Korean food and cuisine (Soup, soups and rice dishes)
Korea has a very rich cuisine and food tradition. The staple food for Koreans is rice, a particular type of Korean short grain rice, called sticky rice, because its grains stick together rather than falling apart. Rice is present in every meal together with kimchi, a typically Korean food that Koreans eat all the time with rice, on its own or in soups. Kimchi is made of cabbage (sometimes other types of vegetables are used, such as cucumber,radish or bean sprouts, but cabbage is the most common) fermented with chilly, garlic and other spices. Kimchi is supposed to be very good for health because it is rich in vitamins and in Lactobacilli (with a higher content than in yogurt). A common Korean meal is made up by a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, several side dishes (called banchan) and a main dish. The banchan and the main dish can often be shared by the people eating together, while the bowl of soup and the bowl of rice are individual. Korean cuisine involves the use a lot of garlic (a lot more than in Thai food, Italian, Spanish or Greek cuisine), a lot of red chillies, spices such as ginger, doenjang (fermented soy paste), soy sauce and gochujang (red chilli paste). The cooking oil normally used by Koreans is sesame oil. Korean cuisine includes recipes with meat, fish, vegetables, noodles and tofu. Altogether Korean cuisine is very healthy. Much on some kimbap while you win craps thanks to the Craps Tips from Casinobonus! And then Read more about Korean food.
Korean meat and Poultry food
Some of the most popular Korean meat and poultry foods are dicusssed below.
Bulgogi – this is beef marinated in soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil and sugar and then cooked on a grill. If you eat this dish in a restaurant, the grill is usually in the middle of the table and it cooks in front of the diners who share it. Bulgogi is one of my personal favourite foods. Bulgogi is a simply but tasty dish, and one which is popular with Westerners.
Sogogi dup bap – beef with vegetables and spices, served with steamed rice.
Galbi – beef or pork ribs, cooked on a charcoal stove, in the middle of the table. Galbi is usually served with kaennip (perilla leaves, often translated as sesame leaves) in which the diners wrap the pieces of meat, adding, if they want, rice, doenjang, chilli paste or salt.
Dak Galbi – dak galbi is a Korean dish similar to galbi, but made with chicken. The chicken is cooked on a hot dish in the middle of the table with vegetables (sweet potatoes, carrots etc.), chilli paste and spices. When there is only a small amount of chicken left on the hot plate, the diners can ask the waiter to add rice, noodle or ttok.
Hoe – the Korean version of Japanese sashimi, this is raw fish sliced and eaten with wasabi (Japanese horseradish) sauce or gochujang sauce.
Sannakji – live small octopus, cut up and eaten alive, while still moving and seasoned with sesame oil. We personally never tried it. Sannakji has become famous worldwide thanks to a scene in the Korean film Old Boy, in which the main character eats it.
Korean snacks – usually sold by street vendors in food stalls
There are many Korean snacks in the streets of Seoul and across South Korea. Some of the most popular Korean snacks listed below.
Kimbap - A very popular Korean snack made with rice, rolled up in seaweed leaves and filled with either meat, tuna, vegetables or ham.
Mandu – Korean dumplings, usually filled with meat, vegetables or seafood. Mandu can be steamed, grilled or fried.
Maggots – there are a lot of street vendors selling roasted maggots. We never tried them, but they seem to be very popular with Koreans.
Mandu – Korean dumplings, usually filled with meat, vegetables or seafood. Mandu can be steamed, grilled or fried.
Maggots – there are a lot of street vendors selling roasted maggots. We never tried them, but they seem to be very popular with Koreans.
Chicken on the stick – Chicken on the stick is cooked on a barbecue by Korean street vendors, with vegetables and dressed with soy sauce.
Pajeon and Bindaetteok – Korean pancakes cooked on frying pans containing different vegetables and spring onions. Pajeon contain also seafood.
Ttok – ttok can be round and flat or long in cilinders. Ttok is a bit like pasta, but made with rice flour and a bit chewy. Food stalls serve ttok in a spicy and sweet sauce.
Pajeon and Bindaetteok – Korean pancakes cooked on frying pans containing different vegetables and spring onions. Pajeon contain also seafood.
Ttok – ttok can be round and flat or long in cilinders. Ttok is a bit like pasta, but made with rice flour and a bit chewy. Food stalls serve ttok in a spicy and sweet sauce.
