Korean Cuisine...But Not The Good Kind
Last week, I spent a lot of time organizing old photos. It’s something I like to do once or twice a year as a way to preserve my memories and make it easier to find those photos in the future.
I came across one particularly unpleasant memory from my last trip abroad, to Busan, South Korea. Can you name this creature? (warning: kinda gross)
Believe it or not, this is a delicacy in Busan! It’s called a hagfish (or gomjangeo in Korean), and it’s one of the weirdest things I’ve ever eaten. In the water, it creates a kind of slime to protect itself. So when you take them out of the tank, it looks like this:
(This photo comes from this article, which is a good read if you want to learn more.)
Yep, it’s disgusting. After it’s cooked, it looks more like normal seafood, but I still wouldn’t recommend it – it’s chewy and not very pleasant to eat. It’s usually served with a spicy red sauce, which masks the flavor a little.
Hagfish is eaten almost exclusively in South Korea, but there’s plenty of information about it online. If reading about it doesn’t make you sick, I dare you to go try it for yourself!