History

Sundae has roots in Mongol-influenced Korean cuisine of the Goryeo dynasty (10th to 14th century), introduced through Mongol overlord rule. Originally a winter peasant dish (everything from the slaughtered pig got used), it became a street-food staple in the 20th century. Sindang-dong in Seoul, just east of Dongdaemun, is the canonical home of sundae bokkeum (sundae stir-fried with tteokbokki and gochujang); the alley dates to the 1950s. Plain steamed sundae sliced and dipped in fine salt with pepper is the older Seoul format, eaten at Gwangjang and Tongin markets.

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 1 hrTotal 3 hrDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 1.5m cleaned pig intestine casings (sold by Korean or Chinese butchers; rinse thoroughly with vinegar)
  • 500ml fresh pig blood (substitute: 400g cooked blood pudding or black pudding crumbled, with 100ml chicken stock)
  • 200g dangmyeon (sweet potato glass noodles), soaked 30 minutes and roughly chopped
  • 200g glutinous rice, cooked
  • 200g mung bean sprouts, blanched and chopped
  • 100g kimchi, finely chopped and squeezed dry
  • 1 medium onion, finely diced
  • 4 spring onions, chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 thumb ginger, minced
  • 2 tbsp doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste)
  • 2 tbsp gochugaru
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • To serve: fine sea salt mixed with 1/2 tsp ground black pepper and 1/2 tsp gochugaru; ssamjang for dipping

Method

  1. Rinse the intestine casings well inside and out; soak in cold salted water with vinegar for 30 minutes. Drain.
  2. In a large bowl mix soaked noodles, cooked glutinous rice, mung bean sprouts, kimchi, onion, spring onion, garlic, ginger, doenjang, gochugaru, salt, sesame oil and white pepper.
  3. Pour in the pig blood (or crumbled black pudding plus stock). Mix gently to a wet but stuffable consistency.
  4. Tie one end of the cleaned intestine. Spoon-feed the filling into the open end (a sausage stuffer makes this faster). Leave 30% slack so the noodles can expand. Tie off the other end.
  5. Coil the stuffed sausage into a deep steamer or large pot.
  6. Steam over a barely-simmering water bath for 90 minutes. Pierce gently with a needle a few times in the first 15 minutes to release air.
  7. Test doneness: the casing should be taut, the filling firm. A skewer inserted should come out clean (no raw blood).
  8. Cool 15 minutes. Slice into 1.5cm thick coins.
  9. Serve warm with the spiced salt for dipping (the Seoul market default), OR stir-fry with tteokbokki and gochujang for the Sindang-dong sundae-bokkeum form.

Tip from the editors. Pierce the casing with a needle in the first 15 minutes of steaming to release trapped air; un-vented sausages split and lose half the filling.

Where to eat sundae (korean blood sausage)

Sundae (Korean blood sausage) in Seoul

Sindang Tteokbokki Town ★ 4.4

Street food₩Jung-gu and MyeongdongDaily 11:00-22:00

Sindang-dong Tteokbokki Town is the origin neighbourhood of the modern spicy tteokbokki -- Ma Bok-rim developed gochujang-seasoned rice cakes here in 1953.

Try: Tteokbokki (various styles: original, cheese, rabokki)

7 Dasan-ro 33-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

Jongno 3-ga Pojangmacha Street ★ 4.2

Korean₩Jongno-guDaily from approximately 17:00 until 00:00

The 200-metre stretch in front of Ikseon-dong from Exit 5 to Exit 6 at Jongno 3-ga Station is Seoul's most concentrated pojangmacha (street food tent).

Signature: Tteokbokki, Odeng, Kimchi jeon

Order: Tteokbokki and odeng (fish cake skewer in anchovy broth).

Tip: Arrive by 19:00 or earlier to find a free stool; cash only at most tents.

Jongno 3-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul

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