Koreatown has long been a place for regional specialties, and Jae Bu Do in Los Angeles, named after a tiny island off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, is one of the rare places where one can find grilled tabletop shellfish. Commonly called jogaegui, this Korean-style clam bake is really more of a cookout, with a parade of amazingly fresh clams, oysters, abalone, shrimp, and lobster getting grilled over charcoal.
In Korea, the soju and beer-infused meal is often enjoyed near the seaside, but the country’s love affair with shellfish dates back thousands of years. While livestock like beef and pork play a major part in Korean cuisine, shellfish abounds in three different directions, which means eating shellfish like this was more of a commoner’s meal.
In this episode of K-Town, host Matthew Kang joins Dining on a Dime host Lucas Peterson for one of the most epic displays of seafood in LA’s Koreatown. Together they ponder the various delicacies and finish the meal with slippery hagfish, a mysterious creature that resembles a tiny eel.
Click here for more episodes of K-Town | Like Eater on Facebook to never miss a video
