today we're in Seoul, South Korea and we're exploring Gwangjang market we are
here to eat Gwangjang market is the place to come if
you want to eat traditional Korean street food, we have got a tonne of food
lined up to eat today
Seoul has a thriving street food culture and its
local markets are some of the best places to sample it, make sure you watch
this video right to the end so you don't miss out on any of the incredible street
food that we eat, I'm Thomas and I'm Sheena and we're Chasing a Plate we hope
you're hungry, let's eat!
our first snack is going to be bindae-tteok which is a ground mung bean
pancake and there are a number of different vendors who are serving up
these gigantic pancakes lets go and find one and try this beauty
"anyeonghaseyo, bindae-tteok hana, gamsahamnida"
We've got this bindae-tteok or mung bean pancake and this is gonna be the perfect
way to start on this cold Seoul morning look how crispy it looks, she just had a
huge tub of batter and she was piling big spoonfuls of this mung bean batter
into a very deep puddle of oil so the hot plate is just covered thickly in oil
and you can see how crispy it looks because it's been swimming in that oil
let's rip into it and see what we can find inside, ohhh steam's pouring out so it
looks like there's some chives in there, there's some actual like bean sprouts
it's obviously all the gooeyness from that mung bean batter
whoa let's give it a go, she's also given us this little tub of of onions and I
think it's gonna be vinegar and soy so let's dip that just a little bit in
there and pop that in
mmmm crispy on the outside, tastes a lot of those bean sprouts that's the overriding
flavour, I'm gonna rip a little bit more off cos it's just got a... oh look at this, this
is gonna be a good bite, so it's got some some good chives in
there, some real crispiness and a lot of those mung beans or bean sprouts
in there, let's give it a go
lovely tang from that vinegar, this is a very simple flavour though it's sort of
that bite was tangy from the vinegar, crunchy from the batter but the
overall flavour profile is pretty simple, it reminds me a lot of a potato hash
brown just a simple perfect little warming dish, I'm gonna have another bite though
because of these, these onions look at them huge chunks of onions, so I'm going
to grab one of those out, look at that swimming in that vinegar and soy
mixture, we'll pop that on top of the pancake, let's give that a go together
Woah that's hot, wow that's so hot, that is good, the crunch of that
onion really adds a burst it adds a sweetness almost to the, to the mouthful
that is a great way to start a food tour of the market just warming, really the
crunch is perfect, really nice
that was a really good simple first snack and
one of the best bits about that snack for me actually was the heated seats so
those benches that we were sitting on over there are heated so you get a nice hot
bum while you're eating, let's go find some more food
we've sat down at our next little stall and we're trying Gwangjang market's famous
gimbap so gim means dried seaweed and bap is rice so these are seaweed
rice rolls and Gwangjang market is especially famous for creating what's
called mayak gimbap which means narcotic rice rolls, now it doesn't mean
that there are drugs inside the gimbap, it just means that they're so good and
so addictive, so let's just try one so they're quite skinny and you can see
inside with the rice there's some pickled vegetables so there's some
carrot, there's some burdock root that's a perilla leaf right here and then
there's some toasted sesame which is sprinkled all along the top of that
seaweed, let's give it a dunk in this wasabi mixture and give that a big old
bite
that is so crisp and so vibrant, there's a real hit from that wasabi and the
pickled veggies are very tangy, really crunchy, the perilla leaf has quite an
aniseed flavour so that's really punchy as well but what's really fragrant and
aromatic are those sesame seeds and I reckon they might have brushed some
sesame oil on top of the gimbap as well because it's a really strong flavour
that is mashisoyo which in Korean means delicious
eating at Gwangjang market is a really exciting and fun experience
you basically just wander around the market and sit at whatever stall takes
your fancy they have these pans of steaming hot food so there's fish cakes
there's tteokbokki which are the rice cakes cooked in gochujang sauce and
our vendor has given us a cupful of this broth which has come from the
odeng or the fish cake so that's the stock and we're just drinking that
broth heating ourselves up and then munching on these gimbap this is such
a cool day
we've stopped at our next stall and how spectacular are they with all this food
lined up and at this stall we've ordered a hot stone bibimbap, so bibimbap is
an absolute classic dish in Korea and this version comes in this hot stone so
it was sitting on a gas burner to crisp up all the rice that's at the bottom but
let's talk through what we can see here so we've got a whole lot of dried
seaweed on top, we've got some fresh lettuce I can see some that's a different
type of lettuce, we've got some cut chives, oh that looks like some sort of
pickled turnip I think, there's a whole lot of rice and so there's a mixture
down here of barley and rice so little bits of rice in there, there's this really
interesting leaf I'm not actually sure what this leaf is, just looks like a
really fresh little green leaf, there's these looking like turnips again but
these are pickled and covered in chilli and then we've got some big juicy bean
sprouts oh and some mushrooms I've got a mushroom there in my chopsticks, the idea
is you have to give this a huge mix up before you eat it so let's oh
look at that sauce so that's gochujang sauce look at that just all over there
so let's mix that all through oh and there's bits of cabbage sliced up in
there, there is so much going on in this bowl, alright let's get it all up.. oh and some pickled
vege as well so some pickled greens right down the bottom, it's not, I thought it
would be a little bit crispy this rice on the, on the hot stone but it's not
actually at all, it's not sticking or anything like that, let's try some of
this, I've got a big spoonful here with all these different ingredients so a
whole lot of that seaweed some chives those green leaves that I'm not sure of
and lots of that red gochujang sauce which is a red pepper, like a spicy
fermented sauce, let's try some of this
it's got a beautiful temperature the heat is just perfect I thought it was
gonna be too hot having come off that flame, it's actually
perfect, it's got a subtle rice flavour the gochujang sauce is the perfect spice
