Korean food Sundae – Known as Korean sausage

Korean food Sundae – Known as Korean sausage

 

 

Sundae is well-known among Koreans whether you like it or not. Normally Sundae refers to Sundae with cellophane noodles (Chapssal-sundae; Korean sausage with sweet rice) but original Sundae is different from regular Sundae today. You can say that Hamgyeong-sundae is similar to original Sundae.

 

 

Sundae is pork intestines washed and stuffed with filler ingredients. The skin should be turned inside out and washed with salt. The famous Hamgyeong-sundae is also called Abai-sundae, filled with different parts of pork, and it has complicated taste unlike Sundae with cellophane noodles.

 

Colors of Sundae

Sundae with cellophane noodles looks dark, blackish, because pig blood is used as one of filler ingredients. It looks dark because it contains pig blood before it’s steamed. But you don’t have to worry about pig blood, cause it does no harm.

 

 

Ojingeo-sundae (stuffed squid)

 

Other than pork intestines, there’s another kind of Korean sausage called Ojingeo-sundae(stuffed squid). It’s made by cleaning live squid and stuffing inside with ingredients, and it looks quite different from regular Sundae although it is one of them. And the ingredients usually include similar fillers as Korean meatballs.

 

 

Different Kinds of Sundae

 

Along with cellophane noodles Sundae, Hamgyeong-sundae and Ojingeo-sundae, there are Gogi-sundae(meat sausage), Myeongtae-sundae(pollack sausage), Pi-sundae(blood sausage) and Chaeso-sundae(vegetable sausage) depending on its origin or ingredients used. So you can say that there are many kinds of Sundae because each region has access to different ingredients. There are many more versions of Sundae today and most of people buy them outside and hardly make them at home. Or you can get them half-cooked at a big market.

 

Cuisines using Sundae

 

 

Sundae itself is a great dish but it is also enjoyed as other cuisines like Sundae-guk(Korean sausage soup) or Sundae-bokkeum(stir-fried Korean sausage). In case of Sundae-bokkeum, it can be subcategorized depending on color like Baek-sundae(white pork sausage). And in Seoul, Sillim-dong is famous for stir-fried Sundae(Sundae-bokkeum). Stir-fried Sundae is cooked in similar ways using chicken or other ingredients fried on iron plate. Plus, perilla seeds powder is used for Sundae-bokkem just like Sundae-guk(Korean sausage soup), which is expected to remove the smell of pork.

 

 

Sundae is unique Korean cuisine?

 

As mentioned earlier, Sundae is called Korean sausage while there are similar cuisines in Western countries using intestines. Yet you shouldn’t forget the key ingredient, sausage. German dishes are similar to Korean ones and there’s even a dish called Schweinshaxe, which is similar to Korean Jokbal(pig’s feet). Also there are similar cuisines found in ancient documents. You’ll also find Sundae in the neighboring country, China.