Typical winter in Korea! ❄️

Korea just had its first snow the other day and there's a Korean belief that if you're with someone during the first snow (첫눈, sounds like 천눈), you'll fall in love or stay together. So, when the first snowflakes are falling, people are eager to meet up and profess their love (고백하다). Often times, though, there is food involved. So, where would they go? 

Let's chat about a typical Korean winter and the warm, delicious treats you'll find all around! 

Tokki enjoys a maybe-just-a-little-too-hot 붕어빵 

붕어빵 - Fish-shaped pastries filled with sweet red bean paste, cooked in fish-shaped molds. The classic winter snack. They cost around 2,000 won for 3 (although these days it is getting a little pricier), and the move is to buy several because one is never enough (and they also don't let you buy just one 😂). Some vendors now make them with custard, sweet potato, or even pizza filling, but purists stick with the original red bean.

호떡 - Sweet pancakes with brown sugar and cinnamon melted inside. The vendor presses them flat with a metal press, and that sizzle means it's ready. Other versions have seeds (씨앗 호떡) which increases the roasted, nutty flavor and we recommend you give it a try! But you can't go wrong with the classic sugar one. They're messy to eat and the sugar will burn your mouth, but that's part of it. They usually come in a paper cup which is not the easiest way to eat it, but there is no better way.

Yeah, I'll have about 5 호떡 with my morning coffee 

어묵 - Fishcake skewers with hot broth served in paper cups. You stand at the cart eating and drinking the savory broth between bites. The broth is free if you buy anything from the cart -- just ask. Some people go just for the broth on cold days.

The broth is honestly the best part

계란빵 - Egg bread with a whole egg baked inside a sweet bread shell. Popular near schools and subway stations. The egg is slightly sweet as well because of the batter.

호빵 - Steamed buns filled with red bean paste, sold in warmers at convenience stores and street carts throughout Korea. The name originated from the Korean onomatopoeia "ho-ho" (호호), which refers to the sound people make when blowing on hot food to cool it down—literally meaning "blowing on it saying 'ho-ho' because it's hot" + 빵 (bread).

군밤 - Roasted chestnuts that come in paper cones. You peel them while they're still too hot to hold comfortably.

군고구마 - Roasted sweet potatoes that smell incredible from half a block away. Wrapped in paper, almost too hot to hold. The inside is golden and honey-sweet.

I can smell it through the screen

Every Korean household has 귤 (mandarin oranges) sitting out all winter because that is the season they are harvested and you either buy them by the box, or you are gifted them by the box. They're everywhere - on the table, next to the TV, on the warm floor. You end up eating 5, 10, however many without thinking about it. Your fingertips turn yellow from peeling so many, and that's just how winter is.