[Korea] The Big Expanded/Revised Korean Food List

If you're planning a visit to Korea (or even "Korea-town"), you might want to try some of these suggestions. Any mistakes are my own - feel free to add!



During my stay in Korea, I kept a list of food I tried and enjoyed and will share it here for anyone who likes Korean food (check out the local restaurants or take people out from your Korean Arts schools). Feel free to add some of your favorites too!


Normally in Korea, Koreans will take you out to try "typical" Korean food, which usually means Bul-go-gi or Bi-bim-bap, bith of which are good but they get boring after a while. There is a lot of great Korean food out there.

At a restaurant, every person will get their own bowl of rice (you can eat it with your spoon or chopsticks, but don't leave your chopsticks sticking straight up in them) which you should try to keep white, i.e. don't put your side dishes on top of your rice and don't lift the bowl to eat it. Also you will have a bowl of soup unless there is a shared stew pot in the center of the table. It's okay to take a spoon of rice and dip in the soup with it (or in less formal situations, dump your rice into your own soup dish (not a communal pot though!).

Also on the table will be the main course and at least 4 side dishes (the more side dishes means the more formal the meal). These are all shared by reaching in with your chopsticks... so don't poke around with your chopsticks too much.

Here's some dishes I liked:

Soups - dishes ending in tang (탕) or gook (국) are usually lighter broth soups and are served with a few side dishes (usually about 4 or so). Some people will take a spoonful of rice and dip it into the soup as they eat. More informally, people will dump the whole rice bowl into the soup. Soups are individual meals with each person getting their own dish full and sharing a small selection of side dishes.

감자탕 (Kam Ja Tang) - A hearty stew made with potatoes and pork bones.
칼국수 (Kal Gook Soo) - Broad white flour noodles in a rich broth.
떡국 (Tokk Gook) - Flat round rice cakes in a thin broth, commonly served on Lunar New Year's Day.
내장탕 (Nae Jang Tang) - Spicy soup made from fish intestines and vegetables.
설렁탕 (So Long Tang) - A soup made from beef broth, spring onions, rice, salt, and red pepper paste.
알탕 (All Tang) - Spicy soup made from fish eggs, red pepper, spring onions and other seasonings. 짬뽕 (Jjam Pong) – Very spicey (hot) mixed seafood in fish broth
추어탕 Choo Oh Tang boiled loaches (a kind of small fish found in the rice paddies) that are crushed up and mixed with a variety of vegetables. The soup is seasoned individually by each person with a variety of spices and fresh vegetables, eaten with rice.
곰 탕 Gom Tang - Soup made from tailbones (beef), you can put your bowl of rice into it and can add red pepper powder if you like. 곰 (gom) also means bear (different Hanja) but this soup is not made of bear!
설렁탕 Seol-Leong Tang A similar soup to above but is made from general beef bones. 설렁 "seol leong" is also slang for not funny, or not enough!


Stews - dishes ending in -chee gay (찌개) or -jeon gol (전골) tend to be communal dishes with a thicker broth. Use the big serving spoon (not your own spoon) to take a big scoop of the chunky parts onto your small individual bowl, then add a scoop of the broth over it. Serve the eldest first. (Don't use your own spoon or chopsticks to reach into the main big cook pot). Served with at least 4 side dishes and possibly more.

김치찌개 (Kimchee Chee Gay) - Spicey cabbage kimchee boiled in a bit of water to make a soup and vegetables and served with rice on the side (you can dump it in or dip it)and side dishes.
참치김치찌개 (Cham Chee Kimchee Chee Gay) same as above but with canned tuna added (along with the tuna juice). Sometimes this will be served as part of meal if the host doesn't have enough side dishes (it has everything you need with tuna, kimchee, vegetables and rice)
비지찌개 (Bee Gee Chee Gay) - A thick stew made from the skins of the soybeans.
된장찌개 (Tien Jang Chee Gay) - A hearty stew of soy bean paste, tofu and vegetables. Often served at the end of a meat meal to aid in digestion.
부대찌개 Boo Tae Chee Gae - Soldiers Soup made from a variety of ingredients (whatever you have on hand). Normally it's made with Ramyeon noodle seasoning (add the noodles at the end) with kimchee, spam, and whatever vegetables and leftovers you have. Spicey and filling!
순두부찌개 Soo Too Boo Chee Gae - Fresh soft tooboo (Tofu) made into a soup with red peppers and often shellfish. Served with side dishes.
버섯전골 Beo Seot Jeon Gol - This is a hearty stew made from several varieties of mushrooms boiled in a nice stock. Other vegetables may be added.
아꾸찜 Ah GGoo Jjim - 아꾸 is a kind of fish whose name I never learned and instead referred to as "big mouthed ugly fish" (and it is). In this dish, it's mixed with red peppers and veggies and made into a stew. (Actually it is "MONKFISH" apparantly)


Noodles/Light meals - Often these dishes are served for lunch along with a few side dishes. They tend to be cheap, filling and fast to get.

