Have you ever heard of 순대 (sundae)?  It is not a Korean form of a ice cream dish.  No it is quite different.  In fact, some people would never even dream of eating this.  But what is it?   What are the ingredients?  Who would avoid eating this sausage?  Let’s quickly examine these questions.

What is Sundae?

순대 (sundae) is a Korean sausage.  You can find this sausage in many Korean restaurants all over the world.  And in Korea, it can be a popular street food.   In South Korea, there are different recipes for this dish depending on where you are in the peninsula.

What are the Ingredients?

The ingredients for this dish vary.  For instance, recipes for this dish in along the sea could include seafood.  Away from the sea though, or in other countries, this is usually a pork sausage.  What makes this Korean sausage different?  The use of blood instead of water, juice or beer when it’s time to add a liquid.   In the case of the more common pork variety, it is usually pig’s blood that is used.  But it could be another for of blood as well.  While there are other parts of the world that use blood for sausage making, Korean blood sausage can be considered different to some people.

Who Would Avoid Eating This Sausage?

 If you love this dish, you should not surprise someone by offering this to them without telling them what it is before they eat it.  (When I would eat Korean dishes for the first time, my friends would tell me, “Try it.  See if you like it.  Then I’ll tell you what it is.”  Also, please do not be offended if someone does not want to try this dish.  There are millions of people who for religious, health or personal reasons do not eat blood or any blood product.  Because of this, their wishes should be respected.

How To Tell What This Sausage Is?

If you are afraid that you will forget the word 순대, or if you cannot read Korean and want to avoid this dish, just remember the color purple.  Most blood sausages are a dark purplish color due to the blood being added back into the meat.   Other Korean forms on meat, pork, beef and seafood,  are the same color as meat you would see anywhere else.  But if it worries you a lot, just stick to other traditional dishes that do not contain blood.

While there are other Korean dishes that contain blood, most do not.  So don’t worry too much that you will run into blood dishes if you want to avoid them.  There are plenty of healthy and filling options for you that will keep you both happy and full.