My apologies to Andrew Zimmern and the crew of Bizarre Foods. I had no idea this existed until this week.
I called my friend Soo-jung to tell her the Bizarre Foods episode was coming out. She’s the one who introduced me to fermented skate and subsequently ate it with Andrew on the show. She told me we should meet up this Friday with her golf buddies.
“You ever have horse meat?”
I met her friends at a little second floor restaurant in a building I regularly go to for buying ESL books. Never noticed it before.
When I sat down, her friends were already eating some pork. Yet a plate of Mr. Ed was also sitting out, ready for grilling. Now, if I didn’t tell you it was horse meat, you’d drool. Look at it.
Deep red. Lean. Full of iron.
When grilled, I dipped it in a little vinegared pepper sauce.
The taste?
I was expecting something gamey, like lamb. But it was like a straightforward beef. I was struck by how tender it was. I didn’t ask what part of the horse it came from, but my guess is the tenderloin. Strong red meat flavor. But I had to be more certain. There’s only one way to find out.
Mmm… horse sashimi!
Look how little fat is there! It tasted like the reddest tuna and was almost as soft. Not much chewing going on there.
Yet being as clever as Koreans are, I couldn’t resist the horse meat being transformed into one of the greatest dishes of Korean cuisine…
Yuk Hui 육회.
I’ve said before that Yuk Hui beats the pants off of any Parisian steak tartare. In this case, the horse meat is sliced into ribbons and mixed with sesame oil, big chunks of raw garlic and pine nuts served on a bed of julienned Korean pear.
Fruity. Nutty. Garlicky. Many layers of flavors with that rich iron beefiness. The mouthfeel was chilly, soft and slippery with the sesame oil. It was so slippery that it was hard to chew without it just sliding down my throat.
I ate so much of this, that Soo-jung’s golf friends just put the plate in front of me to finish.
Then came another great surprise.
Samgyeopsal 삼겹살.
But Joe, that’s not anything special.
Yes, but this is Ddong Dwaeji Samgyeopsal 똥 돼지 삼겹살, the famous “poo pig.”
I was disappointed–okay, relieved–to again confirm that none of these pigs fed off of human feces, like the name implies. It’s more of a name given to the black pigs of Jeju Island.
The owner had sat down with us and told me that there is such great competition amongst Jeju pig farmers that they really take care of their pigs. They’re free range and live like pigs are supposed to live. Happy pigs.
See that? That’s a happy pig.
Sweet, sweet pork. Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet pork. The juices from the fat explode flavor all over the mouth. Americans have no idea what real pork should taste like–well, ones that depend on the bland pork from the local megamarket.
So, Friday night’s dinner was Jeju Halla Pork.
And happy Jeju horse.
Heh, didn’t know horses had fingers.
Update:
I went back to the building and found out the name. Look in the comments for directions. Or rather, go out exit one. Pass NC Department Store. Cross the street and cross left, in effect, going diagonally. Look for a Family Mart. It’s on the second floor of that building with this sign.
I can’t believe I didn’t get a pic of the sign. It’s “Mal”—something. The directions aren’t very straightforward. Lemme post a Google Earth bookmark.
I want a portion of horse as well, it looks so delicious! I might have to make my way down to that place, or at least find something similar near me.
Poo pig is always a delight, when I went to Jeju I had the most amazing slow cooked pork, roasted for twelve hours and falling to bits on the plate in front of me. Best pork ever…
Yeah Joe, cough it up. I’ve been dying to try horse meat. That’s one I’m going to try in June. You do have to love the image of the “buddy jesus” horse.
I am digging everything!!! Any chance you can give me the name and directions to the restaurant? 🙂
No, it’s technically illegal and has been becoming looked down upon by the Korean public.
Nice…
Horse meat is really popular in Switzerland, more then Beef.
I think it’s more delicious.
It’s a little bit the korean dog meat of switzerland 😀 Exept more main stream I guess.
