A Guide to Korean Cuisine

jigae and a wide assortment of banchan

Korean food, much like its culture and lineage, can be traced back by almost 5,000 years. Yet despite the cuisine’s longstanding history, it has only recently started to gain recognition in Western countries. Whilst its core ingredients are very typically East Asian – ginger, rice, tofu, noodles, and vinegar – the taste is something quite different, and some of the ingredients such as gochujang (a spicy red pepper paste) and doenjang (fermented bean paste similar to miso) are more specific to Korean cooking and give it its unique taste. Lying geographically in between Japan and China, it might come as no surprise that the taste of Korean food is somewhere in between the two.  Whilst it lacks the subtlety of Japanese food, it makes up for it in rich, unforgettable flavours, and although  it does not have the same international acknowledgment as Chinese food, it has twice the health benefits and half the grease.
Food is a big deal in Korea. Whilst modern-day Korea might be a maze of high rise officetel buildings and glitzy shopping malls, only 50 years ago this lively peninsula was a developing country. With poor weather and freezing-cold long-lasting winters, food hasn’t always been so readily available as it is nowadays. The nation’s favourite food – kimchi – comes as a result of this. This fermented cabbage dish was an attempt to preserve vegetables to last right the way through the winter months when food would become worryingly scarce. These days Koreans still love their kimchi, and despite the availability of vegetables year-round, they still eat kimchi with every meal.  Korean food culture is so important to Koreans that it even seeped into the very language used. When times were harder, a typical concerned question might have been ‘did you eat well?’ but this is something that has become adopted into the modern day as a regular greeting, and Koreans are much more likely to ask you ‘did you have lunch/dinnner?’ instead of ‘how are you?’  Equally there is a lot of emphasis put on the actual event of eating, which is almost always a shared experience in Korea.  Eating with Koreans means remembering an endless list of etiquette and cultural rules, some of which can be very complicated and and can be quite confusing for foreigners!

Korean BBQ

Korean food is a robust gastronomical attack. The main dishes always come with a plethora of banchan (assorted side dishes) as well as kimchi, radish and – depending on the dish – vinegary dipping sauces, encompassing a vastly wide range of flavours. Visitors either despise or love its rich tastes, its potent spiciness, its acidic tartness, and its stroke-inducing saltiness.  The Koreans are very proud of their food, although they have no doubts that it is not suited to all tastes and I have been regularly told by my Korean friends that I cannot possibly eat Korean food because it is too salty/spicy for me. Koreans are so dedicated to their food, in fact, that many of them list it as their biggest problem whilst travelling,  to be away from the dishes they know so well.
Korean food can be a minefield for vegetarians, with almost all dishes containing either meat or fish. Even the vegetables used in Korean cooking are usually tossed in fish oils and it can be very hard to explain your needs in restaurants if you don’t speak the language.  Some visitors may also be shocked at some of the meats eaten in Korea. Dog meat is now dying out of Korean food culture, but whilst it is illegal to actually farm dogs the loophole is that there is no law against eating them, and it is not uncommon to find restaurants offering this meat. Some other slightly  strange foods that are eaten in Korea are foul-smelling silkworm larvae which are cooked up as a street food, sliced pig trotters, and live octopus! If you are willing to take the plunge into this strange new world of tastes, however, the results are very pleasing.
김치 – Kimchi
This Korean staple is often a shock to first-time visitors to Korea. Served with almost everything and with a tart fermented spicy kick to it that makes it undeniably unique, you will either love or hate kimchi, but there is no avoiding it. There are many different varities of kimchi such as radish, and cucumber, but the most popular one is made from cabbage, fermented for months in clay pots and then tossed with chili peppers. Kimchi has a distinctive smell to it – something close to unwashed feet – but the taste is totally fresh. It can be eaten either hot or cold, and the cooked taste is very different and perhaps a little more appealing to Western tastes.

반찬 - Banchan
Whilst kimchi is generally part and parcel of banchan, this tapas style display of side dishes goes far beyond the kimchi side dish and can make or break the Korean meal. Banchan are  a testament to the vast variety of Korean cooking and an average meal will come with three or four different banchan, as well as kimchi and radish, however at the fancier restaurants you can easily double that number. Common banchan include dressed tofu, sesame oil soaked beansprouts, jeon (savory pancakes) strips of processed fish cake, mul kimchi (vegetables in brine), bellflower roots, julienned radish, and eggplant, but there are plenty more. Banchan are always served in the centre of the table and are meant for sharing.

김밥 - Kimbap
Kimbap is Korea’s very own version of Japanese sushi. Much like sushi, the ingredients are wrapped in rice and then seaweed, rolled on a bamboo rolling matt. The similarities stop there, however, as the inner stuffing of kimbap bares no resemblance to the subtle flavours and raw fish of sushi. Kimbap usually contains pickled radish, carrot, spinnach, and then some type of cooked meat or fish, or even kimchi or cheese.  It’s not the most thoughtful of foods, or the tastiest, but its widespread availability and cheapness mean that it is highly popular in Korea.


Street Food –  떡볶이, 만도, (Tteokbokki,  Mandu, etc)
There is a vast range of Korean street food, ranging from strange looking deep-fried sausages on sticks, to little wafer fishes stuffed with red bean paste, to dried octopus tentacles. Not only does Korea have its own unique range of street food, but foreign street food is growing in trend too. Lining the streets at night in Seoul are numerous Turkish kebab stalls, alongside a small handful of other international cuisine, appealing to both the foreigners and the locals.  Traditional Korean street food, however, still looms large over foreign offerings. Typical things one might expect to find on the streets are Tteokbooki – a dish of rice cakes and processed fish cakes in a mildly spicy red sauce, and Mandu – steamed dumplings very similar to those found in China.

