Safely eating in Korea and Japan with seafood allergies

February 19, 2018 5:11 AM

I am super allergic to seafood as far as allergy testing has shown. I'm in the US and avoid it religiously, with yet to get a reaction. (Thankfully!) Let's just say it's probably epi-pen bad. I'm planning to travel to Korea and Japan in a year. I went to Korea for a month and was okay. I mostly ate rice, meat and desserts. I want to know if anyone with similar allergies and travel experiences have tips to stay safe. Locals who know about Japanese or Korean food would be appreciated too.

I don't need to eat any thing too adventurous, just enough variety so I don't get bored while in Korea for two months. I plan to make allergy cards stating my allergies in the respective languages and learning the words for seafood, fish, and I-will-die-if-you-serve-me-seafood. I also have a Korean friend and Japanese friend I can ask for help.

posted by starlybri to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

Of the two, I think Korean is the one to be most careful of. I'm sure you know this, but I'd avoid most kimchi. Watery kimchi like dongchimi and nabak kimchi might be okay (I've never seen a recipe that uses salted shrimp or fish sauce), but most other authentic kimchi recipes I've seen (and eaten) use jeotgal (salted seafood, often shrimp) or aekjeot (fish sauce with no guarantee there isn't shrimp).

Now here in America, I've seen some Korean markets that sell/make vegan kimchi which would definitely have no seafood, but I can honestly say I've never actually seen hangul on the packages, so I can't provide a Korean name for it.

I suppose that is a possibility to be completely safe: vegan restaurants. The famous one I know of is Sanchon, which was founded by a Buddhist monk.
posted by Fortran at 6:08 AM on February 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

It would probably be good to carry an epi-pen with an instruction card in each language. Keep it in an easy to access pocket. And research what anaphylaxis feels like (trouble breathing, swelling, runny eyes and nose, anxiety, strong feeling of dread and apathy, etc) so you can pull out the pen in time if needed.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 6:48 AM on February 19, 2018

Also hives, itching palms, flushing and restlessness. That's how my first - and fortunately only - anaphylactic reaction started. It took only 10 minutes to progress to throat-tightening and I was really not sure what was happening - I'd never had one and didn't have an epi pen. This was to an oral antibiotic, not a food, so not sure if this corresponds well to your situation.

I'd also recommend you get at least one Epi pen before you go (they wear off and are intended to give you time to get to an emergency room, not as a substitution for professional medical care. They are often prescribed in boxes of 2). Make sure they will not expire while you are there. Epinephrine is not one of those drugs that has a long and stable shelf-life; they deteriorate pretty quickly after the expiration date.

I also recommend making your local language cards emphasize that this is a medical matter, not just a preference. And if you are unsure, try to actually ask the chef.
posted by citygirl at 7:46 AM on February 19, 2018

Please carry at least two epipens with you at all times--if you use one and, in ten minutes, you're still Not Ok and not at a medical facility, you can use the other. I've had to do this, and it's utterly terrifying. Also, keep in mind that Epipens are sensitive to temperature. My doctor has advised me that, for example, if you forget the pen in the car on a warm day, you need to discard that pen and get a new one.

Honestly, a really bad reaction can be so scary that I feel like it's maybe worth talking to your doctor about controlled exposure, in the doctor's office, before you go. I know that sounds crazy, but maybe it'll turn out that you're not as allergic (yet) as the tests indicate. Worst case, you are, in which case, knowing what a reaction feels like and being able to identify what's happening before it progresses to the point that your breathing is impaired might save your life--it's saved mine more than once. Having that experience for the first time in a foreign country where you don't speak the language sounds absolutely horrifying to me, like, I'm nauseated just thinking about it.

If that's not possible, I'd encourage you to read first-person accounts of anaphylaxis and try to really internalize the descriptions and potential signs. If you're traveling with someone, or if you have friends you'll be visiting, ask them to keep an eye out for things, as well--I've more than once had someone point out that I'm doing "that thing with [my] tongue," which has signaled a reaction before I get to the point of being breathing impaired.
posted by mishafletch at 8:09 AM on February 19, 2018 [5 favorites]

If you haven't had a reaction, I would take the allergy test results with a grain of salt. I had an allergy test that told me I was absolutely definitely not allergic to any fish, and deathly allergic to peanuts... in reality, I've almost died from the anaphylactic reaction to eating salmon and trout, but eat peanut butter by the spoonful regularly with no ill effects.