백반 (Paek Pahn) - A few sidedishes (4 or so) served with a cup of soup and rice. Very basic meal.
두부김치 (Too Boo Kimchee) - A plate of warm tofu and kimchee, often served with soju.
순두부백반 Soon Too Boo Paek Pan - Fresh soft tooboo (Tofu) served up with a nice variety of side dishes.
잡채 (Jhap Chay) - A dish of clear noodles mixed with various vegetables.
냉면 (Naeng Myeon) - Cold buckwheat noodles, served in an icy broth with various vegetables, a boiled egg and mustard paste. 김밥 (Kimbap) - Vegetables and ham rolled in rice and seaweed.
참치김밥 (Cham Chee Kimbap)- Tuna and vegetables rolled in rice and seaweed.
누드김밥 (Noo Duh Kimbap) - Vegetables and other ingredients rolled in seaweed and rice with the rice facing out.
참치볶음밥 (Cham Chee Boke Um) - Stir-fried tuna and kimchee with rice.
돌솥밥 (Tole Sut Bap) - Rice and vegetables served in a hot stone bowl.
떡볶기 (Tokk Boke Ee) - Cylindrical rice cakes boiled in hot sauce.
유부초밥 (Yoo Boo Cho Bap) - Deep fried thin tofu shells filled with vinegared rice and sesame seeds.
순대 (Soon Dae) - blood and meat mixed with noodles and rice in a sausage casing.


Meat and Fish Dishes - Dinner dishes. These are larger meals that require more time. Often the food is brought raw (or alive, as in the catfish) and there's a bit of time waiting to cook it. Generally there is a portable gas burner on the table and you cook it yourself (often the junior woman in the party is put in charge of that). Generally there are more side dishes and there may be 된장찌개 (Tien Jang Chee Gay) served at the end. As the meat cooks, reach in with your chopsticks and pull out the piece you want (please don't poke around and move others).

Generally you must order by the amount of people you wish to serve. Restaurants normally won't serve a single portion so if you go alone, you must order at least 이인분(Ee In Poon). That amount includes your side dishes, kimchee and so on. Rice and 된장찌개 (Tien Jang Chee Gay) may be included or may be a bit extra. If you want more rice, just yell for 공기밥 하나또 주세요 (Gong Gi Bap Hana To Chuseyo). If you want more main dish, ask for another portion (or more), e.g. 일인분 또 주세요 (Il In Poon Tto Chuseyo).


쌈밥 Ssam Bap - A big plate of various greens (lettuce, herbs, weeds, and others) that you take a wrap with other greens and fill with rice and garlic and soybean paste. Optionally you may have some grilled meat to go with this. Hopefully, the restaurant will have a big wall poster showing what the various greens are. Definitely will give you an appreciation for the various greens.
보쌈 (Po Ssam) - steamed pork served like 쌈밥 Ssam Bap (see above)
삼겹살 (Sam Gyeop Sal) - Roasted side pork, usually wrapped in lettuce with seasoned soy bean paste.
생등심 Saeng Tung Shim - Fresh beef sirloin grilled in front of you and cut into nice bite sized pieces which may be dipped into a sesame oil- salt and pepper dip and wrapped in lettuce with garlic, leeks, and/or soy bean paste. (note that the생- prefix on meat refers to never frozen, fresh meat as opposed to frozen meat and is usually better tasting)
안심 Ahn Shim - Like above but it is the beef tenderloin
돼지갈비 Dwae Ji Kal Bee - Pork ribs with seasoning cooked on a grill in front of you and eaten with rice, sidedishes and lettuce to wrap the meat in (w/ garlic, soybean paste, and greens)
소갈비 So Kal Bee - Similar to above, but these are a richer seasoned beef ribs
불고기 (Bool Gogi)- Marinated beef with mushrooms and other vegetables cooked in a pot.
메기매운탕 (Maegi Mae Oon Tang) - Spicy stew made with whole catfish.
장어구이 (Jang Oh Goo Ee) - Marinated and barbecued eel filets wrapped in lettuce.
세발 낙지 (Sepal Nakji) Thin-Legged Octopus - live octopi dipped in to boiling water inch by inch and clipped off as it cooks until just the body is left... which was then boiled in the pot until cooked (the ink was really good too). Regional specialty in Tae An (충남 태안군 )
닭갈비 (Tak Kal Bi) - Boneless chicken seasoned with spring onions, red pepper paste, sweet potatoes, rice cakes and garlic; usually wrapped in lettuce with seasoned soy bean paste.
삼계탕 (Sam Gye Tang) - A whole chicken stuffed with rice, jujubes, garlic and ginseng and boiled whole. With the leftovers, you may be served 닭죽 (Tak Jook) - Thick porridge made from chicken broth, sticky rice, ginseng, garlic and salt.
오리탕 Oh Ri Tang - Boiled duck with vegetables and rice. Very rich from the duck's natural fat and goes well with rice.