비빔밥 - Bibimbap 
Bibimbap (which literally means rice with mixed vegetables) is to Korea as the hamburger is to America. Totally unique, and with a somewhat iconic appearance, this spicy dish is served like some kind of wheel of fortune using a plethora of different ingredients in varying colours, almost always topped with a golden yellow egg yolk, or fried egg.  Given the amount of banchan that never get finished in Korea, bibimbap makes economical sense, using all the leftovers to form a new dish. Any number of banchan can be used in bibimbap and it is generally accepted that the more there are, the better it is.  These vegetables are loaded onto a bed of rice, and then topped with flaming red, spicy gochujang. All the ingredients in Bibimbap are meant to be mixed together thoroughly before eating using chopsticks. There are many variations of Bibimbap, and it can sometimes include 회 – Hoe – (raw fish) or 불고기 – Bulgogi – (ground beef) amongst other ingredients. A particularly popular variation of the classic Bibimbap is 돌솥 비빔밥 – Dolsot Bibimbap – (Bimbimbap served in a hot stone dish). The benefits of a Dolsot Bibimbap are that the rice cooks slightly on the bottom, becoming crispy and golden, and the dish stays warm throughout the meal.

Korean BBQ  -  삼겹살, 갈비,  불고기, etc. (Samgyeopsal, Galbi, Bulgogi, etc)
Cooking your own meat in a restaurant is a widespread trend in Korean. Whilst this style of eating is certainly very different from the Western style, is is  hugely popular between both tourists and Koreans alike. Usually the meat (which varies, but is most often samgyeopsal or bulgogi – pork belly/beef) is cooked in the centre of the table on a hot grill. Vegetables can also be added to this, and the meat is normally served with a variety of banchan, as well as lettuce and a spicy red paste. The lettuce is used for wrapping up the meat with the spicy red paste, and often rice, before eating.

Stews and Soups – 찌개, 탕, and 국 (Jigaes, Tangs, and Guks)
Broth based stews and soups are very common in Korean cooking, and they range from overpoweringly spicy to mild and milky, and can come with either a whole host of vegetables,  meat, and bones swimming in them, or be just a watery liquid. Soups and stews are also attributed to various occasions in Korea, for example the beef bone soup 해장국 – haejungguk – is said to be the best hangover cure, and 미역국 – Miyonguk – a seaweed soup, is usually served to people on their birthday. 김치찌개 – kimchi jigae - (kimchi soup) is also a very popular soup in Korea. Easy to make, and distinctive in taste, it is very common on a Korean menu.

Summer foods – 팥빙수 and 물 냉면 (Patpingsu and Mul Naengmyeon)
Korea has a seasonal climate and gets particularly hot and sweaty in the summer months. However, Korean cuisine is perfectly adapted to this change in weather, and there is a delicious range of food on offer to help beat the summer heat. Patpingsu  and  Mul Naengmyeon are two of my favourites. Patpingsu is a desert that can be found in most coffee shop chains,  although it was once a traditional street food.  Patpingsu is like a Bibimbap in sweet form – a little of everything is thrown into the mix. The usual ingredients are fruit, red beans, and ice shavings, but it can also include 떡 - tteok - (rice cakes), jelly sweets, and even cereal flakes! Mul Naengmyeon is another refreshing and simple dish that is popular in summer. It is made up of chewy buckwheat noodles in an ice broth, topped with an egg, julienned cucumber, and a sliced pear, with just a small dash of chilli paste.

Rice Cakes – 떡 (TTeok)
Although rice cakes can be  found throughout East Asia, Koreans insist that their rice cakes – or Tteok – are quite different than those of Japan and China. TTeok come in many shapes and forms in Korea, are made from a glutinous rice, and can be a snack, a desert, a savory side dish, or part of a main meal. They are often mixed with various beans, or bean pastes to give them a sweeter flavour, and then can come steamed, pan-fried, pounded, stuffed, or shaped. Tteok are not to many foreigners tastes, but it is quite impossible to avoid them in Korea.  They are an essential part of many significant dishes in Korean cuisine such as Tteokbokki and Tteokguk, and are also regularly given out as gifts in the workplace.

Alcoholic Drinks – 소주, 막걸리 (Soju, Maggkoli)
Korea has a somewhat belligerently strong drinking culture, of  epic proportions. It may come as no surprise then, that the national alcohol drink is held close in the hearts of many, and is more often than not a part of the Korean dining experience. The aforementioned drink is soju, a clear potent spirit made from rice, with a taste akin to both sake and vodka.  Soju is normally drunk straight from shot glasses, although it can be mixed with beer or juices. Whilst soju is the most commonly drunk alcohol, there is also a second beverage that makes quite a regular appearance on a Korean dining table and that is 막걸리 - Maggkoli. This fermented Korean rice wine comes in many guises, from the cheap, fizzy tasting bottled version, to the slightly more expensive served in a bowl type.  It is always drunk from a small bowl and has a taste that is in equal measures creamy like milk, and sour and gassy like a beer. There are many other unique alcohols in Korea, but these two are the clear winners in terms of popularity.
Is there anything you feel I’ve missed out? Comment