it's definitely spicy but it's not blow your socks off and then all those other
vegetables are just starting to soften up because of the heat in here
let's get another big spoon oh look at all the steam coming off it
so the barley has a very distinctive taste and then the rice is far more subtle the
pickled vege are all tangy, not as crunchy as the other vegetables, it's just such a
well-rounded dish, I love the little bursts you get from the lettuce they
give a super fresh crunch and I love that you can just sit
here with all the ingredients lined up in front of you and if you want to grab
more of anything you can just grab it, off here in front of you so there's
tongs, just grab more ingredients and chuck them into your bowl, it is a
perfect well-rounded bowl, the sauce, the gochujang sauce is the, is the big flavour
in this bibimbap, it's punchy, it's warming I can already feel it warming my body
from the inside, that is a great dish, just intrigued by these little green
leaves so I'm gonna give these a go and see if I can figure them out
hmm a really fresh taste I think it's the, the sprouts from the, from the mung
beans, so the little shoots that come off those sprouts it's just got that
really crisp watery crunch, let's have one more big spoon cos I didn't even get a
mushroom in that last one so got a big mushroom on the front of this, whole lot of rice
let's go
oh wow, wow this is the perfect dish to be sitting
here, in this cold market steam coming out of your mouth
cold hands, it's really warming, it just feels really good for the soul if you
know what I mean, it's sort of hearty soul food, I love this dish
our next stop in Gwangjang market is raw beef alley we have come to this
restaurant behind us because it has been Michelin recommended and we're here to
try the yukhoe which is beef tartare
we've come into this little poky restaurant, everyone's sitting shoulder to
shoulder it is so packed, in the corner over there, the team is actually carving
up the beef and what is really special about this restaurant is that the beef
is delivered fresh each morning from a local source so this is fresh as fresh
gets, now we have ordered this plate of yukhoe which is the beef tartare and
it actually comes with sannakji or the baby octopus layered on top of it, so you
can see that the tentacles are actually still moving, this plate is also made up
of a beautiful golden raw egg yolk in the middle you can see there, some spring
onions, some fresh sprouts, there's a sprinkling of sesame seeds and I think
underneath the meat are some matchstick pears, the beef itself looks bright red
it looks so fresh I cannot wait to try it let's just get in and mix this whole
thing up, alright look at that whoa look at that egg yolk so that is just
gonna mix right through and just coat all the ingredients the octopus is still
going strong and then I've got those matchstick pear which look so juicy
coming up through the dish alright, I've just gotta get in and try some of this
beef because it looks absolutely sensational, I'm also gonna grab some of
that matchstick pear and let's see what that tastes like, mmm ohh wow if you've never had raw beef
before, it's not what you imagine it to taste like, it's not bloody, it
doesn't taste gamey or raw it's just a really beautiful rounded depth of flavour,
that pear is so sweet and juicy and then you've got that burst of sesame when you
pop those sesame seeds between your teeth, oh but that beef though, it's so tender! Let's go again
I'm gonna try and get a little bit of the octopus in my next mouthful, so some beef and
then some octopus as well, alright let's go
ohhh honestly each mouthful is so vibrant
that octopus is really fresh tasting, it doesn't have a discernible flavour
but you can still feel those little suckers on those tentacles, sticking to your tongue and
they say that you've just got to keep chewing the sannakji or the baby
octopus because it just gets sweeter and sweeter this is a sensational dish
I'm desperate
to try this so I'm gonna grab one of these little dry seaweed wraps get some
of this beef onto there whoa they're really hard to hold, I'm losing it
I'm losing it here we go alright let's get some of that octopus it's really
hard to pick up the octopus because it sticks to the plate, put some more beef, I
really want to load that beef onto there, we've got, over here, we've got some raw
garlic and some chillies so I'm just gonna get a big piece of raw garlic and
some of the sauce which i think is a fermented like soy bean chilli sauce
right, got a little mouthful there, wrap that up let's go
I love beef tartare or steak tartare and this is incredible this steak is really juicy and tender
the octopus gives it a little bit of bite because they're kind of chewy that
pear adds some crunch, some sweetness and some freshness, the raw piece of garlic
obviously had a big hit of garlic, just a really strong burst and then tha
soybean sauce as well, that is an awesome combo, the seaweed flavour
disappeared I did not taste it at all because everything else just took over
in such a good way, that's a great dish I can see why those guys at Michelin came
here and said this one was a winner, it's really really tasty
this yukhoe is just spectacular and it's not just spectacular in flavour it
is so stunning, so visually attractive, that bright red of the beef, the green sprouts and
spring onions and then that sprinkling of sesame seeds
it is just sensational and this, oh the pear just really sings in this dish and then
that beef is the hero it is just, so fresh, mmm, this meat alley is a real
must visit when you're at Gwangjang market
and we got a beer to go with this meal and
it is the perfect combo, I love Cass when we're in Korea it's just a really
simple easy to drink beer no big flavours so it works really well with
these punchy meals that you get in Korea
that was...gamsahamnida... that was a
great little restaurant, love that meat and there's a really cool little
alleyway so like Sheena said make sure you come here when you're at the market, raw beef alley!
Gwangjang market is a great spot to get a glimpse into local life and of course
to eat, we had some delicious traditional Korean street food, so much good food
this morning I've had a great time here and like Sheena said it is a great
place for a glimpse into local life, you've got all the people shopping
around us now but then all that street foods to eat, so you can have a great look
around and eat some incredible food, remember to head down below hit that
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and also Busan, remember to give this video a thumbs up and we will see you
next time, thank you so much for watching, annyeong