12.148

2 (Wed) June 2021

Ggoma Gimbab

1.5

from Samgeori Bunsik

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with DJ and IZ

Samgeori Bunsik (삼거리 분식) is a Korean restaurant.  Specializes in street food.

While actual food carts are strictly regulated these days, every neighborhood seems to have these modernized versions that are brick-and-mortar, with running water and electricity – not as much fun, but certainly much cleaner.  And the food is exactly the same.

Whereas the 4 cornerstones of Korean street food comprise ddeokbokki, sundae, twigim, and odeng (see for example 4.166 Full Set, 11.152 The Quad), a 5th wheel is ggoma gimbab.

Ggoma Gimbab (꼬마김밥) is a Korean dish.  Essentially the same thing as regular gimbab but simpler, the stuffing consisting only of a few strands of carrot + pickled radish + spinach; the rice is sometimes seasoned a bit.  More of a snack than a meal.  The term “ggoma” refers to a young child, often used as an adjective to describe something small.

Alas, these had been sitting around all day – I stopped by to grab a few preprandial snacks on my way home from work – so they’d lost their freshness, perhaps even beyond the safe limit, though they seemed okay enough to eat.

(See also FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)