August 12, 2007
Eating Live Octopus
When I purchased my plane ticket to Korea, I made one important decision -- I would eat some live octopus, which is considered a Korean delicacy of sorts, particularly among people who have been drinking late into the evening. So, I announced this goal to my friends who were living in Seoul and others who like me were in Korea for the IKAA conference (and for vacation). On one of the first nights in the city, we made our way to different parts of the city, eating every few hours. By late evening, we migrated toward Sinchon district to expressly find a San Nak Ji restaurant (aka live octopus). Eventually, we found one. Actually, we found a whole street of restaurants serving it, as Sinchon is a collegetown and there are hence lots of these seafood shops. So, here is what it looks like, all chopped up but still squirming around. You dip it in a hot chili pepper sauce that is spicy, sweet, and tangy (yum) and then chew, chew, chew. I was told that you had to chew vigorously, but it was not so difficult. Just a few chomps and it was ready to swallow. Very tasty, especially with a swig of cold soju to wash it all down. Truth be told, I was a tad disappointed because I was hoping to eat small, whole octopus which is far more challenging. Still, it was well worth it. As noted in my previous entry, I subsequently ate live sea cucumber and other shellfish while vacationing in Jeju Island. Yum again.
Here are some pictures of my friends and me eating the lovely San Nak Ji. Pictured alongside me are John and Hee Won. Katie and Jae Ran also had some too!
p.s. If you look in the background of the photo of me eating the octopus, you will see a bottle of soju in a custom soju cozee (sp?) to keep the soju nice and chilly. I have been looking around to buy some for friends, but to no avail...
