Doing My Part to Piss Off PETA — Chicken Galbi Topped with Live Octopus
Went out the other night on Anyang’s Food Street to a little DalkGalbi 닭갈비(Chicken Galbi) restaurant. Eun Jeong and I noticed that they served San Nakji 산 낙지(Live Octopus) with their DalkGalbi.
The DalkGalbi itself was a little watery for our tastes, but the San Nakji made up for it. Here’s some video goodness of the event. Eun Jeong and the owner are talking in the background about the qualities of Korean octopus, that it’s softer than Chinese and Japanese octopus. And it definitely was soft.
This one also had a roe sack, and the owner separated it, along with some select innards, from the rest of the food. Eun Jeong wouldn’t touch it. Towards the end of the meal I tried it, and it was amazing. Well, really, for people who appreciate things like this. It tasted like a lobster tamale or sucking the head from a crawfish.
As you can see, this particular Nakji was quite lively. The most lively I’ve ever eaten, and it was tastier than some of the others I’ve had. Just a squirt of sesame oil.
If you go to Andong for the soju, go to the highly educational SOJU MUSEUM! I took my family there on their tour of Korea. There was a guide that talked to them in English. There are displays explaining the soju making process, as well as plastic food displays of all the traditional meals of Korea. At the end of the tour, they even gave us a free shot of Andong Soju!
I take Andong Soju back for my friends in the United States when I travel. It can be purchased in the city and grocery stores with really nice collectable bottles.
Oh yeah… it’s on the list of places to go.
I saw the Soju Museum on Thirsty Traveler. Have you ever been to the surreal experience called the Kimchi Museum?
Ooh – interesting entry. I’ll have to try this high quality soju. I like sake a LOT more than soju.
Soju is not associated with “tasty” for me at all.
That’s probably in part because I had that awful night of spewing really cheap soju on the sidewalk my first weekend here. I think it’s pretty much mandatory to go through that. Right now I only drink soju mixed with something else.
Also – the Kimchi Museum is indeed surreal. However, I think they present the information quite well for the most part. I took family there recently and there was an English guide available.
[...] in Andong, you should check out the Soju Museum and try some of the local soju- the only kind to be still made in the traditional way instead of from a mix of grain alcohol and flavoring. It’ll cost you a little more, but it [...]
What repulsed me was that most cheap commercial soju — the stuff people usually drink — is not distilled. It’s pure grain alcohol mixed with flavorings and watered down. That explains the hangover factor
Grain or Ethyl Alcohol is distilled from a source of grain or fruit at some point. Therefore, Soju is distilled and later the proof is cut (diluted with flavorings, probably sugar and water) to a desired point. This is the same case with any distilled spirit regardless of quality.
[...] I also explored a little more with soju by trying the real Andong stuff (really good) and getting a horrid hangover learning Korean soju drinking games. And let’s [...]
I have to say I had the pleasure of trying the Andong soju recently. Taste is pretty strong but you could def notice the difference between other soju and Andong soju. No hangovers.. ^.^ Loved the experience.
Yeah, it’s a lot stronger but tastes cleaner. I’m getting a lot more hooked on it the more I try it.
Give me a bottle of Cham E-Seul any day..