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golbengi, or baytop shell


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It's a Korean food thing. They're some kind of sea creature; usually stir-fried with a spicy sauce, as near as I can tell. They're not sea squirts, which are also pretty common on Korean menus here.

It's the first item on this menu, which was translated by a friend of mine:

pojangmachaMenu2.jpg

Anyway, web searches didn't turn up much information on them. Can anyone help me out trying to figure out what they are?

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That's the stuff, thanks SG. Further searching on that spelling turns up that bai-top shell is whelk meat. Whelks are sea snails--that would explain the "kind of like a clam, kind of like a snail" description that two different Korean friends gave me.

Here is the definition from the food lover's companion.

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  • 3 years later...

Reviving this three year old topic to find out more information about this "Top Shell". How are they used and how do they taste? I know the best way to find out is to buy a few but I am trying not to load my pantry too much with items I do not know how to use. They sell them at the local Asian market here. The grocery itself sells the canned variety but a few doors down, an apothecary sells them sliced thin, dried and vacuum packed. Thanks in advance.

Edited by Fugu (log)
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“Bai –Top Shell” is just another word for Whelks. "Whelk is a delicacy popular in many countries, particularly in Korea where we have a dedicated sales office. Whelks or Bai Top Shell are actually fished in UK waters and are supplied live and fresh into OceanC for manufacturing."

My local HanAhReum sells golbaengi, which is really fresh conch. I think they mix up the terms in translation, because they tag this as Bai shell. Personally, I'll take a pass on the canned shellfish when there are fresh alternatives. Especially living .5 mile from Sabor Peru. :rolleyes:

Edited by Batard (log)

"There's nothing like a pork belly to steady the nerves."

Fergus Henderson

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I love golbbaengi. They make a really good drinking snack with an ice cold beer. I like them drained and cut into 2 pieces if they are very large, never chop them up. They should be chewy and meaty when you bite into them. I also like to mix them up with gochugaru, little bit of sugar (sometimes it doesn't need it, cause it's canned with sugar), lots and lots of green onion, sesame seeds, and some rice vinegar. For an added textural contast I like to add shredded cuttlefish.

eta: fugu, I would definitely buy the canned variety as opposed to the dried one. I have never seen the dried kind. Also you don't cook them, you eat them as is right out of the can.

Edited by SheenaGreena (log)
BEARS, BEETS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
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The geolpengi look like escargot, with a similar shell (that's what we think). We had them a number of times. Rubbery, chewy, and Yoonhi always associates them with tins. I remember winkling them out with a safety pin, and then having to chew around the hard plate protecting the outer base of the body.

I gotta admit, I prefer escargot.

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I may be lost in translation here? The top shell being sold here are huge and are nowhere near the size of escargots. The dried stuff, labeled top shell, is around 4"-5" in diametre. I thought they looked like abalone foot, sliced thinly and dried. I'll go back and check again...After the snowstorm passes!

In any case, thanks for the learnin'.

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