GUIDE BLOG FOR FOREIGNER, LIVING IN KOREA PART # 04-C

GUIDE BLOG FOR FOREIGNER, LIVING IN KOREA PART # 04-C

GUIDE BLOG FOR FOREIGNER,

 LIVING IN KOREA 

PART # 04-C

Food

i) Food that Koreans Usually Eat
   Koreans enjoy sharing food with family and friends. Perhaps reflecting this enjoyment
of sharing, there is a tendency in Korean culture to prepare better food when there are
guests for the meal.

In general, Korean food consists of rice, soup, and side dishes. Similar to soup, various hot stews are also popular, as well as side dishes such as vegetables, steamed foods,hardboiled foods, roasted meat, stir-fried foods, and pan-fried foods. One of the main 

side dishes is kimchi. As a substitute for rice, people will sometimes eat hot or cold noodles,
wheat flake soup, and rice cake.

Bap (Boiled Rice)

Korean rice is stickier than Southeast Asian rice. First tries may be difficult to digest and could give you a stomachache. Usually it takes a bout a week to get used to Korean rice.






Bibimbap Rice 


mixed with assorted vegetables, beef and sauce made of sesame oil and red pepper paste. It is one of representative

foods of Korea and many world famous stars like it.



Guk (Light Soup), Tang (Soup with Meat  
or Fish), Jjigae (Stew) and Jeongol 

(Chowder)



These four kinds of food are cooked by boiling vegetables and meat or fish in water. They
are named differently according to the ingredients and how they are prepared: ○○guk,
○○tang, ○○jjigae, or ○○jeongol.
• Bukeokuk: Dried pollack soup. A famous hangover cure
• Kongnamulguk: Bean sprout soup
• Miyeokguk: Brown-seaweed soup.
• Seolleongtang: Beef soup with rich flavor and slices of beef
• Galbitang: Soup made by boiling beef ribs long. Salt or soy sauce is added to season it.
Noodles are added according to tastes.
• Gamjatang: Stew with pork bones, potatoes and other vegetables
• Dakdoritang (Dakbokeumtang): Chicken stew with vegetables and spicy sauce
• Gimchijjigae: Gimchi stew usually with pork
• Doenjangjjigae: Doenjang stew with tofu, zucchini, mushrooms and onions.
• Budaejjigae: Stew with gimchi, ham and assorted vegetables

• Dongtaejjigae (Saengtaejjigae): Pollack stew with radish, tofu and zucchini







Gimchi

One of the most requisites to Koreans is gimchi (usually written as kimchi). It is excellent in favor and nutritive value, 

and is easy to store. Radishes, Chinese cabbages, and cucumbers are preserved with salt and prepared with Korean fish sauce and several spices including red pepper powder, ginger and garlic. And then they are fermented in a low temperature. As vegetables such as Chinese cabbages and radish cannot be raised in the winter, people pickle vegetables for the winter called Gimjang between late November and early December. When Gimjang gimchi is prepared, intimate friends help each other.


Dishes with Meat

• Bulgogi: Sliced beef seasoned and barbequed. Sweet and 
  tasty.

• Galbi: Grilled rib of pork or beef

• Samgyeopsal: Roasted pork. Eaten wrapped in various   
   vegetables including lettuce.

• Dakgalbi: Stir-fried chicken with vegetables. Rather hot and 
   spicy.


• Jeyukbokeum: Pork stir-fried with vegetables.


Fish Dishes 

• Saengseonhoe (Sliced raw fish): Raw fish slices usually enjoyed with vinegared pepper
paste or wasabi
• Saengseon-gu-i (Grilled fish): Grilled fish either salted or spiced
• Saengseonjjim (Steamed or boiled fish): Spiced fish steamed or boiled

 

• Saeseonjorim (Hard-boiled fish): Fish and vegetables hard boiled in soy sauce

• Ojinheobokeum (Stir-fried squid): Squid stir-fried with vegetables. Hot and spicy.



Snacks

• Lamyeon (Ramen): One of the most common snacks in Korea. You can prepare it within minutes just by poring water and bring it to a boil. They have both spicy and mild ones. Cup Lamyeon comes in a paper container where you can pour hot water and enjoy.
• Gimbap (Rice roll): Rice rolled in a sheet of dried seaweed. It is stuffed with yellow pickled radish, ham, eggs and vegetables. If you don’t like to eat pork, ask the cook to prepare yours without ham. Gimbap is cheap and quick to make, and makes feel full
soon.

 

 

• Guksu (Noodle): Noodle dishes such as noodle soup or sauce-mixed noodle
• Mandu (Dumpling): Dumpling filled with vegetables, tofu and usually pork. Mulmandu is
served in gravy and Tuigimmandu means fried dumpling.
• Ddeokboggi: Broiled dish of sliced rice cake, fish paste, vegetables, and seasoning
• Sundae (Sausage): Sausage with Chinese noodles and clotted blood of cattle stuffed in pig intestine


Seasonal Fruits


Korea has four distinct seasons and each season has its popular fruits. These days, fruits are grown in greenhouses all year round, but still seasonal fruits are the best. Tropical fruits are available at big markets and department stores, but they may not be as delicious as you had them in your country. Try fresh and healthy Korean fruits instead.

 

 


• Spring: Cherries, strawberries (Early May to early June)
• Summer: Peaches (July to August), yellow melons (June to July), watermelons (June to
August), plums, tomatoes
• Fall: Persimmons (September to October), pears, apples, dates, chestnuts, grapes
(September)

• Winter: Tangerines, oranges


Sauces

• Maneul (Garlic)
It is usually hot, but it is less hot and sweet when roasted. Chop it up fine to use it as a dressing material, and put it all to use it as a spice.
• Ganjang (Soy sauce)
It is a black liquid sauce made from beans. It is salty and used to season food. There are two types of soy sauce: Gukganjang and Yangjoganjang. Gukganjang is used to season
soup or greens and Yangjoganjang is used as a dipping sauce for raw fish.

                             

   




• Gochujang (Red pepper paste)
Spicy hot paste made of red pepper powder, fermented soybean and salt. It tastes nice as delicate taste of fermented soybean, hot taste of red pepper powder, and salty taste of salt
are well harmonized.
• Doenjang (Bean paste)
It is made of beans and salt, and it is a sauce native to Korea. It is usually used to make soup.


• Seoltang (Sugar)
Sweet powder in either white, yellow or brown color.
• Sikcho (Vinegar)
Yellow and sour liquid. Its bottle looks very similar to cooking oil. Check the picture of an
apple or rice on the cover.
• Sogeum (Salt)
White powder that tastes salty. Make sure to see whether it is salt or sugar as they are
very similar.
• Jomiryo (Synthetic flavoring)
Flavoring powder. Most common is Miwon and Dasida. Miwon is white powder, and may
be confused with salt or sugar. Too much of flavoring ruins your food, and is not good for
your health.
• Sikyongyu (Cooking oil)
Yellowish liquid used to panfry or fry food. Its bottle has a picture of corn or bean on the
cover.
• Camgireum (Sesame oil)
Brownish liquid made of sesame.
• Aekjeot (Fish sauce)
Traditional sauce made of fish salted and fermented. There are Myeolchi (anchovy)
Aekjeot, and Kkanaria (sand lance) Aekjeot, etc. Kkanaria Aekjeot has the same flavor as

Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce.