With the arrival of frosty winter days, Koreans whip out the electric blankets and eat good winter foods and snacks. Anyone who has been to Korea in December or January will undoubtedly agree that Korea is COLD in the winter. It snows and the wind bites. But, with good food we can still survive through the Siberian winds. I'd like to share some foods that are at their peak in winter. These foods just taste better during this time.

On a chilly morning there's nothing like warm juk, porridge. It is kind of like oatmeal or Cream of Wheat. The preparation for this rice porridge is actually a little similar to risotto in that the rice kernels are toasted first before adding liquid so that they absorb faster. This red bean version is traditionally eaten during Dongjinal, which is December 22nd this year. The mythology is that it keeps away bad spirits, who hate red beans.

Ho-ddeok is glutinous rice dough stuffed with brown sugar and nuts that's fried in oil a few centimeters deep, crisping the outside and turning the inside into sweet lava. It's also a life saver on a cold day when you forgot your gloves at home – the piping hot ho-ddeok surely keeps your hands warm. Koreans love this hot sweet snack because of the warm gooey inside and also because it's cheap, delicious and sold all over the country. Ho-ddeok is usually priced around 1,500 won.

This is batter poured into fish-shaped molds, filled with sweetened red beans or, my favorite, "choux cream." The choux cream looks more like yellow custard, but who cares? It's crispy on the outside like a waffle and custardy on the inside. Cheap price and steaming insides make it an all time favorite for freezing Koreans. Something as simple as warm and gooey sweetened red beans inside can do wonders for warming you for an extremely cheap price. If you are in Korea during winter, you can easily find a Bungeo-bbang vendor that sells a pack of three Bungeo-bbangs made on the spot for as little as 1,000 won. Isn't this a steal?

Here in Korea, we don't glaze sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Korean sweet potatoes themselves are very rich in flavor and much sweeter than any other kinds you have tasted before. It is a delicious Korean comfort food loved by all ages. You will see a lot of street vendors that sell gun-go-guma once the winter arrives. Goguma is best eaten on the spot, right when they come out of the roasting barrel. The smell of baked sweet potatoes drifting through the icy cold weather is just priceless.

Odeng is a fish cake skewer sold on any tteokbokki truck. It's made from a fish and flour paste, together with several different spices, which is then skewered and boiled in a special broth for added taste. A typical Odeng skewer will cost you anywhere from 500 to 700 won, sometimes two for 1,000 won. Sure it's delicious and cheap, but the real reason why this is a great winter food is because the broth it's cooked in. Any order you get from the truck gets you unlimited access to the odeng broth (odeng gungmul). This is the real stuff that warms you up inside. And since it's unlimited refills, you can just drink it up till you get the feeling back in your fingers.