There's also a big variety within 'seafood'. In my personal experience I am mostly allergic to salmon and trout, but can eat tuna, shark and some other types of fish, and definitely non-fish seafood like shrimp, oysters, etc. That said, I avoid everything that's not tuna or shrimp out of an abundance of caution.

Definitely keep epipens, and avoid anything with obvious fish or seafood. I would not overly worry about things like fish sauce used in cooking, or 'hidden' seafood ingredients. YMMV, I think basic awareness, preparedness and avoidance will keep you safe.
posted by so fucking future at 9:33 AM on February 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

EpiPens are available as a generic -- as "Adrenaclick," via CVS, and from original maker Mylan. Also, another auto-injector, Auvi-Q, is back on the market. All are prescription-only in the U.S. (unlike, say, Canada, in case you are near the border or wish to try mail order), and pricing for all varies depending on your insurance and other information. Discounting is available through GoodRx and the makers' own programs.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:28 AM on February 19, 2018

FYI: Japanese cuisine can contain a lot of seafood or seafood-derived ingredients where it may be surprising. Eg: Fish dashi (stock/broth) shows up in tamago and other cooked egg dishes, and it's also used as a base for a lot of soups (udon, osuimono, etc.). Do you know which specific seafood types or species you're allergic to?

Dunno what kinds of cuisine you're planning to try, but if you want to try kaiseki ("fancier" Japanese cuisine) while avoiding all seafood, look into the vegetarian disciplines like shojin.

Sticking to meat (of which there are lots of options!) and Western-style food would probably be the easiest or safest strategy.
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 1:38 PM on February 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I believe I'm allergic to crab, lobster, clams, mussels etc. Like shellfish. I don't think I'm allergic to fish like salmon, trout etc but I don't like them.
posted by starlybri at 4:20 PM on February 19, 2018

Some ideas of what you should be safely able to eat in Korea:

- Table top BBQ: grill your own pork belly and marinated beef, eat with rice wrapped in lettuce
- Kimbap: almost like sushi but no fish-ingerdients (apart from the tuna version)
- Samgyetang: healthy Ginseng chicken soup, popular in winter
- All vegan restaurants run by Buddhists

In fact, most dishes should be fine. However, you can never be entirely certain that a fish sauce made with shell fish (e.g. oyster sauce) wasn't used or that there was a cross contamination in the kitchen. Depending on how severe your allergy is, you might want to carry an epi pen. In order to find out how severely you might react, I second a test in a controlled environment (at your doctors) before you worry sick and not enjoy any meal on your trip!

Another idea: you could print this picture:
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2013/08/321_74974.html
And replace the sentence on the buttom with the Korean version of: "I am allergic to all types of shell fish. Do any of the dishes cotain shell fish or sauce made from shell fish?" Get it printed and laminated and carry around and ask people at restaurants.
posted by Fallbala at 1:27 PM on February 20, 2018

Sometimes kimbap has crab sticks in it, I've noticed. But it does tend more toward identifiable ingredients than some other dishes.

If you've never had a reaction, and you spent a month in Korea, I'd definitely be wondering if perhaps the tests are wrong. I couldn't go a week there without surprise shellfish or squid in something, and that's even without being allergic (so I only knew the kimchi had shrimp when I'd peel a leaf off and see a teensy brine shrimp underneath it, or when I'd get my bowl of tomato salad and find a tentacle; dishes that just used fish sauce or shrimp paste were invisible to me). I don't know what you ate, though - if you just had grilled beef and fried chicken, that might be your best bet again.

And for Japan, well, a vegetarian friend moved there and found he had to make an exception for fish broth in order to eat. Bonito flakes and dashi are really basic foundational flavors in Japan. So that might be a place where you benefit from more specificity.
posted by Lady Li at 4:06 PM on February 20, 2018