Korea’s $10 Spicy Octopus Ramen!! (Viral Korean Food)

0:00 Today we're trying [music] Jeju's viral octopus ramen.

0:04 It's a lot of viral videos on social media and a lot

0:09 of people say it's amazing and it lives up to the hype, but others not so much.

0:13 So, we're going to try it out.

0:14 I'm going to share it all with you and [music] see if it lives up to the hype.

0:18 And stay tuned because along with the ramen,

0:21 we're going to go eat a Jeju specialty that happens

0:24 to be one of my favorite Korean foods of all time.

0:29 Hey everyone, it's Mark Wiens.

0:30 It's a rainy, cloudy day in Jeju, South Korea.

0:37 Here it is, the giant selfie spot with the huge bowl of ramyeon,

0:42 crab, but they're really famous for the whole octopus on top.

0:45 But I think there's going to be abalone,

0:46 I think there's going to be maybe some other shellfish as well,

0:48 maybe some turban shells.

0:49 We'll see what's all in it.

0:51 They have a pretty good system because they're always busy,

0:54 uh and extremely packed.

0:55 But you get a number, we're number 13 and they're at number eight right now.

0:59 So, I think we should be seated pretty soon.

1:00 Actually, luckily we're in good time.

1:02 We got here right at 10:00 a.m.

1:03 If you come here at lunchtime, I'm sure it will be you'll have to wait a while.

1:08 So, they have the octopus ramen and then you can get not spicy,

1:12 medium spicy, spicy.

1:13 Nice.

1:14 Number 13, we're up.

1:16 Hello.

1:17 Annyeonghaseyo.

1:18 Number 13?

1:19 Okay.

1:20 Thank you.

1:20 [music] Can we have two of the octopus, please?

1:24 One one spicy.

1:26 Is this very spicy?

1:27 Okay.

1:28 Okay, good.

1:29 Okay, spicy and one medium spicy and one medium spicy, yeah.

1:35 Yes, please.

1:36 Okay, nice.

1:36 They have spicy.

1:37 She said very spicy.

1:38 Good.

1:38 Okay, so you pay up here at the front.

1:40 Okay.

1:41 Thank you.

1:41 So, they give you you pay at the front, you get a bucket with your order.

1:46 You get some utensils like scissors and some bowls

1:50 and a and a bucket probably for your your discard, your shells and stuff.

1:55 Let's grab our chopsticks here.

1:56 Let's grab our spoons and you can get some looks like some radish.

2:02 So, no kimchi, just radish.

2:03 Okay.

2:05 Ying really likes this one.

2:06 Okay.

2:06 Okay.

2:07 All right.

2:07 So, they have a bunch of seating sections

2:10 like the one main building where the kitchen is.

2:13 Then she told us to come to the back room here.

2:15 Actually, it's nice.

2:16 It's kind of quieter back here.

2:17 I like it.

2:18 Oh, yeah, it's nice and quiet.

2:19 I like it.

2:22 And now we just wait for our number, number eight,

2:24 uh until they call our our order is ready and we pick it up ourselves.

2:27 So, it's mostly self self-service here.

2:30 Okay, there's our number.

2:32 Eight.

2:33 Tiny name single list.

2:34 English.

2:35 The pot is hot.

2:36 Oh, even instructions.

2:37 Don't touch it.

2:38 The abalone is alive.

2:40 Put it in the soup and eat it later.

2:42 Please return it to the shelf after you finish.

2:44 Okay, cool.

2:44 Okay, here it is.

2:47 Oh, wow.

2:47 Medium spicy and spicy.

2:49 Oh, flaming hot.

2:50 Okay, kamsahamnida.

2:51 Oh, that's a lot of octopus.

2:53 Okay, kamsahamnida.

2:54 Oh, that actually smells incredible.

2:57 The aroma of that fresh seafood plus the chili broth.

3:01 Come take a look at that.

3:02 Look, it's the abalone is moving.

3:04 It's alive.

3:05 Submerge it into the soup as you eat and it will cook.

3:08 It's actually more impressive than it looks in the photos and big.

3:14 It's actually big.

3:14 I thought it would be a small pot.

3:16 It's a nice, good sized pot.

