Everyone's Favorite Bunsik, Have You Tried All?

Bunsik, literally meaning "food made from flour", is a term that refers to a Korean snack that is commonly peddled. Most popular bunsik include gimbap, tteokbokki and eomuk (fish cake). Bunsik can be easily found in traditional markets, street vendors, and around popular tourist spots or shopping areas. Here are some of the most well-known and favored bunsik by both Koreans and foreign tourists. Have you tried all of them? Several snacks have also become hits in Indonesia.

1. Gimbab

Gimbap or rice rolls are made from rice flavored with vinegar, sugar and salt. The rice is then placed on the gimbab mold. Pieces of egg, eomuk, carrots, spinach and pickled radish are then placed in the middle of the rice to roll into a cylinder shape. The rolls were then cut into pieces. Gimbap is the perfect food choice for lunch or picnics.

2. Buchimgae / Jeon

Buchimgae and jeon refer to pancake-like dishes in Korean cuisine. Meat, seafood, vegetables, and eggs mixed with flour mixture then sauteed with oil. Each jeon gets its name from the main ingredients it uses, such as pajeon (green onion pancake), kimchi jeon (kimchi pancake), and bindaetteok (green bean pancake). The combination of jeon and makgeolli (Korean rice wine) is a Korean favorite when it rains.

3. Tteokbokki

Tteokbokki is one of the most common snacks sold by street vendors. Rice cake with eomuk and vegetables cooked in red chili sauce which is spicy but has a sweet taste. A variety of fusion tteokbokki can also be found, including tteokbokki made using jjajang (black bean sauce) or topped with garlic.

4. Sundae

Sundae is a traditional sausage made from layers of pork intestines filled with a mixture of tofu, vegetables and glass noodle. It's usually dipped in spiced salt and in some areas served with ssamjang, a paste mixed with gochujang and doenjang (fermented soybean paste). Sundae can also be made using cuttlefish as a substitute for pork intestines or the glass noodle is replaced with sticky rice.

5. Eomuk

The main ingredient of Eomuk consists of ground fish meat. It is usually skewered and stewed in radish and spring onion broth. Eomuk is very popular as a winter snack.

6. Twigim

Twigim is a generic term for a fried dish covered in flour and egg batter. Squid, dumplings, potatoes, shrimp, and various kinds of vegetables are the main ingredients. It tastes better dipped in soy sauce or tteokbokki sauce.

7. Hotteok

Hotteok are chewy pancakes, usually filled with various combinations of sugar and walnuts or pine nuts. Some hotteok are filled with vegetables or cheese. A popular street food found mostly in winter.

8. Jwipo / Dried Squid

Jwipo is made from thread-sail filefish which is flattened and dipped in sauce then dried. Jwipo and dried squid are usually grilled over a fire before consumption to add to their sweet and savory taste.

9. Kkochi

Kkochi refers to cooking satay (skewers of meat). The most common kkochi is dak kkochi, or chicken satay. Small pieces of chicken and vegetables are skewered, coated in sauce, then grilled. Sausage, fish cakes, and tteokgalbi (rice cakes and grilled ribs) are also often used as ingredients for making kkochi to add variety to kkochi.

10. Bungeo PPang / Gukhwa Ppang / Gyeran Ppang

Bungeo ppang, a favorite winter snack, gets its name from its fish-like shape. This sweet snack is formed into goldfish, which in Korean is called bungeo. Pancake batter is filled with red bean paste, cream or cheese and then baked. Gukhwa ppang is shaped like a flower and slightly smaller than bungeo ppang which tastes similar. Gyeran ppang is also made from pancake batter and on top of it is egg filling with a savory taste and a soft texture.

11. Hoppang

This hoppang or Korean dumpling is one of the most popular warm snacks in winter. These are rice flour balls that have been cooked with various fillings, such as red bean paste, vegetables, minced meat and others. Hoppang is usually steamed to keep warm and is sold on the streets and in convenience stores.