Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Ingeo Bbang (잉어빵) aka Custard Fish Bread

Walking the streets in Korea you often come across small carts on the side of the road that sell various snack foods, and one of the more common stacks is Ingeo Bbang (잉어빵) which translates to "Carp Bread". At only 1000won ($1) for 3 pieces it is a cheap snack, and when you are wandering the streets on a cold day it can help to warm you up. 


I'm not a huge fan of seafood at the best of times and in Korea I tend to avoid it entirely, so when I first saw this snack on the side of the road in the shape of a fish I immediately assumed it was some kind of seafood snack. I have no idea why it is shaped like a fish because there is actually nothing even remotely seafood about it (other than the shape). There are a couple of different kinds. The most common type is filled with a sweet bean paste while the other less common type is filled with custard. For the last couple of weeks Jihyeon has been persistent about finding a stall that sells the custard variety. Today on our way to emart we struck gold. 

The vender was in a prime location on the street corner and couldn't keep up with demand for his tasty snack. 


Finally, after what seemed like an eternity standing on the cold street corner, we had our snack. 


Mmmm, I could feel the warm air rising out of the bag. 


And here is what all the fuss is about. Some crispy bread in the shape of an ugly fish. 


Nom, nom, nom. 



Inside they are mostly hollow with gooey hot sweet custard lining the inside. 


Now it was my turn. 


They are actually surprisingly good. It's not a gourmet meal by any stretch of the imagination, but for a quick snack while you are wandering the streets I'd give it an 8/10. 

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