How To....

Eat Korean Food

by Deirdre Madden
So you’re new in town and you’re hungry. But the only “Korean” food you’ve eaten before is rice, and you have no idea what you want, or how to order it. Before you give it all up and become best friends with the Pizza Palm’s delivery guy, check this out. And remember that your mother was right ? You should try it. You might like it.

Kimchi 김치


Basic Korean side dish to every meal. It’s pickled cabbage spiced with gochujang (red pepper paste). Sometimes other veggies are spiced and pickled, too. Every ajumma’s is different, so try it in different places. Mool kimchi is just kimchi in water.


Bulgogi 불고기


Korean Barbeque. Strips of marinated meat cooked on the table in front of you. Comes with an assorted array of side dishes, mostly kimchi or kimchified veggies. Sogogi is beef, dweggi gogi is pork.


Sam Gyup Sal 삼귭살


Literally it means “three layers of fat” It’s basically the same cut of pork as bacon, but it’s not cured. I’ve heard it’s very good for your heart. Again, you cook it on the table in front of you. The proper way to eat it is to roll the cooked meat in the provided leaves, along with garlic and sauce.


Donkas 돈까스
Similar to schnitzel. Breaded pork cutlets served with a tasty sauce and usually a side of white rice and corn. One of the “fusion” foods, a mix of Korean and western cooking. Deep fried and served with gravy, it’s pretty western.


Kimbap 김밥

Rice (bap), ham, egg, and sweet radish rolled in seaweed (kim). You can also find it with tuna (chamchi).

Dwonjan Chiggae
A slightly spicy soup filled with veggies, and sometimes various types of meat and seafood. When I say slightly spicy, it’s comparable to a medium salsa back home.


Mandu 만두


Korea’s answer to dumplings. Dough stuffed with rice and meat (gogi), kimchi or veggies. It’s then steamed. Served with soy sauce and pickled radish (moo).

Kimchi Chiggae 김치치께
A spicy soup made with kimchi and other veggies. Kimchi chiggae can sometimes be very spicy, so be careful. There can also be meat in it, so vegetarians need to ask for it “gogi beygo”.

Sam Gyeh Tang 삼꼐탕


Basically it’s chicken and ginseng soup, but the chicken comes whole and stuffed with rice and other goodies. Very tasty, and good when you’ve got a cold.


Hay Chang Guk 혜장국
Good Morning Soup. It’s the Korean hangover cure; a soup usually made from


Cheesy Rice(Cheeju Dak Yatche Bokumbap) 치즈닭야제보금밥
A stir fry of rice, chicken, veggies, cheese and gochujang (red pepper) sauce.


Dak Galbi 닭갈비
A spicy chicken stir fry with veggies and glutunous rice sticks (dok), bring your own bread and freak out the staff by making a delicious dak galib sandwich.


Huay
Sliced raw fish with side dishes.


Bul Dak 불닭
Fire chicken. Very spicy. Popular with the nightclub crowd in Samsandong.


Ramyun 라면
Like Mr. Noodle it’s cheap, fast and tasty. The one night stand of Korean food.


Ja Jang Myun 자장면


Glass noodles with black bean sauce. Can be anywhere from medium hot to super-mouth-burning hot. Delivered by those crazy drivers on the little red and white bikes.


Nang Myun 냉면
Ice noodles. Think “ice cream” without the fun.


Cho Bap 초밥
Raw fish on rice. Remarkably resembles sashimi.


Bebimbap 비빔밥


A big bowl of rice covered in cooked veggies with an egg on top, sometimes it comes in a hotpot (dolsot). Bebimbap is popular with vegetarians, since it is usually meat free, but to be sure, order it "gogi beygo".


Bokumbap 보금밥
Fried rice. You can often get different varieties, like tuna (chamchi), or seafood.

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