Korean
Sundae — Korean Blood Sausage (순대)
Sundae (순대) is Korea's blood sausage: pig's small intestine casing stuffed with a mixture of pork blood, glass noodles (당면), glutinous rice, tofu, green onion, ginger, and sesame, then steamed until the filling sets to a firm, sliceable consistency. Unlike European blood sausages which are smoked or grilled, Korean sundae is always steamed — a softer, more delicate result that reveals the contrast between the silky blood-rice filling and the casing's slight chew. Served sliced with soondae-tteokbokki sauce (spicy) or with raw doenjang and salt dip (traditional), sundae is both a street food icon and a formal pork restaurant banchan.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
Two in town · three shipped · five not yet within reach.
How the 10 are reached
- In town
- 2 · green onion, fresh ginger
- Shipped to you
- 3 · glass noodles (당면), firm tofu, doenjang (된장)
- Not yet within reach
- 5 · plain flour, pig's small intestine, pork blood, glutinous rice, sesame seeds
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For cleaning the casing
60 g
plain flour
Origin · King Arthur Baking, United StatesNot yet within reach of Vernon · each reach is counted
30 g
coarse salt
Your own market
60 ml
white vinegar
Your own market
For the casing
60 cm
pig's small intestine
fresh or thawed, one end tied
Not yet within reach of Vernon · each reach is counted
For the filling
200 ml
pork blood
warmed to just above body temperature
Not yet within reach of Vernon · each reach is counted
80 g
glass noodles (당면)
soaked in cold water until pliable, drained, cut into 3 cm lengths
Origin · KoreaShipped to you · Wismettac →
100 g
glutinous rice
soaked 4 hours, par-steamed until just tender
Not yet within reach of Vernon · each reach is counted
80 g
30 g
5 g
10 ml
sesame oil
Your own market
5 g
sesame seeds
lightly toasted
Not yet within reach of Vernon · each reach is counted
For the traditional dipping sauce
30 g
5 g
fine salt
Your own market
10 ml
sesame oil
Your own market
Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.
The larder of Vernon →Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Rub the intestine inside and out with the flour, then rinse under cold running water — the flour acts as an abrasive and draws surface impurities away from the casing before the deeper treatments begin. Repeat with the coarse salt, then again with the vinegar, rinsing thoroughly after each rub so each agent can work on a clean surface. The casing is ready when it smells neutral and carries no trace of off-odour.
2
Combine the warmed pork blood, glass noodles, par-steamed glutinous rice, crumbled tofu, green onion, ginger, sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a large bowl, using warmed blood rather than cold so it stays fluid long enough to coat every element evenly before the filling stiffens. Mix until the blood is evenly distributed and the filling coheres. The mixture should move slowly when the bowl is tilted — loose enough to flow into the casing, dense enough to hold its shape.
3
This is where the dish lives or dies: spoon or funnel the filling into the tied intestine casing, packing it no more than three-quarters full, because the blood-rice mixture swells during steaming and an overfilled casing will split, losing the filling into the steaming water. Tie the open end securely once filled. The casing should feel plump but yield slightly when pressed — not drum-tight.
4
Set the stuffed sundae on a rack over vigorously boiling water, cover, and steam over high heat for 25–30 minutes, keeping the heat high throughout so the steam never falters and the filling sets evenly from edge to centre. Insert a thin skewer into the thickest point of the sausage; it is done when the skewer meets no resistance and emerges clean with no trace of pink liquid.
5
Remove from the steamer and rest for 5 minutes before slicing, so the filling firms and draws back from the casing slightly, giving a clean cut rather than a smeared one. Cut into rounds 1.5–2 cm thick with a sharp knife. The filling should be firm and sliceable; if cut too soon it will be too soft to hold its shape.
6
Stir together the raw doenjang, fine salt, and sesame oil for the traditional dip, leaving the doenjang uncooked so its sharp, fermented edge stays present against the richness of the blood filling. Serve the sliced sundae warm alongside the dipping sauce. The filling should present a clean cross-section of dark blood-rice and pale noodle against the translucent casing.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Fresh, never-frozen pig's small intestine from a whole-animal butcher; pork blood collected the day of slaughter; hand-made glass noodles of even thickness; glutinous rice from a single-origin Korean variety.
02
Estate — Cleaned fresh intestine from a Korean or Asian specialty butcher; chilled (not frozen) pork blood; commercial Korean glass noodles (당면); standard glutinous rice.
03
Market — Frozen intestine casing, thawed overnight in the refrigerator and cleaned thoroughly; frozen pork blood fully thawed and warmed before use; widely available glass noodles.
04
House — Pre-cleaned salted hog casings (rinsed of salt); frozen pork blood used directly from thawed state. Results will be acceptable in texture but the filling will be less evenly coloured and the casing less supple.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Smell. After each cleaning rub the casing should carry no off-odour; proceed only when it smells neutral.
◇Touch. The filled casing yields slightly under a gentle squeeze — plump but not drum-tight; this signals safe fill-level before steaming.
◇Touch. A skewer inserted into the thickest part meets no resistance and emerges with no pink liquid; the filling has set.
◇Sight. Rested slices hold a clean cross-section — firm dark filling against translucent casing — without collapsing.
◇Where it lives or dies. The casing must be no more than three-quarters filled: the blood-rice mixture expands under steam, and an overfilled casing splits, losing its filling into the water.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
Makgeolli (Korean unfiltered rice wine) — the traditional pairing; its mild effervescence and slight acidity balance the richness of the blood-rice filling.
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance