All about Korean Cuisine

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Spicy Ramen

Welcome to my very first post. We will begin by talking abot ramen noodles, the most inexpensive and well-known foods in the Asian market. Of course, all Asian cultures have their own kind of ramen noodles, but Korean ones especially are famous for their taste and spiciness. One of the most well-known noodles are the SamYang company ‘Fire Noodles’. They have made significant impact worldwide because the heat consumers get from this product is quite astounding! They are also extremely tasty, spiciness aside. Here are a couple of pictures of the noodles so you know what you should be looking for the next time you’re at the market and need some Korean food.

Tofu Stew

Soft Tofu Stew

A flaming hot pot of Sundubu Jjigae is a flavorful Korean dish. Made with super soft tofu, a few bits of seafood, addictive kimchi soup, and an egg thrown on top, there’s not much else as comforting on a cold rainy day.

This tofu stew is best enjoyed with a side of steamed rice and a few pickled vegetables.

Hot Stew

Among the repertoire of South Korean jjigae hot chili infested stews is the massively flavorful seafood variation made with whatever kind of seafood is on hand all boiled in a hot earthenware pot of goodness.

Barbecue

There’s no better way to spend an evening in Korea than sitting around a personal grill munching down a traditional Korean barbecue feast.

Order a few plates of meat, and you’ll be delivered a vast array of side dishes and the all-important pieces of lettuce, garlic, peppers, and chili pastes to fashion little meat wraps.

Note: One of the interesting things I learned eating Korean barbecue in Seoul was that you must order 2 or more plates of the same meat – you can’t order just 1 plate. In other words, if you go to eat with just 2 people, you’ll have to get 2 plates of pork belly, or 2 plates of beef – not 1 plate of pork belly and 1 plate of beef.

Samgyeopsal

Fatty slices of pork belly grilled before your nose is a South Korean foodie favorite. A few slabs of this ultra-tasty pork along with garnishes of lettuce leaves, garlic and chili paste, and you’ve got a flavor to cherish.

It’s not the healthiest South Korean food, but if you are a lover of pig, samgyeopsal is something you can’t miss eating when you’re in Korea!

Dumplings

Mandoo is a symbol of good luck when prepared as part of Korean Lunar New Year festivities. Korean dumplings can be added to a beef broth or anchovy broth (mandu guk) and served with a traditional cylindrical rice cake (tteok manu guk).

This Korean dumpling recipe is made with ground beef or pork, but you will see them made with chicken or only vegetables. You can prepare them in advance and store them in the freezer for future use.

Samgyetang

A common dish particularly during the summer, samgyetang is a traditional soup made of chicken, garlic, rice, scallion, Korean jujube, Korean ginseng, and spices. It is known to have a high nutritional value. Not only is it known for its healthy contents but it also is popular simply for its creamy and meaty flavor.

Hoeddeok

Known as a sweeter version of the Western pancake, hoeddeok, or sometimes spelled as hotteok, is a popular Korean street food, especially during the winter season. It is essentially flat, circular dough that is filled with a mixture of cinnamon, honey, brown sugar, and small pieces of peanut and cooked on a griddle. The delicacy has crunchy exterior and soft interior as well as an irresistible flavor.

Macaroni Recipe

Easy & fast side dish for your main course.

A Korean restaurant version of macaroni salad often only consists of basic ingredients such as macaroni pasta, julienned or shredded carrots and salad dressing.

However, a typical Korean home cook loves adding more ingredients than those. Most common ones include bell peppers / capsicums, cucumbers and corn kernels.

What’s more, the below ingredients can be used additionally or alternatively as well.

red onions, cubed
hard boiled eggs, cubed
ham, cubed
imitation crab, cubed
apple, cubed
cabbage, shredded

So be my guest and add whatever you like in this salad!

Finally, if you like Korean macaroni salad, you might also like to try Korean corn cheese too. So don’t forget to check it out!

Chicken Recipe

Easy & fast!

Much of the ingredients used in my chicken bulgogi marinades are similar to my beef bulgogi recipe.

However, instead of adding fruit, I added some soft drink called Sprite. I’m sure you probably heard of it. Anyway, it worked really well to tenderize my chicken (though in general you don’t need to tenderize chicken much) and added a nice sweet flavor.

You can also probably use other lemonade brands like 7 Up or similar too.

Some of you might ask me if a coke would work? Well, I tried with that too but the chicken wasn’t as tender as when I used Sprite. Also, I prefer the flavor I got with Sprite. Additionally, some Koreans might use plum extract; maesil cheong (매실청) as a special flavoring ingredient too. It resulted in a good outcome. In fact, it was my second favorite choice after Sprite. But it gives a stronger taste note at the beginning and end, so I couldn’t taste the other marinade ingredients as much. So I prefer using lemonade as my top choice

Korean Drinks

As the ubiquity of these glittering green bottles in virtually every eating and drinking establishment should tell you: soju is Korea’s national liquor. For a nation of lushes, soju provides a cheap and effective way to get hammered.The two major soju brands that dominate the Seoul market are Chamisul (참이슬) and Chum Churum (처음 처럼). The taste resembles that of slightly sweet, watered-down vodka — sort of like sugar dissolved in rubbing alcohol.But don’t judge soju solely by those brands. Regional brands outside Seoul offer interesting, and even delicious sojus. Andong soju, despite its higher alcohol content, is hand-crafted and has a clean, subtle character that is more akin to sake than other sojus.