Korean cuisine originated from prehistoric traditions in the Korean peninsula evolving through a complex interaction of environmental, political, and cultural trends.
Korean cuisine is largely based upon rice, vegetables, and meats. Traditional Korean meals are noted for the number of side dishes (banchan) that accompany steam-cooked short-grain rice.Kimchi is served often, sometimes at every meal. Commonly used ingredients include sesame oil, doenjang (fermented bean paste), soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and gochujang(fermented red chili paste).
Ingredients and dishes vary by province. Many regional dishes have become national, and dishes that were once regional have proliferated in different variations across the country. The Korean royal court cuisine once brought all of the unique regional specialties together for the royal family. Meals are regulated by Korean cultural etiquette.
Korean food has become so popular that people from every culture increasingly enjoy these savory, spicy and almost soul-healing dishes. So what are some of these dishes that are so popular universally? Every culture has their own uniquely weird food but also some of the mainstream hits that almost represent as they identify of those cuisines. Following list is a great list of Korean foods appreciated by Koreans, Americans, Europeans, other Asians and everyone else. So what are they?
1. Kimchi
Kimchi represents Korea's best known food. Koreans serve kimchi at almost every meal, and few Koreans can last more than a few days before cravings get the better of them. During the 1988 Summer Olympic Games, thousands of foreigners were introduced to it for the first time. Despite a reputation for being spicy, most people usually develop a taste for it, and many foreigners also find themselves missing it after returning to their home country.
2. Galbi
Grilled Beef Short Ribs
갈비
Galbi is a very popular Korean meat dish made from beef short ribs. The ribs are marinated in a sauce made from Korean pear juice, rice wine, soy sauce, garlic, sesame seed oil and sugar. Most recipes contain these basic ingredients but many variations exists from sweet to spicier marinades.
The meat itself is often cut in the L.A. rib style, which is basically a rack of ribs cut in thin slices across the bones. This makes eating galbi easier with chopsticks or with fingers. Galbi is usually available in most Korean restaurants but it is generally served in venues that specialize in galbi and the meat is cooked on an in-table BBQ.
This dish is usually served with a side of lettuce, spinach, or other leafy vegetable, which is used to wrap a slice of cooked meat, often times along with a dab of ssamjang, kimchi, or other side dishes, and then eaten as a whole. To see a visual illustration, click here. Galbi itself means rib in Korean and there are many dishes that incorporate galbi to make soups and stews.
3. Bulgogi
Bulgogi (Korean pronunciation: [pulɡoɡi]) or neobiani is a Korean dish that usually consists of barbecued marinated beef, chicken or pork. It is listed at number 23 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.
Bulgogi is made from thin slices of sirloin or other prime cuts of beef. Before cooking, the meat is marinated to enhance its flavour and tenderness with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, pepper and other ingredients such as scallions, onions or mushrooms, especially white button mushrooms or shiitake. Sometimes, cellophane noodles are added to the dish, which varies by region and specific recipe.
Bulgogi is traditionally grilled, but pan-cooking is common as well. Whole cloves of garlic, sliced onions and chopped green peppers are often grilled or fried with the meat. This dish is sometimes served with a side of lettuce or other leafy vegetable, which is used to wrap a slice of cooked meat, often along with a dab of ssamjang, or other side dishes, and then eaten as a whole.
4. Seafood pancake
Pajeon is a variety of jeon with green onions as its prominent ingredient, as pa literally means 'green/spring onion' in Korean. It is a pancake-like Korean dish made from a batter of eggs, wheat flour, rice flour, green onions, and often other additional ingredients depending on the variety. Beef, pork, kimchi, shellfish, and other seafood are mostly used. If one of these ingredients, such as squid, dominates the jeon, the name will reflect that; oh jing uh jeon is 'squid jeon.'
Pajeon is usually recognizable by the highly visible green onions. It is similar to a Chinese green onion pancake in appearance but is less dense in texture and not made from a dough. It is not to be confused with bindaetteok, which is a mung bean pancake.
5. Spicy Soft Tofu Stew
순두부찌개
Soondooboo chigae is a spicy stew made with soft uncoagulated tofu that is produced by compressing and curdling tofu to remove excess water. There are numerous variations of this dish consisting of seafood, beef, pork and/or vegetable contents. Plain soondooboo chigae is usually made with some added pieces of pork, several small clams, chopped garlic, and red chili pepper flakes (gochugaru) along with chopped leeks and sesame oil.