3:18 Okay, Ying is going to put her abalone into the hot broth.

3:20 Oh, it's steaming hot.

3:21 Look, it just fogs up the camera immediately.

3:25 Okay.

3:26 Ooh, that's hot.

3:27 Yeah, they serve it so hot right off the fire.

3:30 Um [music] and the first thing we need to do, where's the chopsticks?

3:33 Here we go.

3:34 Check this out.

3:35 The entire [music] octopus just plopped on top of your bowl of noodles.

3:40 But then down [music] here, digging below here, there's muscles,

3:43 there's a whole crab,

3:44 there's probably [music] some unknown seafood creatures down below here.

3:49 And then what you're supposed to do, actually from the instructions,

3:51 you take your live abalone and you plunge it into the the broth,

3:56 the hot steaming broth below.

3:59 Push it all the way down and then you kind of let

4:01 that cook a little bit and then we'll come back for the abalone.

4:05 But in the meantime, we haven't even seen the noodles yet.

4:07 Yeah, where are the noodles?

4:08 Okay, here they are.

4:09 I found you.

4:09 I found the noodles.

4:10 There they are below there.

4:13 This is Korean ramen, ramyeon, which is actually the instant noodle packets,

4:18 the famous spicy Korean noodle packets.

4:21 So, that's what they use.

4:22 So, it's like a the ultimate glorified instant

4:26 noodle ramen you can possibly imagine with deluxe,

4:30 premium, local Jeju seafood all on top.

4:33 Oh, we got it.

4:33 Let's just try that broth first.

4:34 We got to test how spicy it is.

4:41 [sighs and gasps] A little bit spicy.

4:46 Kind of has just like you feel like the really fine powder of the chili powder.

4:49 Oh, it does kind of like tingle your tongue a little bit from that spice.

4:54 That's an addictive broth, without a doubt.

4:57 I think we should ease our way in.

4:58 Let's first start with the the muscle.

5:09 That broth is a highlight, though.

5:11 They even have bowls, side bowls here which you can put can kind

5:13 of help to eat your seafood out of a little bowl.

5:16 And there's a whole garbage can as well.

5:19 Okay.

5:20 Are we ready to try the octopus?

5:22 Now, they do provide the scissors, which you're supposed to cut up the octopus,

5:25 but when you have a whole octopus like this, you just

5:27 got to you just got to bite it like a drumstick.

5:33 Mhm.

5:36 A little bit chewiness, but it's really you taste it's fresh.

5:40 You taste it's tender at the same time.

5:44 Mhm.

5:46 It's also like I think it's just steamed or boiled.

5:49 It's not salty, it's not flavored,

5:51 but that's actually a bonus because you want to be

5:53 eating it together with that soup or actually the dipping sauce.

5:56 Whole octopus, that is quite impressive.

5:59 Things are warming up.

6:01 Oh.

6:02 This is it feels like a beach meal

6:06 and I can't wait to try the noodles, actually.

6:21 Those are instant noodles,

6:23 but they are quality and tasty and have that slightly chewy texture.

6:27 One of the things that amazes me about the Korean instant noodles is

6:29 that they don't get too soggy like other instant noodles get really soggy.

6:34 These actually have been submerged in that that broth for 5 or 10

6:36 minutes and they still have a chewy texture to them, which is good.

6:42 Whenever you taste instant ramen,

6:44 [music] it always brings back like good memories, for sure.

6:51 Maybe probably late night food memories as well.

6:56 Okay, I think it's time to let's cut cut some bite-sized pieces of the octopus.

7:02 Oh, yeah.

7:10 Cutting into bite-sized pieces.

7:12 That way it can soak up the broth and all

7:14 that way we can dip into the the sauce as well.

7:17 [music] Let's try some of the octopus dipped into the sauce.

7:25 I mean, it's not that crazy spicy, but it's the type of spice that just kind

7:29 of tingles your mouth and taste buds without going deep.

7:34 So, it's like a shallow spiciness that just keeps

7:37 you addicted and keeps you going back for more.

7:40 Keeps you hungry.

7:40 You keep on eating.

7:42 That is a lot of octopus.

7:44 They give you a lot of octopus.

7:46 We try the crab next?

