When I lived in South Korea I was able to try much of the local cuisine. At first, my palette deceived me and I did not enjoy it. The tastes were very different and the spice was more pronounced. As time went by, I adapted and in the end Korean food became one of my favorites.
There is one 'snack' which is very popular there which I only tried once and didn't care for. To be honest, it came as a dare from one of my friends before I left the country - that snack is called Beondegi (번데기) or roasted silk larva. In South Korea it's sold everywhere, especially near venues where large crowds gather. It was winter when I first saw the stalls selling Beondegi; at the time I thought they were selling roasted nuts (makes sense)... but the smell was not recognizable or appetizing. It's difficult to describe the smell - it was acrid. Yet, people walked by eating these tiny morsels like peanuts from paper funnels.
When I tried Beondegi, it wasn't bad... a bit salty and chewy (the smell was the worst). I've read a lot of health benefits attributed to eating Beondegi though - they're supposed to be very high in protein (for very cheap). So they might be on to something...
A little while ago, as I strolled through my local Korean market I came across a can of Beondegi (amazing!). I flipped it over to check the price ... what the heck, I thought, for good old times. That's when I noticed a sticker stating that this was purely bird food and not meant for human consumption. That's really weird - perhaps it's an insurance safeguard in the event someone gets sick... the US is less forgiving than a lot of other countries.
None the less, it was nice to reminisce once again of a magical place and time.
cheers,
