In Korea there are many choices when it comes to shopping for food. There is everything from the tiny corner grocery store to large mega stores with names like E-Mart and HomePlus and Hanaro. The large grocery stores seem very popular with plenty of employees to assist you with your shopping needs. If you have a craving for pork belly (its like bacon without the curing) there are almost always samples offered by friendly employees frying away this Korean delicacy. It is not unusual to hear a male employee shouting the benefits of what ever happens to be frying in the meat department. For the more American style palate, the choices at these large stores are very hit and miss. Susan and I were on the hunt for some canned tomatoes a week ago as an ingredient for some chili Susan was preparing to complement a baked potato bar (for a campus meeting called Alpha that explains Christianity to university students interested in learning more.) There was no sign of canned tomatoes anywhere in the store. Questions to store employees only brought puzzled looks suggesting the concept of putting a tomato in a can seemed rather odd to them. Susan had another idea of a smaller store that sometimes carries more American style products. Bonanza! Although they had no small cans, someone had ordered the super large Costco style cans and stacked them in a section for very large products. I suspect it was an ordering error of some sort and Susan scored two of them.
For the more adventurous, there are the open markets. Ponhang has exceptionally large one called Jukdo Market. It stretches for many blocks with hundreds of merchants offering items from vegetables, to meats to kitchen goods to it's most famous product, fresh (and I mean alive fresh) seafood. Here you see large aquariums with freshly ocean caught fish brought in by the Pohang fishing fleet that hauls its catch to the market every day. I was particularly interested in finding some fresh scallops. They have them still breathing in the shell. I had Susan ask if they offered them outside of the shells and we got the same puzzled look we received for the canned tomatoes. The merchant replied that "they wouldn't be fresh anymore if we offered them outside of the shell." Still, in order to make the sale they offered to remove the live scallops from the shells for the curious American guy. I declined their kind offer when we weighed the scallops in the shells. I roughly calculated the price at close to 40 to 50 dollars a pound for the actual scallops after they have been shelled and cleaned. I wonder what they would have thought if they knew I intended to fry the scallops rather then eat them raw. Still, I'm hoping to taste them sometime during our stay in Korea. Fruit is very expensive in Korea where close attention is paid to the shape and beauty of the fruit in setting the price. Not surprisingly, you find better prices at the Jukdo open market. Watermelons are large and much more aesthetically pleasing than the ones we see in the states. They are a rich dark green in shading and always sold in the markets with the stem on. Unfortunately they cost about $20. It is another delicacy I've not been able to talk myself into purchasing. I'm always finding little surprises in the markets. Once at the Jukdo open market I found a large vat of sliced pickles. Tasting a sample I found they were a little darker version of what we call sweet bread and butter pickles. We bought a half kilo or so to take home. I sometimes see these pickles in restaurants placed on the table by the staff as a side dish.
Costco remains a much anticipated weekly run for the Chinn family. Last week I got a taste of some New York steaks being grilled as a sample. Absolutely delicious, and a package would have made its way into our shopping cart if it wasn't priced at about $87 for what looked to be about 2-3 pounds of meat! Even hamburger is priced at 6-7 dollars a pound. Thankfully the food court always comes through with a low cost meal if you can find a spot to sit and eat. The hot dog comes with a refillable soda and is priced at 2,200 won (about $2.00). The hot dogs are made from pork rather than beef - probably because beef is so expensive in Korea. The Koreans at Costco have a curious habit of cranking a large pile of chopped onions onto their plate to which they add ketchup and mustard and mix it up. It becomes a side dish with the bulgogi pizza they frequently order. Going to the markets continues to be a fun activity for the Chinn family. We go several times a week for fresh bread and milk and whatever suits our fancy. We take the free university shuttle to town for our shopping. With gas prices at approximately $8.00 a gallon, we're in no hurry to purchase a car. We read about the current gas prices in the US and wonder what everyone is complaining about!
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