same thing – kimbap, japchae (stir fried glass noodles with vegetables / 잡채), soonndae (Korean sausage 순대) and fish cakes. Some stalls have a little space adjacent to them, where guests can sit at tables to have their meals. Some do not have such space, guests sat around the stall, a very conducive arrangement to chat with the stall holder.

Most of these stalls are run by middle-aged ladies, habitually addressed as 아줌마(pronounced ajumma, meaning “auntie”, used with discretion...). They are always camera-ready – in bright outfits, with some make-up and all smiles. If you speak Korean, you can learnt quite a lot about them over a meal. In our case, the ajumma proudly told us she has two sons, both won scholarships to study abroad and one will be visiting her with his professor. She will continue to work even if she does not need the money. I think she must enjoy interacting with her customers.

Of the food served here, I like japchae in particular, not too oily and very fragrant. It is the sesame oil used, I figured.
I also like the home-made barley drink called shikkae. It was so good we lugged a big bottle back to Seoul for Kim’s mother. She loved it too.

Kim got me interested enough to try족발(jokbal), touting its nutritional value, especially for ladies. This is pig’s trotters which have been seasoned and steamed. According to Kim, the jokbal is cooked in such a way that all the fats are gone, leaving only the good bits (probably the collagen in the soft fat layer and chewy skin). The secret of the delicious meaty flavor lies in the rich broth, and every restaurant’s broth recipe is considered top secret.

How to eat this? The trotter is sliced into bite size pieces, wrapped in fresh leaves of vegetables, with some ssamjang (a kind of fermented bean paste) spread on the leaves. Salted shrimps are provided as a dipping sauce (this has a pungent odor). We bought a standard serving of sliced jokbal, our own greens, and have this elaborate meal on the train from Gyeongju to Seoul (without the dip or we would have offended fellow passengers on the train).

There is wisdom in how food is consumed in Korea. Various leaf vegetables (e.g lettuce, sesame leaves)  are used to wrap a piece of bite-size meat, along with soybean paste (e.g. dwenjang, kochujang or ssamjang) and some rice into a bundle. Other banchans (those little side dishes that come with a Korean meal), freshly sliced hot peppers and garlic bits may also be added where available, depending on the eater's preference.  With the combination of rice, meat, vegetables, soybean paste, the wrap offers a balanced intake of necessary nutrients without the greasy aftertaste left by many forms of meat.

This is a also a great way to eat – you are kept busy wrapping your own food, and experimenting with different combinations of ingredients and pastes and banchan.....no time to feel awkward. 

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