7:47 Yeah, let's let's dig into the crab.

7:49 Let's try to plop plop this open from the back and the the shell here.

7:56 Open this up.

7:57 Mhm.

8:04 Oh, yeah.

8:05 You can feel the crab is just so totally saturated with that broth.

8:08 Yeah.

8:17 Oh, yeah.

8:18 It's the type of crab cuz it's not too big.

8:21 You just take that body,

8:22 pull off those dead man fingers and then you just bite down and you can

8:27 kind of eat some of the shell and it just squeezes out unleashing the the juice,

8:32 the broth that it's been boiled in.

8:36 That is a best way to eat it.

8:39 It's also one of those bowls that you're not

8:40 quite sure what else you might discover down here.

8:42 There might be something hidden that you didn't realize was down there.

8:45 But a few things about this is first of all, it's extremely visual.

8:49 So, it's that wow factor that you get, which is a bonus with food.

8:52 And then it's also very interactive.

8:54 So, you're a part of the meal.

8:56 You have a whole octopus, the abalone on top.

8:59 You get to cut it up and mix it up to your liking.

9:03 Um and thirdly, it is very tasty, indeed.

9:11 We're getting down to the bottom.

9:12 There's still some stray pieces of seafood floating around including

9:16 one of the prized seafoods of the bowl, the abalone.

9:21 Just loosen it up.

9:23 Oh, yeah, [snorts] this should plop out.

9:24 Okay, got it.

9:35 Yeah.

9:36 The Jeju abalone are fantastic.

9:38 Sweet.

9:39 Have a spongy texture.

9:40 Actually, when they're cooked, they have a spongy texture,

9:42 but when they're raw, they have this actual crispiness to them.

9:46 But fresh, local.

9:48 Jeju is famous for abalone because of the rocks.

9:51 Um it's a great little touch to your entire bowl.

9:55 One more final move we need to have to get the full force effect of the broth.

9:59 Take it to the fish.

10:06 That is salty.

10:08 Oh, yeah.

10:10 Oh, and that chili burn going down your throat, it feels so good.

10:17 Oh, okay.

10:19 That was tasty.

10:20 That was great value for money and a lot of seafood.

10:29 Just coming outside after finishing, but now it's not raining,

10:34 but they have this pretty cool deck up here

10:35 where you can also eat with a million-dollar [music] view, which is really cool.

10:41 Oh, man, if it wasn't raining when we had started eating,

10:43 definitely would have chosen this these view seats,

10:46 but the view is really nice here.

10:48 It's really pleasant, the rocky cliffs, the coast below.

10:53 [music] We've got more food to eat.

10:54 There's another place I wanted to check out, which is just down the coast,

10:57 but before we get there, uh maybe we should have some coffee.

11:02 Okay.

11:05 [music] We drove down the coast,

11:09 [music] and this town is really popular, tourist popular.

11:12 There's a lot of cafes, there's a lot of places to walk around,

11:14 the beach is really nice, and we came to a cafe that's called All That Coffee.

11:19 Looks like an Italian espresso bar.

11:22 Looks pretty cool.

11:28 [music] Can I order one of the cafe JJ?

11:30 Can I have it with no sugar?

11:36 [music] Nice cafe, nice and [music] relaxing.

11:41 Korea's full of cafes.

11:45 Okay, comes out of the uh this is a Naples-themed espresso bar,

11:49 so I got an espresso and I got an Americano.

11:53 Now, the Americano's kind of on the watery side,

11:57 not quite strong enough, but luckily,

11:59 I got an espresso, which I can taste and then

12:02 maybe I'll add it to my my main coffee.

12:06 Ah, yes, now we're talking.

12:08 That's the real deal.

12:09 I needed that flavor, that strength of coffee.

12:11 Very good.

12:12 And then you even got a chocolate mud cake.

12:20 Mhm.

12:21 Good.

12:22 Chocolaty, creamy.

12:27 With the extra shot of espresso, yeah.

12:30 That's necessary.

12:34 Nice place.

12:38 [music]

12:40 Another 15-minute drive down the road and we're at the next [music] restaurant.

12:43 This is a really local restaurant to try a type

12:46 of fish that is a specialty [music] in Jeju.

