We Weren't Expecting These Flavors From Korean Cuisine

[@Justin-yx4bq]

As a Korean American, I was raised on my mother's cooking which was Korean food as it was in the 1960s/70s. Some time after that, Korea learned to incorporate more and more sugar into their cooking. Like a lot of countries, sugar became one of the cheapest sources of calories and flavor. As a result, the food radically changed. So now I feel like a thawed frozen caveman when I eat in Korea. Most of it is too sweet for me now. Its actually a common topic among the elderly and other people who grew up in a time capsule like me.

[@ownlydown5933]

So like, ramen and soups have sugar when those dishes are meant to be savory?

[@Justin-yx4bq]

@@ownlydown5933 yeah savory dishes are now sweet although generally the soups and stews (jjigae, tang) are less pronounced. But yangnyeom galbi, galbi jjim and bulgogi are much sweeter than they used to be. Tteokbokki is very sweet and spicy now. Mul Naeng Myun (cold noodle soup) is often like drinking sprite. I think ssamjang and bibim sauce is sweeter. More of the banchan is sweet. Jajangmyun (chinese I know) in korea is also sweeter than salty now. Just things off the top of my head. And then there are the new foods and snacks that tend to be on the sweet side. I read a korean gov't statistic that said in 1953 an average korean ate 984 g of sugar a year; in 2012, it was 22 kg a year. Also weird fact, Samsung started as the first korean sugar refinery in 1953. But to conclude, please still go to korea and eat. The food is unique and fantastic. I was just observing how korean food has evolved over time. It is still great and I overeat every time I go. And yeah maybe I get a little defensive if I hear people say korean food is sweet. 😀

[@vonwaq]

same, everytime we travel to korea our whole family always complains how sweet everything is.

[@ichijoescave147]

adding corn syrup?

[@Justin-yx4bq]

@@ichijoescave147 Yes corn syrup is commonly found in recipes now. In contrast, my mother has never owned a bottle. She has only ever used sugar and mirin (which has some glucose syrup) to add sweetness. in her cooking, the sweetness is to balance the salt vs making the dishes predominantly sweet.

[@chezwizard]

2:26 "eating sugar in carb form" As a chemist, this physically hurts

[@Mitaka-Asa]

Don't you mean it raises your serotonin?

[@Ash_Wen-li]

​@@Mitaka-AsaNah it raises my blood sugar

[@spiderdude2099]

Agreed

[@spiderdude2099]

@@Mitaka-Asa you’re thinking of cortisol

[@timothygooding9544]

me when I eat bread

[@weirdy8]

Cultural context: Most people in Korea actually associate hot dogs with corn dogs, often coated with fried taters and cheese inside. Also that soup Connor likely got wasn’t miso soup: it’s miyukgook or Kelp Soup. It’s natural MSG and is regularly served as a birthday tradition where you drink your next year in a bowl. Korea has its own fermented bean paste separate to Miso called Dwaenjang, which is honestly saltier and much larger (it’s served in a stone pot)

[@Hy-BridAbroad]

Yeah, I was quite confused when he said hot dogs as the word hot dog in Korean refers to what we think of as corn dogs. I don't remember having eating an actual hot dog during my 3 years living in Korea. I don't even know where I'd find it aside from the sausage on a stick things you find at convienence stores.

[@SonicRyan1992]

would explain why search engines show a corn dog when you type in "Korean hot dog"

[@a.s.f.g.8345]

Why the fuck are chilaquiles on the thumbnail???

[@DefinitelyNotAnUndercoverCop]

lol a year later and that's what I'm asking

[@eyespliced]

There should be a JOLLY - koreanenglishman / trashtaste colab.

[@falx1975]

Bibinbap is the best Korean food. Especially the one served in a hot stone bowl that makes the rice crispy if you wait a minute or two before mixing it up. Godlike. Pro tip, dribble some of the soup if they serve it as a side dish into the bowl to cool it down just a little faster. Fried chicken is difficult, though it's not the chicken itself really you can get good fried chicken anywhere, the sauces though if they're done right are amazing.

[@SovereignSlate]

BiBimBap is our struggle food. A lot of Koreans who grew up not so well off wouldn’t say the same.

[@GN323]

Why is the thumbnail a picture of chilaquiles? A mexican dish

[@THER0B0G]

Yo wtf you’re right lol just noticed that 8 months later 😂

[@shiinsei6448]

Yeah… as a foreigner leaving in Seoul I can confirm haha I miss salty snacks so much!! Also, never try garlic bread in Korea... It's disgusting… not garlicky ITS SWEET 😩

[@oceanicGrimalkin]

Ngl, I actually like Korean garlic bread, at least where I'm from where it's still garlicky while retaining the cream cheese.

