TRADITIONAL Korean Noodle Tour in South Korea

Hi guys, I'm Mike Chen. As you know,

noodle

s are probably one of my favorite things in the world. Well,

noodle

s, dumplings and stew. Okay, there are a lot of things I love. I think I'm on to a good first stop here in Jeju. We are going to eat a local specialty called beef noodles. I love the name. Come on. So with this meal I got two different types of noodles, one is soup and the other is more sauce. And the noodle soup has a creamy looking broth, strands of eggs, sesame, scallions, carrots, oh, and black pork inside too, and all the noodles here are handmade.

It seems like they have a lot to chew on. Good texture These are the famous beef noodles here in Jeju and they call this dome Bay. What is the process of cooking a large amount of black pork in a pot? Wow, how clean. Lots of pork flavor. These are the perfect noodles for your stomach. It's not that it's not very acidic. It is such a calming broth. I just took a little bit out to experiment, but a little bit of chili, a little bit of salt, a little bit of pepper. Okay, I might have added a little more salt than I should have.

But there's really nothing wrong with how it was before. I dipped my pork in the shrimp sauce, a little jalapeño for flavor, a little onion for crunch. This looks like a bite. Wow, such a difference in texture from the crunch of the onions to the jalapenos to the crunchy cartilage and not. sleep with this amazing pork. Also, let's not forget the second noodles here. These noodles are sautéed and look like chili sauce and bits of mussels and this is what they call stone octopus here. And I've never seen this before, but it's a side dish of rice with bean sprouts.

And of course, some algae. Just look at this. Oh, this is it: did you like capturing the kraken and bringing it to my plate? They told me that you mix the rice with this spicy sauce. The rice is very well mixed. Really nice fragrance from the sesame oil, so the chili is not as spicy as it seems mmm boom God, I love that slightly more aldente, slightly chewier texture. than those of the broth. It sticks to that sauce. Alright, how do I start eating this? Okay, give me this. I want to try a piece of octopus.

I was afraid this would be too difficult. This is loving me with tenderness and gentleness. My local friends just informed me that what I was supposed to do was cut everything, cut the noodles, cut the octopus and just mix this whole dish together and then eat it like this. That's a great thing. Don't get me wrong, I love noodles in broth, but this is on a whole different level. Oh, and the octopus and all the seafood in this dish. All caught locally, that's why you won't get anything fresher than this. Okay, I'm going to finish, but I said this adventure with noodles.

The next step is just beginning. Next step is to head back to Seoul to have some more noodle fun. I see you in a while. Hello again to Seoul and the noodle

tour

continues. My first bowl of noodles in Seoul is one of my all-time favorites in both Chinese and Korean cuisine. jajangmyeon. and this dish, of course, is a Chinese-inspired dish. That's why we're in a Korean Chinese restaurant. Now, in addition to having a supposedly amazing Korean jajangmyeon, this place also has another popular dish called sweet and sour pork. I could smell it as soon as I walked in. restaurant.

So we're going to serve that as well. Now. This is a typical dish from northeastern China. fried pork chunks on the outside, a sweet and sour sauce all over it, it's supposed to be crispy and sweet and vinegary all at the same time. A little preview before the noodles. My God. That was so good that for a moment I forgot why I was here. Not just sweet, definitely vinegary, perfect contrast of crunchy on the outside, tender and meaty on the inside. It was one of the best versions of that dish I think I've ever had, so regardless of the noodles, I come here for this.

My jajangmyeon is finally here. Fresh cucumbers on top. The noodles are usually homemade, of course, tons of onions. This is actually very different from the typical Korean jajangmyeon. I see that a lot that comes in very, very black fermented bean sauce. Get those two dishes, eat them together when you come here. and in fact, what you see here with this type of sauce is less dark than the more common type of jajangmyeon that you normally see at least in the US. This is actually the most typical

traditional

Korean jajangmyeon that you will find in Korea . And the other kind, you know, with tons of onions with black soy sauce.

Actually, it is a more modified version. I mean, they're both

traditional

, but this is the more typical version. This was pure comfort food for me, my foodie soul is feeling warm right now. Anyway, like I said, this is a noodle adventure. So let's move on. I'm sorry I had to cut this noodle adventure short for a very important break from bingsu. Because between bowls of noodles, you should eat some bingsu. I love fluffy, snowy bingsu. Oh yeah. It's like catching soft, fluffy, tasty snow on your tongue on Christmas Day. The three best, perhaps the best bingsu I have ever tasted.

