Next Week’s Korean Food Hitlist

• Source

Munchies Galore

---

I’m heading out to Korea next week during the Chuseok holiday to spend some much needed time with fam. Only have a few days the stuff my face with foods I haven’t touched in a year so like always, I’m doing a bit of prep to make sure I hit all my bases.

MeJok: Spicy Pig’s Feet

This is, with no exception, the first meal I have upon arrival and always anticipate having in Seoul before any trip. “Spicy Pig’s Feet,” condensed nicely into the nickname “MeJok,” is the first actual Korean meal I had as a dinner date with my now wife, almost exactly 4 years ago. It has now become a tradition to go anytime we’re back in Korea.

• Source

Having the word “feet” in any dish sounds unappetizing, but it’s really similar to any other form of pork. There’s a bit more cartilage and chew to the meat, and of course the key ingredient is the tangy spice that adds so much flavor. My beelining on this dish is definitely because it’s hard to find an equivalent in the US, where both feet and high spice aren’t typically favored in any meal. Thus, I get to enjoy this dish only once or twice throughout the year.

Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Fire Chicken

Onto the next animal - Chicken. “Fire Chicken” is an excellent low-key cuisine in Korea, combining the flair of live bbq with traditional Korean tang, follow by the topping of cheesy cheese and fried rice to soak up all the juices. Simple, delicious, and one can never have enough.

• Source

Though you can technically find similar versions in New York City, I have to note that Korean chicken has a level of excellence you can’t really find in Purdue-corporate-steroid-driven-poultry-country. Korean chickens are smaller, more tender, and not dry in the slightest. The baseline quality of the meat is so high that it elevates even a simple dish like this. I’ll be sure to have at least a few lunches involved this panfry.

Spicy Fried Pork Cutlet (Donkatsu)

Back to the pig, this is a dish I’ve seen on TV and have always been wanting to try. Most people have tried fried pork in Korean and Japanese restaurants. This one of course has the added layer of chili paste. These are supposedly far spicier than the previous dishes and most have claimed to never have polished off a full course.

• Source

I’ve been meaning to try this one out, but none of my friends have been willing to go out of their way to consume such a painful meal. I’ll be dragging my younger brother and brother in law to one of these torturies to finally check this off the bucket list.

---

As you can see, I’m on the hunt for foods that will light my intestines on fire. I don’t get to test my tongue’s resolve so much in the US outside of the occasional Szechuan meal and spicy food is a tried and true way of relieving one’s body bear market-related stress.

See you in the bathroom! Steem on.