Characteristics of Sundae Loved by Koreans

We introduce the representative types of sundae loved by Koreans, as well as types of sundae that can be easily made and their characteristics .

1. A representative type of sundae preferred by Koreans (made with pork intestines)

1-1) Dangmyeon Sundae (snack type): The most popular type of sundae. Made by boiling pork intestines with noodles, vegetables, and a bit of blood, this chewy sundae is often served with tteokbokki (stir-fried rice cakes).

1-2) Byeongcheon Sundae: Originating from Byeongcheon-myeon, Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, this dish is light and filling, thanks to the generous use of vegetables like seonji (blood sausage), napa cabbage, and cabbage. The use of small intestines gives it a soft texture.

1-3) Abai Sundae : A local dish from the Hamgyeong Province region. Made with large intestines, it is flavorful and chewy, with glutinous rice, burdock, bean sprouts, and blood sausage.

1-4) Blood sausage: It has a very high content of sesame seeds, giving it a strong red color and a rich, rich flavor. It is famous in the Jeolla-do region.

1-5) Baek Sundae (Sundae without blood): It is characterized by a light and clean taste as it does not contain any blood sausage, and is popular mainly in stir-fried sundae dishes.

2. Special Sundae(made without pork intestines)

Special Sundae made with squid and pollack is a local dish mainly from Sokcho, Gangwon-do(province), Korea and Hamgyeong-do, presently North Korea Territory. It is a special sundae that uses seafood skin instead of pig intestines.

2- 1) Squid Sundae (Ojingeo-sundae)

* Characteristic: It is a steamed dish made by stuffing a squid body with glutinous rice, cellophane noodles, various vegetables, and minced squid legs.

* Origin: The prevailing theory is that it originated from the fact that during the Korean War, displaced people from Hamgyeong Province had difficulty obtaining pig intestines, so they made it using common squid.

* How to eat: The most famous way to eat steamed squid sundae is to cool it, cut it into round pieces, coat it with egg, and fry it in oil. It is also served with seasoned pollack roe.

2-2 ) Myeongtae -Sundae

* Characteristic: It is a steamed dish made by removing the intestines of pollack and filling it with glutinous rice, vegetables, pollack meat, etc.

* Origin: It is a local food originating from coastal areas such as Hamheung, South Hamgyong Province.

* current situation: Compared to squid sundae, the process of making it is much more complicated, and the price of the ingredient, pollack, is expensive and not cost-effective, so it has become a rare food that is difficult to taste these days.

2-3) Other special sundae

* Dried squid sundae: There is also a method of stuffing dried squid with filling.

* Tips: Side dish with pollack sashimi: Squid sundae or pollack sundae is the best combination when eaten with 'myeongtae sashimi (codfish salad)' made by fermenting pollack.

These special sundaes are different from the regular sundae in that they have a light and chewy texture and a savory taste of seafood.

3. Regional side dishes for sundae (tips)

In Korea, the sauce used to dip sundae varies from region to region.

3-1) Seoul/Gyeonggi: Salt + red pepper powder + pepper

3-2) Gyeongsang-do: Ssamjang(Marinated and Fermented Sauce)

3-3) Jeolla-do: Chojang(Viniger and Other Spice Marinated Gochujang Sauce)

3-4) Gangwon-do: Seaujot(Salted and Fermented Shrimp Paste)