[@RogerVazro]

I was hoping they would talk about eating chilaquiles(a mexican dish) in korea or something due to the thumbnail

[@RiotNoobs]

All the folks saying that the sweetness from the kelp broth came from MSG have no clue what they're talking about. MSG is literally a salt -- it's in the very name. It's supposed to taste savoury. Also true on Koreans having sweeter palates. I love Korean food and watching Korean cooking shows, and chefs seem to use sugar pretty liberally.

[@drzero7]

As a Korean american, that "Miso soup" you draink with your bibimbap was probably Kelp Soup not Miso soup. and Korean Kelp Soup isnt salty at all. It isnt sweet like sugar, the "Sweetness" is probably coming from the Kelp itself which would taste more like MSG then anything. (Kelp naturally have MSG so)

[@DannyYoo]

I'm thinking it was probably omuk-tang, fish cake broth, which *is* sweet.

[@Moodbone]

Bro, Connor shouldn't have to defend himself for trying hotdogs or pringles in korea, its perfectly valid to try out region variants on things you know, idk why Garnt and Joey are taking the piss and acting like you should only eat dishes created in the country you're in, that's just silly. It's like bottom of the barrel food elitism for no reason at all, lol.

[@fluidthought42]

Plus Korean hot dogs are a distinct regional variant

[@Ash_Wen-li]

This was pretty soft for banter, it wasn't that bad

[@temporamen]

It's just bants, chill.

[@jrc205]

I think the issue was he was complaining about them like as if they were comparable to corn dogs that would be sold at a state fair in the states. You can try variants from other regions but don’t complain and expect it to be the same when places, especially like Asia, don’t specialize or even see corn dogs in the same way that westerners do. This is like someone from China complaining about the American Chinese food because they were expecting it to taste authentic and exactly how it is in China.

[@Ash_Wen-li]

One think it like about Korean food in North America is that it survived "Amerification" the best so it's easier to find more authentic versions. Japanese and Thai restaurants all feel the same and with Chinese food you're out of luck unless you live in a big city with tons of Chinese people that will actually eat real Chinese food

[@8bitdiedie]

Isn’t contemporary Korea quite Americanized anyway? I mean, Korean Fired Chicken, Korean Corndogs etc.

[@blurb9319]

@@8bitdiedie A lot of Korean restaurants in the US tend to serve more 'traditional' food like bibimbap, gimbap, kimchijige, galbi, soondubu, etc.

[@rudysmith1552]

Survived becoming American when I eat Chinese unless there is ethnic Chinese running the place I expected to be a fast food version of immigrant ethnic food

[@Praestantia]

"Authentic Korean food" lmao bruh most people eating Korean food just think of Korean fried chicken and bbq. If that isn't Americanised then I don't know what is. The traditional foods were already modified to suit Western pallets so you won't see real authentic Korean food similar to those that the older generations grew up with. You'll have better luck with Japanese, Thai, and Chinese restaurants.

[@Ash_Wen-li]

​​@@PraestantiaI live right by cities with tons of Korean restaurants so maybe my selection is biased. But they're definitely not as Americanized as the 3 cuisines I've listed. There's also the usual suspects like KBBQ, KFC and corn dogs but there's tons of other restaurants with plenty of dishes most Americans have never heard of. And the customers are all Korean. Thai and Japanese restaurants tend to have the same generic selections for the most part. You can literally copy paste their menus across restaurants. With the exception for Japanese being the few that specialize in something specific. With Chinese I'm pretty lucky because there's a lot of variety in sub-cuisines. But I know in some places in America and Canada you can only get American Chinese

[@ruebnn]

video about korean cuisine -> shows mexican dish in thumbnail

[@LitereallyNobody7]

It's funny cuz remember when Connor said to never eat the hot dogs at conventions

[@ownlydown5933]

5:43 Connor Wiping off Garnt Saliva😂 it aont Gayge man its okay lol

[@thatoneduneworm]

the Pringle "spicy but not spicy" is selling everywhere, I bought one in Vietnam as well. Needless to say i'm very angry that time

[@Iris-iw9ii]

Conor’s experience in Korea is similar to mine in Thailand. On my whole two weeks vacation in Thai all I was doing is trying to find something not spicy. I was always asking workers of restaurants and shops for not spicy options and they still were spicy😭

[@stuntmonkey00]

Dudes, Korean hotdogs are do bomb, especially the rice batter versions of corndogs. And all the combinations of sweet savory toppings. It's like if a corndog was a JPEG, but all of the colours were turned up to VIVID+. Conor's first mistake was "sadium" lol.

