This little piggy went to market (and took lots of pics!)

I've been meaning to post these photos since last weekend, so here they are! I've tried to place them in some kind of logical groupings or order...the market is such an interesing place! The live fish and eels are the biggest 'weird' thing...but as I was saying to Jules: on street corners in Greytown there are goats tied to lampposts nd chickens in cages being sold so maybe it's not as weird as one first thinks!

Enjoy!


General view of the market: one can buy anything from chillis and broccoli to clothes and kitchenware and blankets here - all at reasonable prices (but nothing is marked: we will have to learn to ask for prices and be able to understand the responses!)

This lady on the right is making 'Korean Pancakes': A 'street-food' speciality: it is a ball of dough (similar to vetkoek) with sugar and peanuts in the middle. This is then placed on a hot oiled plate and squashed down to make a hot yummy pancake oozing fat and sugar!


And now: the spices: LOADS of garlic and chilli, so much! Apparently the chillis grown in our province, Gyeongsangbuk-do, are amongst the hottest in SK, aren't we lucky! We haven't found any of the food too spicy though, fortunately.



Sprouts!
They LOVE sprouts: with anything and everything!



Acorn Jelly! Hmmm, I'm not a big fan of this stuff, it doesn't taste like very much and has a horrible wobbly texture and horrid brown colour. They also love this and put it into lots of dishes!


Ginseng! This is the No.1 natural health product in Korea. SK is famous for its Ginseng. I haven't tried it but I'm sure one day I will. (Don't actually know in what form they consume it)

Mushrooms and more mushrooms! They have so many shapes and sizes of mushrooms: each for a specific dish or purpose.


Now for the LIVE FOOD! These are the eels. They are remarkable in that they are not only sold live at the market, but also eaten alive! You boil themn your table-top cooker and swllow them wriggling! Can you imagine that sensation down your gullet...gives me the shivers!

On the right are sea squirts. These are also live at the market and go down live!

Live Fish: Many tankfuls of these all over the place: at the market, in restaurats, outside restaurants and even in our local supermarket.

So there you have a brief introduction to shopping for food in South Korean markets. One can buy fruit and veg and some fish at the supermarket but it does seem that it is cheaper at the market. So I guess soon I will be grabbing a shopping bag (my Kanga bag - thanks K!) and heading on downtown to experience this!