In addition, there are different levels of spiciness for this dish; light, medium and hot. The ingredients and spicy broth are added to a generous amount of soondooboo in a ttukbaegi(ceramic bowl) and boiled over an intense heat. If preferred, a raw egg may be included to add flavor as well as thickness which can dilute its spiciness of the broth. Main ingredients may vary depending on their availability and the preferences of the restaurants as it is served during lunch or dinner, especially during the winter seasons.
6. Spicy cold noodle
Bibim guksu, a cold dish made with very thin wheat flour noodles called somyeon with added flavorings, is one of the most popular traditional noodle dishes in Korean cuisine. It is also calledguksu bibim or goldong myeon, all of which literally mean "stirred noodles" or "mixed noodles". The dish is especially popular during summer.
There are many kinds of cold noodle dishes in Korea, including one made with cold beef broth; however, spicy cold noodles have historically been appreciated by spice-loving people in Korea and recognized internationally. What makes this dish so distinct from other cold noodle dishes from different cultures is the strong spicy flavor produced from the combination of red pepper powder, gochujang, and minced garlic, along with a sweet-and-sour flavor created by vinegar and sugar. Most spicy cold noodles are prepared with a slight touch of sesame oil to enhance the richness of its flavor.
Typically the dish would be prepared by stir frying diced beef, julienned pickled cucumbers, and mushrooms in sesame oil, which is all mixed together with the cooked noodles, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds and sugar. Garnishes placed on top and around the spicy noodles include hard-boiled eggs, pickled mu, dried gim strips, sliced cucumbers, and sometimes slicedKorean pear or tomato.
7. Korean fried chicken
Korean fried chicken or seasoned chicken (Korean: 양념 치킨 yangnyeom chikin) is a fried chicken dish prepared in a Korean style. It is traditionally eaten as fast food, at bars, or as an after meal snack in Korea. It is not often consumed as a meal.
Korean fried chicken is prepared in a way that removes the fat from the skin, resulting in a crust described by Julia Moskin of The New York Times as a "thin, crackly and almost transparent". The chickens are usually seasoned with spices after being fried. In South Korea, chickens are relatively small, so Korean fried chicken restaurants fry whole chickens before hacking it into bits. In the United States, chickens tend to be larger and Korean restaurants find it more difficult to deal with large breasts and thighs. As a result, many Korean fried chicken restaurants in the United States usually serve wings and small drumsticks. Pickled radishes, beer, and soju are often served with Korean fried chicken.
8. Ddeokbokki
Tteokbokki, also known as Ddeokbokki or topokki, is a popular Korean snack food which is commonly purchased from street vendors or Pojangmacha. Originally it was called tteokjjim (떡찜), and was a braised dish of sliced rice cake, meat, eggs, and seasoning.
Following the Korean War a new type of tteokbokki became very popular. While the older version was a savory dish, this latter type was much spicier, and quickly became more popular than the older traditional dish. In addition to traditional ingredients, this tteokbokki used gochujang, a fermented, spicy paste made from chilli peppers, along with fish cakes. Other ingredients added to tteokbokki include boiled eggs, pan-fried mandu (Korean dumplings), sausages, ramyeon (which then becomes rabokki/labokki 라볶이), a variety of fried vegetables, and cheese. These days, many kinds of tteokbokki are popular such as seafood tteokbokki(해물 떡볶이) or rice tteokbokki(쌀떡볶이). Flour tteokbokki was popular in early days, but rice tteokbokki is more popular these days.
Sindang-dong in Seoul, where tteokbokki was first sold, is still very famous for the dish and treated as the mekkah of tteokbokki. Since Tteokbokki has become one of the most popular dishes, one will easily find a place to enjoy eating Tteokbokki in Korea.
9. Bibimbap
Bibimbap (비빔밥, Korean pronunciation: [pibimp͈ap̚]) is a signature Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed rice". 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.
In Korea, Jeonju, Jinju, and Tongyeong are especially famous for their versions of bibimbap. It is listed at number 40 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.
10. Hoddeok
Hotteok is a variety of filled Korean pancake, and is a popular street food of South Korea. It is usually eaten during the winter season.
The dough for hotteok is made from wheat flour, water, milk, sugar, and yeast. The dough is allowed to rise for several hours. Handful-sized balls of this stiff dough are filled with a sweet mixture, which may contain brown sugar, honey, chopped peanuts, and cinnamon. The filled dough is then placed on a greased griddle, and pressed flat into a large circle with a special tool with a stainless steel circle and wooden handle as it cooks.
In South Korea, ready-made dry hotteok mix is commercially available in plastic packages. The mix also comes with a filling consisting of brown sugar and ground peanuts or sesame seeds.
Enjoy. !!
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