[@kuroakikitsune]

Korea: sugar and spice and everything nice? The amount of recipies that have either sugar or mirin. Japan seems to love salt and sugar in their recipes?

[@porcorosso4330]

The reason i don't like korean fry chicken is that it is too sweet... I tried it a few times and never went back to it....

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

Same. Its wayyy too saucy

[@bedrock6443]

Also if you tried it once you tried it all. It all tastes the same to me.

[@darkangel7589]

Honestly, I really want to try Korean and Japanese food. There aren’t really any Korean or Japanese restaurants where I live. I’ve tried Japanese candies and junk food, but not real food. There are a bunch of Chinese restaurants where I live, though. I’m half Italian, so it’s not like I didn’t grow up eating good food. I just want to try something new. Who knows, maybe it’ll heal my injured leg 😂 (kidding).

[@TNTspaz]

Like the main ingredient in all korean street food is sugar. Even the sandwiches lol They literally use it like salt

[@Sylykyn]

I was surprised that some food was either undersalted or no salt at all in Korea. Is it because you supposed to add it yourself to your taste or health concern?

[@whimsycottt]

Trash taste goes to Hong Kong 2024? 👀

[@mustsnip537]

stadium hot dogs are usually the best ones. at least in america.

[@porcorosso4330]

I originally thought takoyaki was some kind of sweets when i was a kid seeing it in japanese animes. I found out later in life that it is savory and made with squid. That was a hard adjustment. That said, with all the sauce they put on it... It is probably pretty sweet as well... edit: Octopus not squid. I like squid/octopus. It is just that I believe for so long that it is a sweets.

[@yuvalgabay1023]

Traveling to Japan and takoyaki was one of my biggest disappointment.

[@Ash_Wen-li]

​@@yuvalgabay1023Really? All the takoyaki I had in Tokyo was better than what I can get in Canada

[@chocopieaddict9792]

​@Ash_Wen-li i actually had better takoyaki here in nyc compared to tokyo, way more octopus here (also like 4x the price here too though :( )

[@yuvalgabay1023]

@@Ash_Wen-li i mean takoyaki in general A small piece of octo ,the batter is rare(like actual liquid), the strong fish flavour+ the insane amount of bbq sauce and mayo actually ruins the dish

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

Thats because you had takoyaki in tokyo. Osaka is where takoyaki was invented. Go to osaka for good takoyaki@@chocopieaddict9792

[@robertdailey7248]

I went to Seoul for a long weekend a few years ago. The food was mostly very average. It just doesn’t compare to Tokyo, Paris, or New York.

[@RvLeshrac]

The truth is that while *some* Korean food is good, yes, most of it has pounds and pounds of sugar just heaped into it. It's insane.

[@eugenebobuel4578]

"Sugar in carbs form" 😂 but carbohydrates are literally sugar. 😅

[@lacalcetaderayas4505]

So this isnt about chilaquiles?? 😢

[@shane658]

is that a gsupps bottle filled with piss in the back?? 💀

[@darkangel7589]

I don’t even wanna know…

[@spiderdude2099]

As someone who primarily dislikes salty food, Korea sounds lit. Please put sugar in everything.

[@Yamulo]

Is it possible that there was more sugar because they only ate in a tourist trap?

[@nam430]

We viets got the best brewd in asia

[@cawfesw]

just banh mi bread? i would agree because im also viet and my fav food is banh mi, but if its just one type of bread idk how we can call it the best lol

[@TheCreepypro]

nice

[@UandMeDasame]

I mean, there are literally thousands of restaurants where they sell perfect balanced food in seoul🤦‍♂️ This is what happen if don't have a guide. How about hire a guide or something next time

[@autumnlove96able]

From the thumbnail to connors ignorance, there's just a lot of poorly communicated or outright wrong info about korean food. As a half-korean, idk about food in actual south korea, but the food i grew up with wasn't sweet, it was all healthy and savory.

[@bedrock6443]

You should try modern Korean food. Go to South Korea and try their modern food.

[@conocosz]

Korean food lacks a bit of identity. Street foods are just like a fridge raid meal. Flavors are basically one note and they often copy a lot of Japanese flavors. You can only really do kbbq so many times before you realize that's all you ate when you're there because most foods are not great.

[@leeyubin39]

nah seems like You only know Korean food that tourist eats Korea has more than that

[@goldenpie6]

Bro thinks KBBQ is the only Korean food that exists

[@rossgaller960]

korean food is not my cup of tea , its taste so bland and some are so sugary...