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
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 회
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.