Alright, sorry, not sorry for this deliciously sweet interruption. Back to more noodles Hey guys, I'm at the next noodle location. This is a noodle I've never tried before: soy noodles. Let's see it. And this is kimchi rice, there's zucchini, kimchi, of course, onions, what look like little pieces of meat and they're just sautéing all of this right in front of me. And this is something I'm getting. besides my noodles So, kimchi noodles are a very popular noodle dish here in Korea. But only in summer, you won't be able to find this in winter because they are cold noodles and the really interesting thing about these noodles is that the noodles themselves are not obviously made from soy, this broth is essentially freshly ground soy and a little bit of salt, that's all.

And this restaurant is the number one soy noodle place in all of Korea. This is very exciting because I have never tried anything like this before in my life. This is a very thick broth. This is almost like it has a smoothie type consistency. Ok, this noodle dish is actually pretty simple. There's really nothing to do here besides noodles and soy soup. Oh, that's interesting. This is an extremely clean and refreshing noodle dish. I feel like if you don't like soy, you're not going to love this. It's mild, but you can definitely taste the soy in this.

A strong soy flavor and in every bite you definitely taste the remnants like little microparticles of soy on your tongue, but if you have never eaten tofu or soy milk or are not very familiar with soy products before, this might catch you by surprise because the flavor profile is really strong. Oh my goodness, combined with the noodles, that's where it's at. The noodles are extremely elastic, al dente. I think it will be amazing Mm-hmm. Even better than I thought. Alright, I'm going to finish this because it's hot outside and I'll see you at the next noodle place.

Oh, by the way, I should apologize to the kimchi rice because this is a noodle video and I really failed. mention it But I'm sorry. This is a noodle video, you understand right? I know I hurt you. I'm going to fix this by eating you. So for the next noodle stop we're going to heat things up. This dish is called bibim noodles. bibim means to mix and when you get this, when I get this bowl of noodles, you are supposed to mix it all together and eat it. So here are the bibim noodles. And I think it's the first time I've seen kale on top of the noodles, kimchi inside, some cucumbers.

And I love that each thin strand of noodles is bombarded with chili flakes. First bite of spicy noodles today Inside this lava-like pool of spices in which my fine, delicious noodles are soaked. This is my home. This is everything I hope for, everything I want, everything I love in a bowl of cold noodles. The noodles themselves are incredibly chewy. This warms me up and cools me down at the same time. Also, I bought some dumplings. This should go very well with this very typical Korean meatball soup. The filling is huge but it is also very soft.

Much less chewy filling offering what a Chinese dumpling would offer. The dipping sauce is very simple. You could use a little hot oil. Just a little soy sauce. But really, come on. You know where we should dip this, right? Yes, because it tastes much better. That was definitely my favorite noodle of the day. This restaurant is called gogili buckwheat noodles. This place is about a 30 minute drive from Seoul, it's 11:30, they basically just opened and we have to wait in line. It's completely full. This restaurant actually only specializes in buckwheat noodles. On their menu, there are only a couple of options: you can choose the spicy buckwheat noodles or the buckwheat noodles with perilla oil.

That's all. There are only two types of noodles here. And then they also serve some pork which of course I had to get. These are the mixed buckwheat noodles, in fact they are the only noodles you will see on the menu. On top is a slice of Korean pear on top of this little mound of chilies and then just below that are some strips of eggs, some cucumbers and whatnot, on top of a gloriously delicious view of the noodle tower. And you just have to mix this. They came and helped me mix the noodles, so now the sauce is rich and integrated.

I love noodles for breakfast. Oh my gosh, oh wow, I need to get more bowls of this. If you guys have never had buckwheat noodles, you are really missing out. It is one of my favorite types of noodles. I've been eating this since I was a kid in China. Every bite takes me back to my childhood. The texture is so soft and chewy. The chiles are not too strong, the flavor is very balanced. This is a refreshing and delicious noodle dish that I could eat every morning for the rest of my life. Before I talk more about that, I have to get to my second Bowl.

