I’m a big fan of street food in Korea. Food carts, called pojangmacha, offer everything from french-fry covered hot dog on a stick to steamed silk worms and blood sausage. I had been wanting to try “hot bar” (핫바) for a while, but whenever I would come across a stand selling them I was either already full or just on my way to eat a meal.
There were two men working this particular cart in Myeongdong. One guy skillfully portioned out the batter and rolled it into logs before dropping them into a vat of oil, while the other continuously pushed the floating bars around so they cooked evenly before pulling them out and spearing them.
The taste is similar to fish cake (오뎅), and hot bar is also served on a stick. Each bar was made fresh to order, and there were two sauces to choose from, although neither bottle was labeled. The first I tried was like ketchup, which wasn’t terrible but wasn’t great either. The other sauce was similar to sriracha and was much tastier. I mean, everything tastes better with sriracha, right?
The hot bar itself was softer than fish cakes. It was mild in flavor and steaming hot. Perfect for a cold winter day (I don’t normally wear mittens in May… this was in March… it was still snowing).
