The tentacles stuck to the walls of the woman's throat as she swallowed the octopus whole. After watching the episode on CSI where a reknowned cook kills someone with delicacies such as live octopus, I vowed I would never risk my life by consuming this dangerous animal while was in Korea.
A nice little trip to Oido and the Ocean turned into a Chusok I will never forget. After spending the day stuffing my face, my uncles and aunts decided to take Karen and I to the Ocean. The sun was shining, the water sparkled and the mountains projected their majesty in the distance. On this Korean holiday, the roads were too crowded to go all the way across the bridge to the island. So we decided to turn around - then we stopped in Oido.
With the ocean nearby, this city is known for its seafood. We walked through the fish markets looking at the interesting array of sea animals. Live jumping fish, eel, and lobster were just a few of what was available to take home (so I thought).
My aunts picked out a few things to buy. They bought some live fish, shrimp, and had some octopus cut up and put on a plate - I thought the lady was taking it somewhere to have it cooked and packed. We ended up following her up stairs and into a restaurant. The plate of squirming tentacles was placed on the table where we sat.
Everyone began eating - eating the squirming tentacles of course - even the kids. So, in a moment of spontenaity I picked up my metal chopsticks and went in. I tried to reach a piece that wasn't squirming. To my dismay, anytime they were touched, they would move. So I pinched the smallest piece I could find with my chopsticks and it went into my mouth - until the tentacles stuck to the chopsticks and I had to pull it off with my teeth. Then it stuck to my front tooth. So I chewed as best I could. It wasn't too bad - it was actually really good. So ate some more.
The shrimp was impossible! It was alive, the legs were moving, the head cut off, and then it was handed to me. I ate live octopus, I can definitely eat live shrimp right? Yeah, that's what I thought. I dipped it into some pepper paste and tried to bite. Then it moved. Couldn't do it.
Even though I couldn't do the shrimp, I'll definitely go back for live octopus again.
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