Raw Fish - Eating raw fish is a real treat in Korea (and fairly cheap). For 생선회 Saeng Seon Hway, you order raw fish by the kilo (usually광어 Kwang-Oh (flatfish) or 우럭 Ooreok, a similar fish). The best places will let you choose the fish from the live tank and you can watch them cut it up. They used to serve it still wriggling and breathing but it's not as common anymore - apparently it offended some people. The order includes a wide array of raw (and cooked) sea creatures, side dishes, kimchee and even the bones of the fish cooked into a soup served with rice. If you are too full for soup, you can ask to take the bones to go (in a nice plastic bag with all of the soup fixings). Korean raw fish may be served with a soy sauce and wasabi dip or with red pepper sauce.

생선 초밥 Saeng Seon Cho Bap - this is fresh fish served on small rolls of vinegared rice (like Japanese style sushi ). This is a much smaller option than the 생선회 Saeng Seon Hway but often offers other fish to try, especially Tuna (참치), Salmon (연어), etc.
생선회 덮밥 Saeng Seon Hway Teop Bap - This is a big bowl of rice with fresh fish on the top, usually tuna. Koreans like to dump a bunch of hot pepper sauce over it to flavor it.


Chinese Food - authentic Chinese restaurants can be tough to find in general (although there are a few). Generally though there are lots of Koreanized Chinese restaurants that all serve at least the following two dishes. One nice thing is that many of the Chinese places will deliver to your apartment. They will bring a big tray of food in nice dishes and come back about 30 minutes later to pick the dishes up (just put them out in the hallway)

자장면 Cha Jang Myeon - noodles with a thick black sauce made from soy sauce, vegetables and meat, almost always served with picked radish slices (단무지 Tan Moo Ji).
탕수육 Tang Soo Yook - fresh battered and deep fried pork with sweet and sour sauce (either mix it in or dip it).

Kimchee (김치):

The most common form of Kimchee is made with cabbage (Napa style - the long narrow looking cabbage). Take the cabbage and wash it, then rub it down with sea salt and stack it in a barrel for a while. Mix red pepper with garlic, spring onions, and fish paste (or for good country style, use Kang Kyeong's salted shrimp paste). Mix this stuff up and then layer it between layers of the cabbage and pack it away in an urn (you can bury out back if you like) and let it sit for a while.

If you eat it immediately (while it's still crispy), it is new kimchee and very good, but the flavors are crisp and bold. After a couple of weeks, it becomes old kimchee and is very fragrant and has a deep pickled/spicey flavor. New kimchee is good for eating plain (or with rice) and old kimchee is great with rice, stir-fried with tofu (or meat), boiled in water to make soup stock, added into ramen and so on.

Usually cabbage kimchee (배추김치) is served with every meal as a side dish. There are other forms of Kimchee and pickles that are served as side dishes as well, including:

배추김치 Paechu Kimchee (cabbage kimchee as detailed above)
백김치 Paek kimchee (like the one above, but not spicey and is white in color)
깍두기 Kkaktugi (made with chunked up white radish - very spicey and great with beef soup)
총각김치 Chong Gak Kimchee (small white radishes with the stem still attached (like a pony tail) in a red pepper sauce)
오이김치 Oh-ee Kimchee (spicey cucumbers)
파김치 Ppa Kimchee - leek kimchee (tops and bottom)