12:49 Additionally, along with that fish, they have probably my favorite dish,

12:53 one of my favorite dishes of all Korean food.

12:55 [music] So, they have hairtail,

12:59 and then this is the the other fish that we came to try here.

13:03 This place is very cool.

13:05 Kamsahamnida.

13:07 Actually, it's full, but they just have two one table left.

13:10 We got the last table.

13:12 This is the perfect kind of restaurant that I love,

13:14 just family-run, laid-back, specializing in only three different menu items.

13:20 Uh one is the galchi jorim, which is the braised hairtail cutlass fish,

13:24 one of the great dishes in a chili braised uh sauce.

13:29 And the other thing thing they have here is the Jeju specialty,

13:32 which is tilefish, grilled tilefish.

13:34 It's always a good sign when you look around the restaurants and they have

13:37 a lot of signatures from I think

13:39 famous celebrities or [music] maybe just food lovers.

13:45 And we do have a sea view as well.

13:47 Perfect.

13:50 Banchan Banchan has arrived.

13:52 [music] This place is really artistic though.

13:55 You can tell they're perfectionists in serving what they what they serve.

14:00 But we got some broccoli.

14:01 That's nice.

14:07 Nice.

14:08 And then they have green chilies topped with what

14:10 looks what looks like a fermented bean sauce.

14:13 Oh, here it comes, I think.

14:15 Oh, nice.

14:16 Wow.

14:17 Kamsahamnida.

14:20 Oh, here it is, blazing hot.

14:22 Oh, that smells incredible, delivered to your table.

14:26 Oh, wow.

14:29 Kamsahamnida.

14:31 Here comes the tilefish.

14:32 Very good.

14:33 Kamsahamnida.

14:35 Oh, it's a like a omelet too that's served [laughter] with it.

14:37 Oh, nice.

14:38 I think that comes with your set.

14:40 The full meal is here.

14:41 This is the galchi jorim, one of the great dishes of Korea.

14:44 Look at how thick how thick that sauce is.

14:47 We have to just try it first.

14:49 Oh, with whole chilies.

15:00 It's so thick.

15:02 It doesn't feel that oily compared to some other versions.

15:05 Has a balance of spicy, salty,

15:10 with a little bit of sweetness to balance it, like a fruity sweetness almost.

15:14 Mhm.

15:15 And one of the interesting things is here,

15:16 it's not served on a hot plate, it's not served on a burner.

15:18 A lot of times it will be served on a burner to keep it hot and boiling.

15:22 I think that's because they take such care in their fish.

15:25 They don't want it to overcook, so they cook it the perfect amount for you.

15:28 And then serve it to you so it the fish

15:30 doesn't keep on cooking and overcook as you're eating it.

15:33 You can tell this place is really really artistic,

15:36 and they want to serve you like the best quality that they can.

15:39 Now, let's go for a piece of the hairtail now.

15:42 Oh, big pieces.

15:43 Oh, these are big, significant pieces.

15:45 Oh, there is that a potato underneath it?

15:47 There's usually potato and radish.

15:50 Okay, but yeah, nice big slices of hairtail, also called cutlass fish.

15:57 Check this out, they even have these little specific rectangular plates.

16:00 They're specifically for tearing into your fish.

16:04 So, the thing to do is usually I think there's a top bone fin up here.

16:09 If you can, take out that top bone.

16:13 There is a little bit of a technique or strategy.

16:17 Then you can strip it down the center there,

16:19 and then that way the the fillets should hopefully come off.

16:23 Yeah, look at the way it's so buttery and juicy.

16:27 Oh, look at the inside of that.

16:29 It is so buttery, flaky.

16:32 It's a prized fish.

16:33 If I did this correctly, hopefully there should be boneless, but little bunch.

16:39 Mhm.

16:42 Mhm.

16:45 Oh, wow.

16:50 Oh, wow, that is phenomenal.

16:52 Mhm.

16:54 That fish is so buttery in texture, so flaky and buttery and creamy.

16:59 It's actually creamy.

17:01 Okay, and you can flip it over, and then yeah, oh yeah, you'll see.

17:04 You can eat that whole section of fish right there.

17:13 The inner bone is really sharp.

17:16 Mhm.

