Korean flavours at the bakery

‘Spawn of pollock‘ sounds to me like an insult you might hear in Game of Thrones. But it’s not an insult, it’s a baguette. And you can buy it at the rather posh Korean bakery – nay, patisserie – Kim Young Mo.The potato baguette is one of their top sellers.

I used to think that flavours could be divided clearly into sweet or savoury. But in this part of the world the distinction is blurred and I’ve had difficulty trying to define to students what ‘savoury’ actually means! Does it just mean ‘not including sugar’? Not really, because spicy Korean dishes also include sugar in the recipe. I’m confusing myself now.

In the local bakeries, bread is often very soft and buttery sweet – but it can still have a ‘savoury’ filling. My spawn of pollock baguette was soft with a pink salty fish roe paste and cream cheese filling. And sure enough it had a fishy, yet slightly sweet tang to it, whilst the crispy baked cheese on top added a mild cheddary flavour.

Which reminds me of my garlic bread experience …

Back in the 80’s, I worked as a waitress in a restaurant where we served this really good garlic bread. And I’ve never found garlic bread like it since – apart from in my home (where I make it myself).

But then one day, I saw a tasty looking garlic bread baguette waiting for me in my local Paris Baguette – the most well-known bakery in Seoul. It was covered in butter and garlic and herbs. I was coming home after teaching an early morning class and it looked like it had just come out of the oven. I bought it immediately to have for breakfast. Yes, I’ll eat garlic bread for breakfast.

Then I got home and took a bite.

And I remembered that this isn’t Britain and it isn’t the 80’s anymore.

Because I had bought garlic bread with sugar sprinkled all over it.

My taste buds fell into a state of confusion. I couldn’t handle it.

And I couldn’t understand it.

Garlic and sugar? Oh, no.

This is not to say that I turn my nose up at everything in Paris Baguette.

When I have to eat lunch out, I sometimes pick up one of their crab sandwiches. The bread is like a croissant and it’s all rolled up like a kimbap rice roll! Cute cup too!

In a Korean pastry there might be cream, flavoured cream cheese, or a sweet adzuki bean paste filling. Or sweet corn kernels, beans, or chestnut slices. Or minced pork and curry. Sometimes I’ve bought what I thought was a cheese filling only to find bacon, ham, spam, or sausage lurking inside. And if the bread itself is black, it’s probably made with squid ink. Vegetarians have to be careful.

I am a fan of mixing bread with rice cake though. This adds a chewy component to the soft bread. And I like these contrasting textures.

Cakes have surprised me too over the years. I once bought a birthday cake decorated with whipped cream and cherries only to discover when I got home that it was whipped cream and cherry TOMATOES. Well, tomatoes are a fruit…

I’d also never had a sweet potato birthday cake until I came here. The chain Tous Les Jour do a sweet potato mousse cake, but at least there’s a piece of sweet potato on the top which is a big clue to what it’s made of.

I’ve got used to the flavours of East Asian bakeries. But I still love being surprised!