() is a fish-shaped pastry stuffed with sweetened

red bean paste Red bean paste () or red bean jam, also called adzuki bean paste or ''anko'' (a Japanese word), is a paste made of red beans (also called "adzuki beans"), used in East Asian cuisine. The paste is prepared by boiling the beans, then mashing or g ...

, which originated from the Japanese taiyaki. One of South Korea's most popular winter

street foods Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...

, the snack is often sold at street stalls, grilled on an appliance similar to a waffle iron but with a fish-shaped mold. Red bean paste is the standard filling but many sold as street food are filled with pastry cream (called "choux-bung" as the cream is called " ''choux''-cream" in South Korea),

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

toppings, chocolate, kimchi and others. Usually, it costs about 1,000 won (KRW) for three . However, small costs 1,000 won for five and large costs 2,000 won for one, indicating that the price range varies depending on the size.

Etymology

The word is a compound of "

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

()" and "

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

()". The pastry, however, contains no ingredients from its namesake fish or any other fish; rather the name comes from the shape of the pastry.

History

was derived from the Japanese treat, (baked sea bream), introduced to Korea around the 1930s when the country was under Japanese rule. According to the 2011 book ''Bungeoppang Has a Family Tree'', began as a mix of Western waffles and Eastern dumplings, as the itself was a Japanese adaptation of Western waffles introduced to Japan in the 18th century. The change of fish-shaped pastry continued, as the

sea bream The Sparidae are a family of fish in the order Perciformes, commonly called sea breams and porgies. The sheepshead, scup, and red seabream are species in this family. Most sparids are deep-bodied compressed fish with a small mouth separated by a ...

-shaped became

-shaped in Korea. Although 's popularity did not last long, it found its way back into popularity during the 1990s with the retro craze in South Korea. Recently, has been seeing higher demand, so to provide information on remaining stalls, enthusiasts nationwide created a " map." Through Google Maps, users mark the stalls' locations with brief reviews, prices and opening hours to share with others.

Preparation

batter Batter or batters may refer to: Common meanings * Batter (cooking), thin dough that can be easily poured into a pan * Batter (baseball), person whose turn it is to face the pitcher * Batter (cricket), a player who is currently batting * Batter ...

is made of wheat flour, baking powder, water and/or milk, and optionally eggs. The batter is poured into a fish-shaped mold in the grill, an appliance similar to a waffle iron. Sweetened

with bits of broken beans and bean husk is added, and then more batter is poured to encase the paste. The mold is then closed to grill the pastry until it is golden and crispy.

Gallery

600goodice2.jpg, Binggrae's , a filled with red bean paste and vanilla ice cream File:Bungeoppang-01.jpg, being sold in Toronto, Canada

References

{{Street food Korean Japanese cuisine Korean snack food Street food in South Korea

Etymology

History

Preparation

Gallery

See also

References