Cheongyang Mayo

If you find yourself in Seoul, you will see ads for HBAF everywhere.

What the hell is HBAF? And why–according to the ads–is the H silent? If you just landed in Korea, you might be baffled. HBAF is a brand that sells primarily almond snacks (they’re also venturing into chickpeas and peanuts). The letters stand for Honey, Butter, Almonds, and Friends, and they offer a gazillion flavors!

In Myeong-dong’s heyday (pre-pandemic), there was probably an HBAF store on every block. Nowadays, there’s only a few HBAF stores still open, but you’ll see the shells of defunct HBAF stores, reminding you of the devastation caused by the pandemic. Nevertheless, HBAF is an experience you must have while in Korea.

Of the vegetarian-friendly flavors they offer, my favorites are Hazelnut Bong Bong, Toffee Nut Latte, and Cheongyang Mayo. Honorable mentions would be the Wasabi Peanuts and Jeju Matcha. Of all these, I think the Cheongyang Mayo is the most special flavor. The others have all been done before, but Cheongyang Mayo was a new experience for me.

It was so exceptional that I knew I had to attempt a recipe to make fresh Cheongyang mayonnaise. I wanted to taste the inspiration for these addictive almonds!

Cheongyang chili peppers are the key to this sauce and I fear I won’t be able to buy them outside of Korea. They’ve got such a distinctive taste that it’s hard to describe. You know it’s Cheongyang pepper when you taste it. It has a fresh pepper taste almost like a cross between a Thai pepper and a Serrano pepper.

I know I’m raving about a pepper that you might not be able to obtain, but if you can find the HBAF Cheongyang Mayo, give it a try. It does a surprisingly good interpretation of fresh Cheongyang mayonnaise.

After my successful attempt at making it, I was left with a buttload of sauce to finish in our last week in Korea. Nothing like being forced to eat up all our food to invent new dishes. I had frozen plant bulgogi meat, kimchi, and whole-wheat tortillas. What did I do? Cheongyang mayo bulgogi burritos. It was so good–like a Korean gyro!

P.S. I still don’t know why the H is silent. Maybe they mean there’s a hint of honey in their snacks? I’ll never know.