This dish was supposed to be served with ice. However, it was 0°C out and
we were seated in an open-air market... So after much back and forth with my hilarious mix of very very few Korean words, English and hand signs, I was served a bowl of noodles with no meat/seafood and no ice. And it was delicious! The noodles were soft, the seaweed and mashed nuts in the paste gave different textures AND the sesame oil gave it such a nice aromatic finish. The spice level was just right too but I do like my food spicy :) I was also given a bowl of hot vegetable soup because I didn't want cold food and the owner probably thought the soup would keep me warm. All food is usually served with kimchi in Korea so just don't eat it if you're not sure if it contains fish sauce. The stall however as with most in the market, serves a good variety of meat. And we happened to sit right where huge chunks of meat were displayed 😳 Although that wasn't ideal, the overall experience however was wonderful. Perhaps it was the fun in attempting to communicate even though none of us spoke the same language (a group of Japanese tourists we ended up sitting next to all attempted to help in the translation process 😂). Perhaps it was experiencing the graciousness of the stall owner in coming up with something for me to eat, or perhaps i was just being happy at experiencing the local culture of sitting at a local market in the freezing cold eating local food and drinking local alcohol attempting to exchange tasting notes in sign language with the Japanese group. Perhaps all this made the dish so tasty. On hindsight, was this dish 100% vegan, I don't know actually. But I think veganism is more than what we put into our bodies. At this moment to me, it was the attitude towards accepting the graciousness of the stall owner's attempt to suit my diet and living in the beauty of the moment. #veganism #foodforthoughtliterally #southkorea #gratitude #graciousness #streetfood
