South Korean food: discover traditional cuisine

BIBIMBAP – a signature mixed dish of steamed rice as a base, topped with seasoned vegetables, pickled items, a protein (meat, tofu, or egg), and finished with gochujang red chili paste and sesame oil.

NURUNGJI – crunchy rice, a thin crust of slightly browned rice at the bottom of the cooking pot. It is produced during the cooking of rice over direct heat from a flame. It may be eaten as a snack or incorporated into dishes.

OGOK-BAP – boiled multigrain rice, traditionally made with five grains: glutinous rice, cornstarch, red bean, perilla, and soybean. It is often eaten during Daeboreum, the first full moon of the year in the Korean lunar calendar.

KONGBAP –  white or brown rice cooked together with soybeans.  With a recent health food trend in South Korea, the popularity of beans has risen, and kongbap is eaten more frequently than before.

NAENGMYEON – cold buckwheat noodles served in an icy beef broth or with spicy gochujang sauce.

JAPCHAE – savory and slighlty sweet dish, made from sweet potato starch noodles stir-fried with vegetables and meat.

KALGUKSU – hand-cut wheat flour noodles served in a rich broth, often with vegetables and seafood.

JEONBOKJUK – abalone porridge made with rice.

PATJUK – red bean porridge traditionally eaten during the winter solstice.

JEON – savory pancakes, that can be made from various ingredients: kimchi, seafood, scallions, zucchinis mixed into a wheat flour-based batter and then pan-fried. This dish is typically dipped in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, and red pepper powder.

KIMCHI – the national dish made primarily from napa cabbage or Korean radish, fermented with red pepper, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce.

NAMUL – a variety of blanched greens, leaves, or herbs and dishes made from them.  Namul is seasoned with salt, vinegar, sesame oil, perilla oil, soy sauce, doenjang soybean paste, gochujang, and many other condiments. Namul may refer to either saengchae (fresh vegetables) or sukchae (heated vegetables).

HOBAKJUK – pumpkin porridge with glutinous rice balls.

SSAM – fresh lettuce, perilla, or cabbage leaves used to wrap meat and rice with condiments.

DOENJANG-JJIGAE – stew made with fermented soybean paste, tofu, and vegetables.

KONG-GUKSU – chilled soybean soup with noodles, popular in summer.

GAMJA-JORIM – braised potatoes in a sweet and savory sauce.

MU-SAENGCHAE – spicy radish salad.

OI-MUCHIM – refreshing and spicy cucumber salad.

MIYEOK-MUCHIM – sweet and sour seaweed salad seasoned with soy sauce, vinegar, honey, garlic, and sesame seeds.

MIYEOK-GUK – seaweed soup, traditionally eaten by new mothers and on birthdays.

BULGOGI – marinated, thinly sliced beef grilled or stir-fried with sweet soy-based sauce.

GALBI – marinated beef short ribs, which are typically grilled.

YUKHOE – raw beef seasoned with sesame oil, garlic, and soy sauce.

SEOLLEONGTANG – milky bone broth soup made by simmering ox bones for many hours.

SAMGYEOPSAL – grilled three-layer meat, or grilled pork belly, is a type of gui (grilled dish) in Korean cuisine.

BOSSAM – sliced pork belly, served steamed in leaves of vegetables: napa cabage, chard, or other. Served with kimchi and fresh vegetables.

JOKBAL – boneless braised pig’s legs, cooked with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and rice wine. As jokbal is usually shared by several people, served in large portions, and is greasy and has a strong flavour. Jokbal is considered an anju (food consumed with alcohol).

JEYUK-BOKKEUM – thinly sliced fatty pork cuts, marinated with gochujang and stir-fried or grilled.

DWAEJI-GUKBAP – pork soup with rice, particularly popular in Busan.

DAKGALBI – spicy stir-fried chicken with vegetables and rice cakes.

SAMGYETANG – chicken soup, consists primarily of a whole young chicken  or quail filled with garlic, rice, jujube and ginseng. Samgye-tang is a Korean traditional soup for body health, a representative summer health food.

KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN – double-fried chicken with various glazes (sweet & spicy, soy garlic, etc.).

DAK-BOKKEUM – stir-fried chicken with vegetables in a spicy sauce.

HOE – a raw seafood dish. In addition to fish, it is also made with shrimp,  squid, raw meat of land animals, and vegetable ingredients, but without any special prefix, it mainly refers to raw fish.

HOEDEOPBAP – rice bowl topped with raw fish and sweet and spicy sauce. Served chilled.

GANJANG GEJANG – raw crabs marinated in soy sauce. Angnyeom-gejang is a spicier version.

NAKJI-BOKKEUM – stir-fried baby octopus in spicy sauce of garlic, ginger, and gochujang paste.

MAEUN-TANG – spicy fish soup, usually made with freshwater fish, leaving it whole, simmered in fishy broth with vegetables and sometimes tofu, spiced with gochujang and gochugaru.

HAEMUL-PAJEON – various chopped seafood and scallion pancake served with dipping sauce of vinegar, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar and black pepper.

NAKJI-BOKKEUM – Cooked in many different ways, squid is an essential and versatile ingredient in Korean cooking. This is a Korean version of spicy grilled squid.

ALTANG – spicy dashi-based soup with pollack roe, daikon radish, scallions, bean sprouts, and chilies. Often soft roe and intestines are included in the soup.

HONGEO – fermented skate, a pungent specialty of Jeolla province. Emits a very strong, characteristic ammonia-like odor that has been described as being reminiscent of an outhouse.

HAEMUL-TANG – spicy seafood hotpot.

GYERAN-JJIM – a soft, steamed egg custard with a silky texture, often seasoned with sesame oil, scallions, and sometimes topped with shrimp or other seafood.

GYERAN-MARI – rolled omelet made in layers, often incorporating carrots, scallions, mushrooms, salted seafood and sometimes ham.

MAYAK GYERAN – drug eggs – soft-boiled eggs served in a sweet and savory soy sauce marinade, named for their addictive taste.

TORNADO EGG – a modern Korean street food where eggs are whipped while cooking to create a cone shape on a stick.

SONGPYEON – half-moon shaped rice cakes filled with sweet sesame, dry mung beans.

PATBINGSU – Shaved ice dessert is arguably Korea’s most beloved summer treat. The dessert is crafted using shaved ice combined with chunks of fruit, sweet red beans, a touch of milk, and sweetened condensed milk.

HOTTEOK – sweet pancakes filled with brown sugar, honey, and nuts.

INJEOLMI – chewy rice cakes coated in roasted soybean powder.

BUNGEOPPANG – fish-shaped pastries filled with sweet red bean paste.