Can you find dog meat in supermarket in Korea?
I though dog meat was technically back on the menu. It had been removed for World Cup but it was a temp ban (a bit like how bundaegi was temp banned for the 1988 olympics). I could be wrong tho. I still think lots of young children eat dog meat, probably with their grandfathers. But yeah there’s a big swath of middle aged Koreans who purdy much don’t dig on dog.
I’ve had it once–as soup and steamed. It tasted a bit like dark pork. Fatty.
Dog meat is in legal limbo . . . laws are still on the books, but completely and utterly unenforced. Consider it a grey area. But dog meat is not available in your standard supermarket – you’ll have to hunt it down at a handful of traditional markets if you’re looking to prepare it at home. Its much more common to go to any of the hundreds of semi-legal restaurants that specialize in it.
But as for horse meat . . . it seems to have been much more widely spread in Jeju than other places, but while it’s not as common as other meats, it’s not unheard of either. Still, this is the first we’ve seen of horsemeat outside the isle!
I haven’t tried dog meat so far, I’ve been to Korea two times, but never had the chance.
My wife doesn’t like it. Her dad forced her to eat some when she was young. I think, because it’s supposed to make you stronger if you’re sick.
How does it taste like? I heard it’s usually served as a soup, can you eat it grilled as well?
There is several other things I’d like to try, like the live octopus, or wale. I really should get the bizarre food episode about Korea on i tunes!
I don’t like Pondegi though:D
a plate of Mr. Ed. hahaha…yum…now, where is it?
Joe did you cough up the location to this place?
It’s near Beomgye Station in the same building that Kidari Bookstore is, next to the Anyang Community Center. I still don’t know the name of it as I haven’t had time to go back down there this week to get more accurate directions. They’ll be coming.
Pretty disappointed by the Andrew zimmerson Korean episode !
YIKES!! HOrse meat? Do you think the meat was cured or seasoned with tenderizing seasoning prior? I’m really surprised it’s as tender as you described despite being so lean. VERY interesting – Great blog and we love 삼겹살 too !
Wild, man! That’s some extreme food-ing, right there.
Good to meet up yesterday, btw. 🙂
Keep on!
Where is the horse restaurant? I have a guest coming to Korea and want to give it a try!
So how big is this place? Big enough to accomodate, say, a group of 15?
I think they could possibly handle 15, if it’s not too busy.
Hey, this place sounds great! I tried finding this place the other day but I got completely lost (I couldn’t find an Anyang Community Center anywhere near Beomgye Station). Do you remember what exit from the station you walked out of and for how long-ish?
I still haven’t had a chance to head back there and give more precise directions and a name for you. Here’s what I remember. Go to this Google Maps link:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=37.390729,126.951656&spn=0.004424,0.008283&z=17
North of Exit 1 and to the left, you see two buildings called 벨치과. It’s on the second floor of one of those buildings. You’ll know it by the picture of the horse and the pig on the sign.
Hey again, thanks for the directions! Went to the restaurant today and it was great! Here’s how to get there for anyone else interested:
Go out Exit 1 of Beomgye Station and turn left at the light. The restaurant is on the second floor of the third building on the right.
I forgot to memorize the name but it is the only one with the grinning horse and pig sign at the entrance.
Here is the Naver page:
http://local.naver.com/siteview/index?code=151451438
What the map doesn’t show you is that the main entrance is at the back of the building. It’s better to go the back (명정길 or MyeongJeong-gil) and the sign and the staircase leading up to the restaurant is right there.
I LOVE HORSE MEAT!!!!
You think horse meat is nice?
Anyone who has seen where this meat comes from and still eats it should be slaughtered like the ex racehorses you’re eating. Wanna see what they go through?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4-LELvvS9s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr2HOvjIhas
Whoever eats horse meat is disgusting. Take a look at where it comes from!
The place is no longer in business. It has been replace by king Kong chain restaurants.