Sundae — Korea's Blood Sausage and Street Food Culture

Korean sundae (순대) — not to be confused with the Western dessert — is a blood sausage made from pig intestines stuffed with glass noodles (dangmyeon), pig blood, rice, vegetables, and seasonings, then steamed until cooked through.

It is one of Korea's most accessible street foods: cheap (a portion costs very little), filling, available at almost every pojangmacha (covered street food stall), tteokbokki restaurant, and traditional Korean market. The flavor is deep and savory, with the characteristic iron-mineral note of blood sausage.

What's Inside

Traditional sundae stuffing includes:

• Glass noodles (dangmyeon, sweet potato starch noodles) — the primary filling volume
• Pig's blood — binding the filling and providing the characteristic dark color and flavor
• Glutinous rice or regular rice
• Soybean sprouts or green onion
• Sesame oil
• Seasonings (salt, pepper, doenjang sometimes)

The entire mixture is packed into cleaned pig small intestine (gopchang), tied at intervals, and steamed for 30-40 minutes.

Regional Variations

Traditional glass noodle sundae: The standard — dangmyeon, blood, rice, vegetables. Dark, savory.

Abai sundae (아바이순대): From Sokcho, on the northeastern coast. Developed by North Korean refugees who came south during the Korean War. Larger casing, higher blood content, chewier glass noodles. Named after North Korean dialect word for "old man" (abai) — the refugees who brought the recipe.

Squid sundae (오징어순대): Popular in Sokcho and coastal regions. Cleaned whole squid used as the casing instead of intestine. The squid stuffing has a different texture and slightly sweeter flavor.

Rice-heavy sundae: Some versions use more rice and less glass noodle, producing a firmer texture.

How Sundae Is Eaten

At pojangmacha: Ordered by portion, served hot and sliced into thick rounds. Seasoning is always a choice — the standard Korean way is a combination of:

• Socheon (소천) — coarse sea salt and black pepper mixed together
• Tteokbokki sauce — the spicy rice cake sauce, used as a dip

The two condiment options (salt/pepper vs. spicy sauce) represent a flavor choice: the clean mineral saltiness of salt versus the spicy-sweet tteokbokki sauce.

The combination meal: Sundae is almost always ordered with tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) at street food stalls. The combination is so common it's called tteokbokki set (떡볶이 세트) and appears on almost every pojangmacha menu as a package.

With offal sides: At traditional Korean markets (particularly Gwangjang Market in Seoul, famous for its sundae), sundae is sold alongside eomuk (fish cake), pig liver, lung, and other offal cuts — an offal platter tradition.

Gwangjang Market

Gwangjang Market (광장시장) in Seoul's Jongno district is Korea's most famous traditional market and sundae destination. The market's covered food stalls have been operating for over a century. Sundae here is served with noodles in broth (sundae guk) or as a dry platter with various organs alongside. The quantity of sundae consumed here daily is extraordinary.

---

Sundae exists in Korean food culture as the street food that has no pretense — it is offal sausage, it is cheap, it is eaten standing at a stall or in a plastic chair under a tent. Its persistence as one of Korea's most eaten foods is a reminder that the most beloved dishes in any cuisine are rarely the elegant ones.