SOUTH KOREA CULINARY TOUR
Korea’s top-end dining wins international acclaim but it’s the country’s street food stalls, cafés, beer houses and small-town restaurants that offer spectacularly tasty tapas.
WHY IT’S SPECIAL
This small peninsular country tucked between China and Japan punches above its weight when it comes to distinctive cuisine.
Key staples are kimchi (fermented vegetables), guk (a flavourful, broth-like soup) along with white, sticky rice and bibimbap, Korea’s signature dish of sautéed vegetables spiced with red chilli gochujang paste.
But what really takes your breath away are the number and quality of the small, tapas-style side-dishes (banchan), served in the tiniest of family-run outlets. These might include mung bean jelly with turmeric, spicy pork, seaweed salad or delicately grilled mackerel, often accompanied by moju (a herbal rice beer heavily flavoured with cinnamon) or soju – the Korean answer to vodka and traditionally made from rice, wheat or barley.
Korea’s more unusual specialities include acorn jelly, neutari mushrooms, burdock root salad and barley seeds in syrup. Sweet desserts and snacks are equally delicious, from bean-paste cakes to the addictive kkwabaegi, a sugary doughnut.
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET…
Of all the unusual dishes, crispy silkworm larvae stays in the mind.
INSIDER TIP
Try haejang-guk, “hangover soup”: a nourishing broth with a spicy kick.
HOW TO DO IT
Flying time from London to Seoul is 11 hours. British Airways (ba.com) offers return flights from £506. Intrepid Travel (intrepidtravel.com) has an eight-day Real Food Adventure in South Korea, visiting the cities of Seoul, Jeonju, Gyeongju and Busan.