We will purchase something (contents of which we have not tried) from a Korean market and guinea pig it.
Here are some of our experiences so far...some good...some terrible but all very educational.
I blogged about this on my other blog but it certainly deserves a mention here.
We went to this really neat buffet style restraunt which was filled with undescribably weird food.
There was a big bowl of these spiny things at the desert buffet and some Korean ladies in line in front of me piled them on their plates...so I figured wow these must be really good! So I put about 4 of them on my own plate and contemplated how to eat them. You have to cut through the spiney leathery skin to get to a white juicy squishy fruit inside. After the fact I have learned that these are called rambutans/lychees and are very common (like an apple to americans) here in Asia.
They are superbly delicious like a grapey/mandarin flavor and texture. Quite yummy!
Now these on the other hand...not quite such a delightful experience. These are ginseng caramels...sounds kinda good right? How can you mess up a caramel? These are very popular among Koreans and I was excited to try them. Popped one in my mouth and started chewing what tasted like a pile of dirt. Yes, I call them "dirt caramels" and I couldn't even finish the one I started. Andy tried one and had the same reaction. A few days later I threw a few in his lunch as a joke and he came home and told me he ate them all. He claims that after you eat three or four you don't taste the dirt flavor as much. I have not got around to testing this myelf.
One of Andy's Korean counterparts at his work couldn't believe he was eating and enjoying them, he said it was very rare to see a westerner eating them. Now we know why!
Two thumbs up for these juices! I found a new favorite in Aloe Vera juice and the prune juice is unlike any I've ever tasted....they are both FABULOUS! Yummy!
One thing I absolutley LOVE about Korea so far is the level of spice factor in the food. Oh yes! I love me some hot stuff and they do it right here! Not only is the food a 10 on the heat scale but it is so flavorful too! I'm in heaven. I thought I might try to duplicate some of this fare at home so I bought this chili sauce stuff.
Two thumbs down! Not only is it not very hot, but it is super salty. GROSS!
You win some, you lose some!
And finally this was an interesting experiment; We have a tiny market at the end of our street and Andy went to get some goodies from it. He came home with this and we still don't know what it is but I'll try my best to describe it.
It's smooshy and jellylike, sort of like a thick jam/fruit leather. It kind of tastes like honey. I didn't hate it, but neither of us could finish it. It has a gagging effect.
Can't wait to see what else we find!
7 comments:
That was fun to read, Sherry. Keep your camera handy and let us know what other fun foods you and Andy try.
What fun it must be to try new foods! Dave would never survive over there. If he never tried it at his mother's table, it will never cross his lips! The little fruity things look the most interesting to me. Dirty caramels... hmmm... I'm pretty sure that would put me off any kind of candy for a long time! Sounds like you might have to put up your own hot sauce again. Too much salt... yuck!
OH, your food critiques are very entertaining and hilarious! You know, on your other blog you mentioned that the spiny thing was sweet but said nothing of it being a fruit...so from the pic I thought it was some gross seafood thing....can you imagine why I was grossed out? ROFLOL. I can see now that it is a fruit and so it looks a lot more palatable. Don't get me wrong I love seafood, but I just couldn't stomach that spiny thing from the sea....HA hA hA...but it's a fruit. I love it. Thanks for the educational food post.
We have cured BEANS sold in jars like yours. What we normally do is we put a spoonful or 2 into our dishes. I'm not sure if you can eat it raw since it is spicy.
Plus chili you can get it fresh, no need to buy from jars.
Good luck and have fun with your food adventures.
Rambutans are delicious, and we can get them here in the supermarkets, when they're in season; but I would love to see a picture of a mangosteen! Maybe you'll come across one in your culinary travels, and you will take a picture before you eat it? - lol
Intresting. I am to picky of a eater to survive there. I would loose soo much weight. Maybe I should try visiting for a new diet plan.
The firs one is not weird, at least in my country, is a very common fruit and delicious though, we call that "mamón chino"
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