[Enjoy Food]Chuncheon Dakgalbi and Makguksu (춘천 닭갈비와 막국수), Gangwon Province

Which gochujang-covered chunk is chicken? And which is cabbage? Doesn't matter, it's all dakgalbi now.

   

       

Chuncheon, Gangwon-do is known for two things: dakgalbi and makguksu.

Dakgalbi started out as a dish of grilled chicken bits in an area where chicken was cheap.

Today, dakgalbi is seasoned and deboned chicken stir-fried with sliced tteok, sweet potato, perilla leaves and cabbage.

Makguksu is buckwheat noodles in a chilled kimchi stock, often with additional flavors in the form of sugar, mustard, sesame oil or vinegar. The noodles are topped with whatever vegetables strike the chef's fancy.

These perfectly matched dishes form the yin and yang of a frugal and filling meal.

We say frugal because noodles were traditionally the sustenance of the poor, and because dakgalbi was historically the favorite of the poor -- at a mere ￦100 per serving in the 1970s, it was popular with soldiers and students, thus gaining the nickname "commoner's galbi" or "university student's galbi."

Dakgalbi is a recent invention, created in the 1960s. It's spicy, sweet and meaty, served hot on the same table it's cooked on.

Makguksu, on the other hand, has been around since the Koryeo Dynasty. It's spicy, savory and wheaty, served chilled.

The harmonious taste of these two dishes together is for the diner to decide, but meanwhile, the twenty-odd dakgalbi restaurants in Chuncheon's "Dakgalbi Alley" will continue to serve them together.

Article from – cnn travel ‘Food map: Eat your way around Korea’ violet kim