Both Korea and Spanish-speaking countries have amazing varieties of street food. They all are slightly different depending upon where you are. Although Korea and Spanish-speaking countries have separate cultures, but their street food are not as different as you might think they are,
Morcilla or what is commonly known as blood sausage is a typical food in Latin America. It is filled with rice, meat, fat, blood and other fillers. Usually, it comes from a vendor on the street where they cook and cut it into tiny slices for you. They can give it to you with potatoes and poached egg. It can be served with Mofongo(fried plantains mashed with salt, garlic, etc), Arroz con gandules(rice and beans) and with a side of Tostones(fried plantains drizzled with garlic). All of these dishes match perfectly with Morcilla and can be easily accessible in the street markets. Korea has a similar dish called Sundae(순대). It is blood sausage served in Korean cuisine again made with cow or pig, blood, glass noodles and vegetables. Just like in Spanish-speaking countries, depending upon the region, the blood sausage inside varies. Some add kimchi, garlic, beans, seafood, perilla leaves or tofu. You can eat it with a little bit of salt, with ssamjang sauce and green chili. It is usually bought with other street foods such as Tteokbokki(떡볶이) which is a dish of stir fried rice cakes in a spicy sauce. The Tteokbokki sauce is where people also love to dip the Sundae in for a different type of sweet and spicy flavor. It can also be served with boiled liver in the same dish.
At these street vendors, there are also drinks that they offer. In Latin countries there is a drink called Horchata that is very similar to the Korean drink called Sikhye(식혜). Creating Horchata is a lengthy process. It is a drink consisting of a mixture of rice, flour, water, white sugar, powdered milk, evaporated milk, almonds, cinnamon and vanilla. This is all blended after allowing it to sit for a long period of time to absorb the flavors. This is a drink that can be found since the 18th century when Spain came to colonize Mexico. Korean Sikhye is a rice drink which is made with rice, malted barley, flour, and sugar. Both are refreshing cold drinks to have on a hot summer day.
The last food that is similar to each other is more of a dessert food in different cultures. Hotteok(호떡), so called “Korean pancake”, with its dough made from wheat, flour, water, milk, sugar and yeast. It is then stuffed with a sweet mixture of brown sugar and honey. It contain peanuts and cinnamon or other fillings. They are circular and cooked on a griddle. In Spanish-speaking countries, a type of dessert or “pancake” we have is called Arepa. It can just be fried by themselves or stuffed with cheese which then is called Arepa de queso. They are the sweet versions of Arepa for it to be served as a dessert as it is a more savory version. Arepas are cornmeal pancakes. They are made with milk, butter, yellow corn flour, salt, sugar, corn kernels, and cheese. Hotteok is made with a piece of dough, but Arepas are two separate pieces with cheese melted in the middle on the griddle. Both are delicious for days when you are craving something sweet and warm.
Written by: Samantha Garcia. From New York , United States . Current 4th year student at John Jay college of Criminal Justice .Pursing an International Criminal Justice B.A and a minor in Psychology. Intern at VANK (Voluntary Agency Network of Korea)