In my blog post last week, I tried to explain how I often end up genuinely enjoying “weird food” in countries where I stay a while. I was reminded of this at lunch today, when I felt a craving for cheonggukjang, or fermented soybean paste stew.
Cheonggukjang (청국장) is a stew made from soybeans that have been boiled and fermented a few days. The restaurant where I eat it serves it with rice and vegetables, to be mixed together like a bibimbap.
Mixed with rice and veggies, it’s really quite good. Its taste is pungent and complex. It’s considered by Koreans to be one of the healthiest dishes in existence, as fermented soybeans are filled with antioxidants and vitamins.
Wikipedia claims that some scientist invented odorless chunggukchang. But what’s the fun in that?
Interesting…if I ever visit Korea, I’ll have to remember to stay away from this “soup”…sadly I am not as adventurous when it comes to food as you seem to be!
Oh, that’s quite alright, I think… There are so many other delicious dishes in Korea; you’ll be fine without the corpse soup!