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Bungeoppang Street Food: Korean Fish-Shaped Pastries

Take a bite of the past with Bungeoppang or Korean fish-shaped pastry street food.
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Take a bite of the past with Bungeoppang or Korean fish-shaped pastry street food.

I’m not one for candy, but I do have a huge sweet tooth for anything chocolate, pastry, cake, cookie or brownie related. When I was walking through the streets of Seoul on my way to the Cheonggyecheon Stream to see the annual Seoul Lantern Festival, I came across a street food vendor I couldn’t resist who was selling Bungeoppang.

I stopped by this older lady’s street food cart almost every night I was in Seoul. Her stand was one of my favorite’s located on Yulgok-ro right before the main street in Insadong, Insadong-gil. She would make the most amazing bean and custard cakes, or Bungeoppang, that my mom and I just couldn’t resist.

This amazing fish-shaped pastry is called Bungeoppang, or carp shaped bread. It’s very similar to the Japanese Taiyaki pastry, but don’t get them confused, they are very different. They both have different fillings, are cooked in different ways, pay attention to different details and more. The Koreans named their pastry Bungeoppang because of the number of these fish they would find in their streams and rivers of Korea. The fish was popular in the 50s and 60s, then disappeared. It reappeared in the 90s when it was nostalgically brought back. The sweet came to be during a poor period when people needed simple, high-calorie meals to help them get through their day. Eating it today is like eating your mother’s old cookie or pie recipe, it brings you back to a sense of history and old culture.

Don’t be fooled by these pastries, they taste nothing like fish. They are basically waffles with a hot sweet red bean or custard filling, so they are not fried but roasted. This makes them a small and healthy alternative. Bungeoppang is a sweet only made in the winter, so if your in Seoul during that time make sure to grab some. You can get about 6 for the price of .90 cents USD. It’s a bargain deal!!

The elder lady from my street food cart also sold Bbokki candy, or honeycomb, sugary, caramel candy. Unfortunately, I don’t like candy so didn’t try it. I’m more of a cakes, cookies, brownies, chocolate, and pastries sort of a girl. Bbokki Candy was originally created as a game. If you could get the whole candy off of the stick without breaking it, you would get another one for free!

If you’re anywhere in Korea during fall or winter, you’ll be tempted by a ton of amazing street food. When you catch a glimpse of these fish-shaped waffle pastries, don’t forget to stock up and enjoy! A lot of vendors allow you to mix and match so don’t be afraid to try the sweet red bean, that’s my personal favorite.

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