Whenever I travel overseas I also try and taste what their food are like.
So in this post, I'd like to share what you could expect to eat if you are not really familiar with their dishes, like myself.
The descriptions of the dishes are taken from Wikipedia, my ever best friend.
1. Kimchi - is a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings. There are hundreds of varieties of kimchi made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, green onions or cucumber. It is the most common banchan, or side dish, in Korean cuisine.
I got to try Kimchi even before we went to Korea. It was okay dish for me. I can eat it once in a while. There was a time we were in Korea and we just got so used to having Kimchi so we were so excited to finally see Burger King!
2. Samgyeupsal - is a popular Korean dish. Commonly served as an evening meal, it consists of thick, fatty slices of pork belly meat (similar to uncured bacon). The meat, usually neither marinated nor seasoned, is cooked on a grill at the diners' table. Usually diners grill the meat themselves and eat directly from a grill.
On our first night in Busan, we head to this nice Korean restaurant and ordered Samyeopsal. We loved it. There's a variety of unlimited side-dishes, including Kimchi. The dish we had only cost 10,000 KRW, that's already for the four of us.
3. Dakgalbi - is a popular South Korean dish generally made by stir-frying marinated diced chicken in a gochujang (chili pepper paste) based sauce, and sliced cabbage, sweet potato, scallions, onions and tteok (rice cake) together on a hot plate. It is a local specialty food for the city of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, where dak galbi originates. Because of its origin, the dish is also called Chuncheon dak galbi.
On our first night in Seoul, we get to try this nice dish. Yum, I got to eat some rice. Yay!
4. Bulgogi - is a Korean dish that usually consists of marinated barbecued beef, although chicken or pork may also be used.
5. Bibimbap - is a signature Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed meal." Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot.
I loved bibimbap when I first got to try it during my trip in Sydney. It's full of everything - vegetables, rice, spicy sauce and meat. It's my perfect dish!
6. Kimbap - is a popular Korean dish made from steamed white rice (bap) and various other ingredients, rolled in gim (sheets of dried laver seaweed) and served in bite-size slices. Gimbap is often eaten during picnics or outdoor events, or as a light lunch, served with danmuji or kimchi.
This photo is a spam filled kimbap, which I ate during our trip to DMZ. It's nice for a quick snack if you are on the go.
7. Soju - is a distilled beverage native to Korea. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter due to sugars added in the manufacturing process. It is usually consumed neat.
The one on the right is the Soju. On the left is the Korean beer, I think.
Most brands of soju are made in South Korea. Though it is traditionally made from rice, most modern producers of soju use supplements or even replace rice with other starches, such as potatoes, wheat, barley, sweet potatoes, or tapioca.
8. Galbi - generally refers to a variety of gui or grilled dishes in Korean cuisine that is made with marinated beef (or pork) short ribs in a ganjang-based sauce (Korean soy sauce).[1] In the Korean language, galbi literally means "rib" and can often indicate uncooked ribs. In addition, the dish's full name is galbi gui, although "gui" (grilling) is commonly omitted to refer to it.
Okay, now this made me hungry and miss Korea all the more!
I'm sure there's more other delicious stuff to try in Korea aside from the one I've listed. But truly, I did enjoy their food and of course, the Kimchi!