Side Dishes (반찬 pahn chan) - even for a really basic meal, you should be served at least 4 side dishes, although with fancier meals up to 9 or 12 may be served. In addition to kimchee (see above), here are some others you may find:
오징어실채 Oh Ching Oh Shil Chae - finely shredded seasoned dried squid
건새우고추장볶음 Keon Sae Ooh Go Chu Jang Bokk Um - small dried shrimp stir fried in red pepper paste and corn syrup
장어포 Jang Oh Po - dried eel stir fried in red pepper paste and corn syrup
방게 볶음 Bang Gye Bokk Um - tiny crabs stir fried in red pepper paste and corn syrup (eat the shells as well)
멸치볶음 Meol Chee Bokk Um - dried anchovies stir fried in a sweet sauce
고추장멸치볶음 Go Chu Jang Meol Chee Bokk Um - dried anchovies stir fried in red pepper sauce
전장김 Jeon Jang Kim - small squares of dried and salted laver (sea weed), used for eating plain or for scooping/wrapping rice with
알마늘장아찌 Ahl Ma Neul Jang Ah Jji - pickled garlic cloves
양념생깻잎 Yang Neom Saeng Gae Nip - Sesame leaves in marinade, good for wrapping rice or just eating.
연근조림 Yeong Gun Jo Rim - lotus root pickled in sauce
장조림 Jang Jo Rim - Thick beef boiled in soy sauce.
오징어젓 Oh Jing Oh Jeot - salted (raw) squid
홍어찜 Hong Oh Jjim - Skate (fish that looks like a ray) that is slightly dried and then steamed and seasoned. Excellent!

Drinking food (안주 - anjoo) - In Korean culture, it's expected that you have some sort of food along with alcohol and it can cause a scene if you refuse to have food when you order drinks (unless at western style bars). Generally people order food to share or the bar will provide some sort of snack. At night clubs, you will be asked to pay anjoo (안주) as a kind of cover charge - it includes admission, some food (usually fruit) and a few beers. If you refuse, you don't get in!

두부김치 (Too Boo Kimchee) - A plate of warm tofu and kimchee, often served with soju.
김치찌개 (Kimchee Chee Gay) - Spicey cabbage kimchee boiled in a bit of water to make a soup and vegetables and served with rice on the side (you can dump it in or dip it)and side dishes.
도토리묵 Dotori Mook - Acorn powder mixed with gelatine and made into cubes/blocks. Served on a bed of greens with a soy sauce/leek dressing.
Other anjoo (안주) may include various chips, crackers, salted fish (especially anchovies), fruit dishes, etc.


Sweets/cakes/desserts
인절미 (In Jeol Mee) - Round or rectangular rice cakes brushed with bean powder.
호두과자 (Hoe Doo Gwa Ja) - Sweet walnut cakes made in the shape of a walnut, famous in Chonan.
식혜 Shik Hye - fermented sweet rice drink (with rice pieces. Good for settling your stomach and a tasty breakfast drink too.)
수정과 Soo Jeong Gwa - sweet tea-like drink with a hint of cinnamon, especially good chilled.

Miscellaneous
새우젓 (Say Ooh Cheot) - Salted shrimp, used as a seasoning for pork or for making kimchee.
고추장 Go Choo Jang - red pepper paste
고추가루 Go Choo Ka Roo - red pepper powder
후추 Hoo Choo - black pepper (powder)
간장 Gan Jang - soy sauce
참기름 Cham Ki Leem - sesame oil
된장 Tien Jang - Soy Bean paste
쌈장 Sam Jang – a mix of soy bean paste, red pepper paste and other seasoning to make a great dipping sauce for vegetable or for putting into your lettuce wrapped meat bundles.

 

If you can get Korean Ramyeon packages, especially the "Shin Ramyeon" or "Kimchee Ramyeon" and cook them up - stir in an egg during the last minute or so - and you've got a half way decent substitute.

If you can get good kimchee, take a can of tuna and pour the water into a pot - add some kimchee and more water and then add the tuna and bring to a boil... dump in some rice at the end and you've got a taste treat as well!

The biggest problem I see with Korean food outside of Korea is the lack of freshness - I know the places try hard but in Korea, most things are served seasonally with items fresh from the sea, market, or garden... that freshness makes all the difference in the world.

 

Noodles with blackbean sauce Jjajangmyun / 자장면



Rice mixed with meat, vegetables, an egg, and chili pepper paste Bibimbap
비빔밥



Hot and spicy rice cake / Ddukbokkie 떡볶이

If you are drinking in front of your elders always turn your back or to the side. It's a sign of respect. Don't eat pizza with your hands at a restaurant unless you want people to give me weird looks. I don't know if they still do that but back in 1985 they did.