Top 10 Most Popular Korean Foods

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 top ten Korean foods appreciated by Koreans, Americans, Europeans, other Asians and everyone else. So what are they? 

  1. Kimchi Must I say more? If you don't know where kimchi came from, perhaps you need to go back to learn the most basics about Korean culture. These amazing yet addicting cabbage pieces strangely not only have been winning all the love at Korean dinner tables throughout the history but have stepped up to represent Korean food internationally. Koreans take their kimchi seriously. Every household proudly brags about their unique kimchi recipes to their dinner guests. There is a whole lot of pride that goes with it.  If you haven't tried kimchi yet, maybe put that on your to-do list. 

  2. Galbi If kimchi represents Korean food as a whole, galbi represents Korean barbecue. This soy sauce marinated, fruity and savory grilled short ribs are the biggest treat for any Korean families as their top choice of occasional eat outs. I remember the excitement and salivation whenever he got paid from work and decided to take us out for some galbi. Traditionally, galbi had been a choice of food for the privileged as beef was expensive in old day Korea. Not surprisingly, short rib is the part of beef that is one of the most expensive parts in Korea due to a high demand level. In the United States, not so much yet although in restaurants they still may be. Like every Korean barbecue dish, galbi comes with a variety of side dishes and lettuce wraps at restaurants. 

  3. Bulgogi Beef teriyaki with kicks? Or perhaps is it totally different? My answer to that about bulgogi - same category with distinctive differences. Bulgogi is tender, savory, juicy and sometimes grilled. It's soupier than teriyaki. This popular dish has been one of the most commonly popular dishes universally. Any meat eating human being would appreciate the experience of eating bulgogi as I would say this is the least edgy mainstream hit in Korean food. 

  4. Samgyupsal Korean bacon or unsalted bacon? Yes, the accurate answer is pork belly. Simple and fatty, samgyupsal is the runner-up in the Korean barbecue category, perhaps a threatening figure to replace galbi the winner. Why so popular? It's cheap. Really that's it? No, obviously by that standard, dirt would be the most popular. Samgyupsal is just amazing. Its flavor and all the side dishes and sauces you can add to it blow any hungry person to an outer space of joy. Moreover, it's so easy to prepare. If you can unwrap a pack of meat, you can prepare samgyupsal. As a boy, I tried samgyup sal cooked instantly on a shovel prepared by a group of furnace workers. It was just so good I did not have time to think about what they used the shovel for... until now. 

  5. Seafood pancake This dish is also called Hemul Pajeon. This is probably what represents Korean appetizers. It's a thinly fried pancake with vegetables and seafood such as shrimp, squid and oysters. Usually, when I eat pajeon before the main course, I get to take all my main course home since I have some self-control issues. The dipping sauce is the killer. It's a mix of soy sauce, vinegar and spices. 

  6. Soon tofu stew This spicy bowl of stew is just full of kicks and joy. Soon tofu (silky and otherwise mushy tofu) is ironically the least tasty ingredient in this bowl. It's the variety of other ingredients you can choose to put in there such as beef, pork, shrimp, squid, mushrooms, vegetables, kimchi, seafood and the list goes on. A cracked raw egg diving into a boiling stew still boiling in a heat-preserved earthen bowl, cooks to perfection. I like mine fishy and seafoody. I am a sucker for soon tofu stew whenever it rains. Watch out for msg usage at some Korean restaurants though if you're sensitive to msg. Apparently, some places without much expertise in cooking this stew uses a handful of it. 

  7. Spicy cold noodle Spicy cold noodle - you said it all. It's spicy; it's cold; and it's a noodle dish. Wait, there's one more. This spicy cold noodle (bibim nengmyun) is really really good. Every time I go to a non-barbecue Korean restaurant, I always order this one. Maybe it's addicting. I always regret ordering something else if I do. Note this dish is also eaten as a dessert after a good meal of galbi in Korea. That is just too much of an indulgence I would say. I wonder if people do that because of the same feeling that I have when I eat something else - regret that it wasn't the spicy cold noodle! In summer time, please try this dish at a Korean restaurant. If you do not like spicy food, get the soupy one called mool nengmyun, meaning cold noodle in chilled beef broth with a bunch of yummy goodies thrown on top such as beef strips, pear, pickled dikon radish slices and more. 

  8. Korean fried chicken This is a modernly developed dish. Or maybe there was a region in Korea where fried chicken with their own special Korean sauce was popularly enjoyed. Nationally, it was not until the 80's when this Korean fried chicken (KFC?) gained its popularity through chain stores and delivery services at night. They have several different sauces applied to the thinly fried chicken pieces including sweet and spicy (most popular), sweet and soy sauce flavored and more. In big cities in the United States such as New York and Los Angeles, the most popular franchises of Korean fried chicken opened their stores and heard they are doing very well. Google Kochon, Bonchon or BBQ Chicken Korea. My favorite part is that they come with sweet pickled dikon radish cubes. 

  9. Ddeokbokki Every Korean kid lives and dies for Ddeokbokki (Tteokbokki, I know - the inconsistency in spelling). For that reason, every school in Korea has a Ddeokbokki joint in front of it and a massive influx of students raid those places after school. Interestingly, some kids may not love their mom cooked Ddeokbokki as the street and less nutritious versions may have won over their heart since young and been defined as comfort food. As for non-Koreans, some people love it some do not care for it - after all it's just some rice sticks with spicy sauce on it. Perhaps, the right place to be introduced to this dish is the streets of Korean cities as this is the most popular street food in Korea. 

  10. Bibimbap Finally, we come to this - bibimbap. