Korean Street food epitomizes Korea.It is mobile. It is fast. It is fun. And the people who make it embody the “Spirit of the Hungry”: the never say die attitude to survive in a competitive society. You’ll see these carts everywhere and they are all working hard to feed a nation of taste-obsessed citizens. One tiny cart that is only the size of a golf cart holds a plethora of tasty tidbits. You have lightly battered fried sweet potato, fried cuttlefish, fried dumplings, fried shrimp, battered and fried hotdogs, and vegetable fritters.

The fried hotdogs look similar to ones that you might find on Coney Island. A wiener is impaled with a chopstick and then battered in a flour batter. The breading on these dogs is fluffier than ones you might find in the states. Also you might find them encrusted with crinkled French fries or even ramen! The hotdog is then dressed with red, red ketchup.

On the street, anything can be fried. You might find a rod of rice cake that has been battered and deep-fried or, my favorite, a tornado potato. It’s one potato that has been spiral cut so it looks like an oil drill. This downward spiral-looking snack is seasoned with salt or powdered cheese and it tastes like a potato chip.

To the side of this magical street food car, one might find a large, thick boa constrictor-like sausage called sundae. This purple snake is chock full of glass noodles and pig’s blood.

To the other side is a pot of steaming soup where ribboned skewers of fishcake lay, soaking up the subtle aroma of the broth. This hot soup dish is the savior of many on frigid days. One cup of soup and a ribbon of fish-cake can save you on cold Korean winters when you think your nose might freeze off.

Behind those foods is the focal point of every street cart: topokki. A large pan of chewy rice cakes in a spicy, sweet sauce is the beloved snack of every schoolchild in Korea. The velvety and bubble-like texture of the rice noodles pop along the spicy river of sauce. The sauce is the secret mantra of every street cart vendor and they guard their recipe with their life.

The sauce is ubiquitous. It can go with everything: the fishcake, the fried octopus, sweet potato,
vegetable fritters, and even the blood sausage. It adds a punch of spice to your meal.

Koreans like to mix flavors (which explains the popularity of bibimbap: Korea’s spicy, mixed-rice dish). My favorite thing to do is to ask for fried octopus and sweet potato and then have it mixed in the topokki sauce. I love the chewy crispness of the octopus and the translucent charm of the sweet potato in the spicy red pepper sauce.

Standing outside this delicious food on a mobile cart will excite you. The food is so accessible and fun, it makes you wonder what the food inside the restaurants will be like- trust me it is just as good. Korea has one of the most exciting food cultures in the world and you have to try it all.