HAEMUL DDUKBAEGI OR SEAFOOD HOT POT

The island of Jeju is filled with seafood. For lunch, we tried this spicy (spicy by Korean standards) seafood broth of abalone, mussels, clams, baby octopi, mushroom and a slice of tofu all boiled together in a hot pot, so hot that it was still bubbling when it reached the table. In some places, the seafood — including octopus — is still alive and when it dies in the hot pot, the waitress deftly snips it with a pair of scissors in front of your eyes! That’s probably the freshest meal you’d ever eat. 
 

Fishy fact: Abalone, a type of shellfish, belong to the same family as clams, scallops and sea slugs. You can scoop out the meat with a spoon (unless your chopstick skills are swag) and keep the colourful inside shell as a memoir, like we did! 

JEONBOKJUK OR PORRIDGE WITH ABALONE
The buffet at Shangri-La Yacht and Seafood Club is something every tourist to Jeju should try. We almost skipped this item because it looked like goo but when the nameplate caught the eye, we happily helped ourselves to bowlfuls. If you read any number of food articles — like we did in the six-hour layover at Hong Kong airport with free Wi-Fi — you’d know that Jeonbokjuk is a specialty. What does it taste like? Liquid-y Italian risotto with seafood! 

BIBIMBAP
In terms of global significance to a cuisine, Bibimbap is to Korean cuisine what the Chicken Tikka is to Indian. It is a one-pot meal of rice, chilli paste, vegetables like carrots, spinach and cucumber, seaweed and cuttlefish. It is easily identified as Bibimbap because of a raw or fried egg topping. 

A saving grace for vegetarians in Korea because it can easily be served without the fish and/or egg while the other dishes are already cooked with meat or seafood limiting the choice for vegetarians. 

Local lore: A young Korean girl we met while catching our breath hiking to Seongsan Ilchulbong or the Sunrise Peak, explained that Bibimbap is often made at home to use the leftover vegetable side dishes or Banchan.

HAEMUL PAJEON OR SEAFOOD (SQUID) PANCAKE
Pajeon means pancake in Korean (pa means spring or green onion which is a primary ingredient in the pancakes). This pan-fried pancake had slivers of squid peeping out and was cut into six slices, pizza-style, for easy sharing. If you’re craving for fried food in Korea, this will keep you happy! In fact, if we remember the taste of any dish most clearly, it is the Pajeon. This one was priced 15,000 won (Rs 900 approx.) and was shared by three.

Pots and pans: Don’t confuse Pajeon with Buchimgae, which also means pancake. The difference between the two is in the cooking technique. 

GODEUNGEO GUI OR GRILLED MACKEREL 
No elaborate recipe here, a whole fish is seasoned with salt (kosher salt in most places) and lime, kept for at least half an hour before grilling. You may coat it with some flour but that’s optional. The high oil content of the mackerel makes it just right for grilling. Plus, it’s rich in good fat (omega 3 fatty acids). 

Gill-ty pleasure: If you’re willing to splurge a little more, try the grilled Okdom fish. 

SEONGGEGUK
A murky soup of seaweed, sea urchin roe and sometimes, abalone. The yellow spongy like thing is the sea urchin roe. We didn’t go back for seconds!

BANCHAN OR SIDE DISHES