A Narrow Margin of Safety

The earthquake that just shook Taiwan as well as the threat of a Tsunami in Ishigaki and Okinawa were a bit too close for comfort, given that we were just there over the weekend.

Despite the unsettling natural disaster happening nearby, we were able to enjoy our limited time in Busan, South Korea and find ways to make the most of the rainy weather. Exploring a new city and embracing the local ambiance can be a wonderful experience, even when the skies are overcast.

What better way to spend a rainy day than to attend a Korean cooking class with a local chef and learn the art of preparing delicious and traditional Korean cuisine? Today we spent the morning preparing Bulgogi which literally means "fire meat" in Korean. Bulgogi is a popular Korean dish made of thin, marinated slices of beef that are grilled or stir-fried.

Bulgogi is typically made with tender cuts of beef like sirloin, ribeye or tenderloin. The meat is thinly sliced and marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and other seasonings. Common tenderizers used include pureed pears, pineapple, kiwi or onions.
The marinated meat is then grilled over high heat, stir-fried in a pan, or cooked on a tabletop grill.

Bulgogi is meant to be a communal, hands-on dining experience. We learned how to wrap the grilled meat in lettuce leaves or eat it with rice. Bulgogi is often served with kimchi and ssamjang (a Korean barbecue dipping sauce).

Overall, bulgogi is prized for its sweet, savory and tender qualities, making it a quintessential and beloved Korean dish and we enjoyed every bite!

Afterwards, we toured the Jagalchi Fish Market which is the largest seafood market in South Korea. The market is known for its wide variety of live and dried seafood, including fish, crabs, eels, flounder, squid, and other marine creatures. It has both an indoor section with stalls selling fresh seafood, as well as an outdoor section with street vendors and food carts.

The indoor market has multiple floors - the ground floor has the live fish market, while the second floor has raw fish restaurants and dried seafood shops.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the market is the sheer variety of marine life on display. From live fish and crabs to dried and smoked delicacies, the stalls are brimming with an incredible selection of the day's catch. What's particularly impressive is the market's commitment to sustainability and minimizing waste. Any unsold seafood by the end of the day is given away for free. If we had more time, we would have purchased a fresh flounder to have prepared at one of the upstairs restaurants. There's nothing quite like enjoying the absolute freshest seafood, straight from the source!

At the end, of our day we strolled through the International market featuring shops with everything imaginable. Leave it to Jeff to find a bull in the heart of Busan, South Korea!