17:18 So, you have to be careful.

17:22 And you'll end up with this razor-sharp center bone.

17:26 Okay, going to dig [music] some of the I think I got to go with this side here.

17:29 Going to dig some of the the sauce onto my rice.

17:35 And eat that with rice.

17:37 It's perfect with rice.

17:42 Mhm.

17:46 That stew has more of a flavor.

17:48 I'm not sure, it almost has like a like a umami or shrimp paste to it.

17:52 And then another bonus here is that they serve you this wrapped omelet,

17:56 which is one of their specialties here.

17:57 And it looks like a whole omelet roll, so like fried thin and then wrapped up.

18:06 It's juicy and spongy, but it would be better dipped.

18:09 Best dipped into the stew.

18:10 Let's dip it in there.

18:12 Let's add it to the rice with some of the chilies.

18:16 Altogether.

18:23 Wow.

18:24 Uh-oh.

18:27 Phenomenal.

18:28 Absolutely amazing flavor.

18:29 And let's dig down, try one of the radish.

18:33 Mhm.

18:34 Good.

18:35 Let's try the tilefish.

18:37 Again, the tilefish is something it's a prized delicacy in Jeju,

18:41 and this one I thought it was grilled, but it looks like it's been fried.

18:44 It's a red tilefish.

18:47 Let's try it.

18:51 You can see the buttery texture, and you can see how flaky it is.

18:59 Almost it's like stringy, the texture.

19:01 And I know this is one of the the ultimate prized fish of Jeju.

19:05 Sometimes it's half-dried to condense the flavor, almost like dry-aging it.

19:10 It dries in the sun, condenses the flavor before it's used, before it's cooked.

19:15 That texture is amazing.

19:16 And rather than being it grilled,

19:18 it does taste like it's been fried, cuz it is crispy.

19:21 Oh.

19:22 The meat is so delicate, so flaky.

19:25 Look, you can just flake it apart.

19:27 Oh, wait, it's kind of like it's like the bones are

19:30 also kind of just like maybe the bones have been taken out.

19:34 I think you can eat that whole section.

19:40 Okay.

19:41 No wonder tilefish is such a delicacy.

19:44 That texture is unbelievable.

19:46 It's like the flakiest fish I'll ever have.

19:49 Mhm.

19:50 Look at the way that that hair tail It is just It's so buttery.

19:54 It does take some time to debone,

19:57 but once you get that reward of that fish Oh, it's so good.

20:02 I'm just going to take some of that, put it on my rice,

20:05 and take some of the the braising stew onto the fish.

20:08 It's definitely a fish you don't want to eat fast.

20:10 You want to take your time.

20:11 It's kind of like crab.

20:11 You have to really work your way around it, and there's lots of bones,

20:14 but it's so tasty every little bite that you get, and it's totally worth it.

20:21 Oh.

20:22 And when you pair it with the rice with that sauce It's true though.

20:28 I understand why they don't serve it on the hot burner.

20:30 Cuz then it doesn't overcook like every bite

20:32 of that fish is just perfectly creamy and moist and buttery.

20:38 What a meal.

20:40 Oh, I didn't even try that pepper in.

20:41 Okay, back over to the green pepper.

20:43 This looks like a green pepper topped with like a bean sauce maybe.

20:49 Mhm.

20:50 Mhm.

20:52 The green pepper, that crunch, that juiciness,

20:54 and then that salty bean paste fermented bean paste is perfect.

20:58 Look at the strands of [music] this fish.

20:59 It's almost like crab.

21:01 So flaky.

21:08 What a meal.

21:11 Step outside.

21:12 It is raining, but that was an incredible meal.

21:14 Family run.

21:15 The family was so nice and hospitable.

21:17 They even brought umbrellas to help us to the car.

21:20 Oh, they really took care of us,

21:22 and you can tell that they care so much about the food that they serve.

21:25 Highly recommended.

21:27 And we're traveling around Jeju.

21:28 There'll be more videos.

21:29 I'll have the next video linked here that you can

21:31 check out for more [music] delicious Korean food in Jeju.

21:34 And thank you for watching this video.

21:36 Goodbye from rainy Jeju.

21:38 I'll see you on the next video.