Korea

KOREA

Asian Street Food Culture

“If you want to find Korean Street Food, listen to the sizzle”

Street food stalls in Seoul's Insadong neighborhood.

It is impossible to visit South Korea without experiencing (or at least seeing) stalls of street food, which are located in every city and town throughout the country. There are even certain areas in Korea which I believe have the best of the best of certain kinds of street food. Street food is a large part of the South Korean culture and can be great when you are out all day and need something cheap to eat, or after a long night of partying.

Kimchi is a fermented vegetable side dish that accompanied almost every main course I ordered in Seoul. It was fascinating to taste various preparations. I recently read that the Korean Field Museum in Seoul has documented 187 different varieties and there are many more.

 

Kimchi as seen at a market during a Seoul street food tour.

This major Korean staple dates back to the 7th century. Originally, kimchi was stored and fermented for months at a time in underground jars. Winter weather in Korea is quite harsh and kimchi was one of the only ways for people to get nutrients from vegetables.

We ventured into an underground market where vats of kimchi were sold in addition to jars for fermenting it. It is a dish that I’ve grown to really love.

Vietnam

VIETNAM

Asian Street Food Culture

 

“You heard about Vietnam. You’ve read about the street food –  You’ve heard about the street food – But, will you try it?”

Vietnamese street food has become so well known that CNNgo praises Vietnam as the heaven of food and Travel Jounal Lovelyplanet lists Vietnam as one of 10 culinary tours most worth-trying in the world.

Sometime attractive foods of Vietnamese are also the cheapest ones. Vietnam, a small country has such an amazing culinary culture that surprises international tourists. Every city, even every village has a specialty of its own. This is the general impression of foreign tourists after enjoying pastoral Vietnamese foods. Even for many tourists, it becomes a hobby to attract them to explore charming destinations in Vietnam. The evidence is that a large number of articles on interest and impression of tourists when they experience Vietnamese street food appear on popular international journals. For them, the experience of enjoying specialties on plastic chair along pavements is sometimes mentioned more than the food itself.

hanoi-street-food-tour

One of the most interesting things when enjoying Vietnamese cuisine at a small roadside restaurant is that you may observe the rhythm of local people’s lives: a group of middle-ages men sitting around the table drinking beer and talking about football or work, children playing with each other and waiters joking while waiting for customers to call more items. What will happen for those who are not familiar with Vietnamese? They just need to point to what someone is eating and slowly discover miracles that food brings. The food is so fresh and creative that all challenges and inconvenience become nothing at all

quan-an-duong-pho
Along with the development of tourism, the Vietnamese are familiar with foreign tourists sitting on pavements, using chopsticks to enjoy Pho or bun cha (Vietnamese vermicelli and grilled chopped meat). Some culinary experts commented that Vietnamese cuisine attracts tourists by fresh flavor of vegetables, fruits and nuts. It is not as greasy as Chinese food, and less spicy than Thai food. CNNgo, a prestigious US journal even emphasizes that the US has created portable restaurants but Vietnam is truly the heaven of food. There is nowhere else having such diverse culinary style like Vietnam. Through cuisine, a part of culture has been preserved and promoted in the process of integration and international cultural exchanges.