The Soul of Seoul
TOP CREATIVE WORK OF THE MONTH: Travel stories: Exploring Korea, one delicious piece of fried food at a time.
Pikachu Pork Cutlet
Despite the burning sun, my cousins and I were attracted by the amazing smell of the snack foods at the night market. When we arrived, my cousin was whining about eating a Tanghulu, a fruit skewer coated with a thin layer of melted sugar. I took out 5,000 won—about $3.76 U.S. dollars—from my wallet, and gave it to the employee. My cousin chose the strawberry Tanghulu, but I didn’t choose anything because I don’t have a sweet tooth. So we walked again and I found a Pikachu Pork Cutlet. When the employee handed me the cutlet, the smell was intoxicating and the fried batter looked supper crispy. On the side of the table they had seasoning sauce, ketchup, mustard, and spicy sauce. I grabbed the seasoning sauce, dumped it onto the cutlet, and took a gigantic bite. And the first thing that pops into your head: the cutlet is freaking hot.
Illustration by Chloe M.
Korean Seasoned Fried Chicken
It was about 6 o'clock when all of our stomachs were rumbling for food. Auntie went on her phone and started to scroll down the Korean Delivery App. She found Korean Seasoned Fried Chicken and clicked on the order button. While we were waiting for our chicken, we watched our favorite YouTube videos, and played video games on our phone. Soon we heard the doorbell ring, the sound of beauty. Auntie went out to the door to pick up the chicken. As soon as the chicken waltzed to the living room, we could smell the nicely balanced seasoning with savory and salty fried batter that was being laid out on the dining table. I laid down all the cutlery and front plate on the table and poured ice water in the glass cups. When the meal was set. I grabbed a giant chicken leg then took a big bite. It tasted wonderful, a little bit of spice, saltiness, and sweetness dancing in my mouth, coating every single taste bud with seasoning.
Illustration by Chloe M.
Malatang
“I’M SO FREAKING HUNGRY!!” The words blurted from my mouth as my stomach continuously grumbled. It was a Saturday afternoon in Seoul, South Korea, and I met my childhood friend to eat Malatang. We walked into the restaurant, and the first thing that caught my eye were the variety of different ingredients wanting to be eaten. We placed our bags on a table that was closer to the windows since we wanted to enjoy the view, then grabbed a bowl. It was mostly filled with vegetables for the texture and the clean and light taste of the soup. For the spice there was level zero to five, I chose level two because I didn’t want the spice to burn my mouth but also didn’t want the flavor to be blank like water. The Malatang cost about 9,000 won ($6.87 U.S. dollars), and while we were waiting we got Milkis which are famous soda drinks in Korea. When the order was ready, the employee served the food and the cutlery to us. After I took my first sip, I fell in love with it. The soup had a perfect balance of spiciness and saltness. I LOVED the taste probably because I’m addicted to spices, but my friend poured Milkis constantly into her mouth to calm her nerves.
Illustration by Chloe M.
Cold Noodles & Kimchi Dumplings
Enjoying the cool air conditioning, my mother and I walked around the Starfield mall to shop for books and clothes. According to my amazing memory, it was about 2:30 P.M. which is during our usual lunchtime, so we decided to eat Korean cold noodles. We chose spicy cold noodles, giant kimchi dumplings, and giant meat dumplings. A few minutes later the food was ready, and the employees called out our order number. My mother hurried to get the food, like students rushing to go home after school, while I set the cutleries and water, the water was extra cold which I appreciated a lot. As I swallowed the noodle that was not as spicy as I thought it would be, I said in my mind, “Hm, I don’t think my friends can handle this…”
Illustration by Chloe M.