This isn't actually listed on the official menu here. Essentially a Korean secret menu item is buckwheat noodles with perilla oil and sesame seeds and seaweed coating the top. And they told me I can't mix it. I'm not supposed to mix it, I'm just supposed to eat it until it's half or two-thirds of the way through. And then I'm going to add the broth. It is incredibly fragrant. Wait, I just need to say something to these noodles real quick. I know we met like 10 minutes ago, but I love you, I really do. These noodles are some of the most uniquely flavorful and fragrant noodles I have ever tasted.

Holy cow, this is incredible. It has the perfect flavor. It's as if my head and all my senses are spinning in the fragrant sesame cloud. Yes, that's definitely on my list of noodles to try. I mean, those noodles won't be the best seasoned. So if you like something really salty, that may not be your cup of tea. But for me, that sesame seed and perilla. Oil and all the fragrance of all the ingredients it contains. I'd love to. Also, I bought some pork. I mean, they're not known for pork. But most of my noodles the past few days were meatless.

So. I mean, it's not Jeju black pork, but it's still pretty good. Also, I'm really glad that this place can order extra noodles for 4,000 won, about $3.50, $4, I think it's quite necessary. Oh, this is amazing, look. So I ordered two extra servings of noodles and thought that for the four thousand won, which is half the price of my first order, it would be about half the size of the noodles. No, you will get a full one in another noodle order. and her...aunt told me that you have to eat this very quickly because the buckwheat noodles get soggy very very quickly.

There is the soup version. This is a really simple broth. I think this is pork broth, with a little salt? Halfway through these noodles and I had to serve them; They told me to add broth, I don't know. I don't know how it got better. Mmm oh my god. All that fragrance is now in the soup itself. Oh man. This is a noodle lovers dream. I'm going to ask someone to put broth in the spicy noodles too. I just had a radical thought. Broth with perilla oil and sesame and seaweed, I want a little of that flavor in this spicy noodle and let's see what happens here I like it.

Spicy, with sesame, seafood, delicious. And this is a real local place. I mean, it takes a little effort to get here. But if you like buckwheat noodles, and not everyone does, and you want a really unique noodle experience here in South Korea, this is the place to go, because it's a gem of a place. Alright, we only have one more spot left on the noodle

tour

. I'm still hungry. Let's do it. I hear this is amazing. This is their signature cold mixed noodle, and this is their hot noodle soup. These are the two noodle dishes that people come here for, so that's what I'm going to get.

I have my two noodles and this is the broth one and this is the cold spicy one. The soup looks like arugula, scallions and tofu skin. Oh, look at these noodles in the background. They have a fantastic shine, it's like sunken treasure. Cold version, again arugula, egg, cucumbers, cabbage, bunch of sesame seeds. Tons of chili on what looks like some kind of seafood bits.noodles on top again on the bottom And what I was told before coming here was that these will be some of the chewiest and fluffiest noodles I can find in Seoul. This is anchovy broth, very, very tasty.

I was promised extremely chewy noodles, and I got extremely chewy noodles. I thought the thick version of the noodles was chewy and stretchy, no. Meet mr. Amazing version of noodles These are by far the chewiest, fluffiest, springiest noodles I've had in Korea. And the sauce is absolutely wonderful. They actually have three degrees of spice. I wanted the third. But they convinced me to buy the second one because they said the third spice level. I won't really be able to taste any flavors. This is so incredibly good. I love this. I think on the spice level, this is a little spicier than fire ramen noodles, a little spicier than that.

But the biggest difference is eating this, it's not a food challenge. It's a gastronomic delight Well guys, this pretty much concludes my noodle tour of South Korea. I mean, this is my longest noodle tour yet, spanning two cities and over three days. But I got to try some of the most amazing unique noodles this country has to offer and I'm sure I hadn't even begun to scratch the surface. But that's why noodle adventures are so fun, because they never end. I think I had to choose one of my favorites. In terms of flavor, I love jajangmyeon and in terms of texture, these noodles win hands down, the most unique has to be the soybean and the one that gave me the most sensation, what I have to say is the soybean noodles. buckwheat with sesame that I had this morning and that really brought me back to my childhood.

Do you also want to live a noodle adventure? I have listed all the places I went to in the description box below. Most of these restaurants do not have English names. So I will put all the information I can. And guys, as always, I really appreciate you following me. Thank you so much for watching and until we eat again, see you later.