Getting Fried

The duk bo gi stand has once again solidified itseld as one of my most beloved aspects of Korean cultural cuisine...and I hit the jackpot with one particular vendor in Busan over the weekend.

The tasty, spicy and textural cacophony that is duk bo gi (boiled rice cakes in chili sauce), along with odeng (scewers of boiled fish cakes) in a salty, spicy fish broth, and the all important and ever tempting mountains of fried treats (shrimp, octopus, stuffed chilies, kim bap, peppers, dumplings, potato pancakes, and the list goes on) keep me in constant flux between my cravings and my creeping coronary...should I continue to indulge to such an uninhibited extent.

In hindsight it seems utterly rediculous, however, at the time I felt as though stopping for a shrimp...or 5 at every passing was not only reasonable, it was necessary. After all, when and order of duk, 2 fish scewers, 4 shrimps and 2 stuffed chilies leaves a negligible W3,000 blemish to the pocket book, its tough to resist. Not to mention the fact that I was forced to cross paths with the stand en route to any and every major destination during my stay. Alas, I managed to amass a respectable 6 visits in a mere 2 days.

My stomach was loving me, my heart and liver...maybe not so much.

I tired to propose to the lady who runs the stand...I don't think she understood me

The anywhere, anytime snack

Every great city has its staple snack item that can be found on nearly every slightly populated street corner. In Toronto, we are famous for our delectable vendor hot dogs, more popularly knows as "street dogs" or "street meat". A spicy italian sausage, juicy and sweet polish sausage, beefy braut, or classic all beef frank is always light on the wallet and heavy on convenience and comfort.

Here in Korea the most popular street food is without a doubt, Duk Bo Gi. Available on nearly every street corner (except around my ritzy part of town) or literally lining entire city blocks, these simple, spicy, scarlet snacks are not to be missed...just try avoiding them..

Stands are typically made up of a big rectangular 'trough' of Duk Bo Gi: compressed rice cakes cooked and completely saturated in chili paste, usually with some sort of fish cake or cut up meat. A decent sized plate can be purchased for W1,000-W2,000 (under $1-$2) and is eaten at all times of the day as a on-the-go-snack or an entire meal. Most vendors also have plenty of tempura'd vegetables and seafood (shrimp and crab) that can be cut up into the saucy goodness or eaten on their own. Skewers of fish cakes are also almost always around, boiling in a fish tasty fish broth that you can enjoy a cup of (or 3) on the house.

(Duk Bo Gi and tempura'd delights...a perfect way to start, end or enjoy any part of the Korean day)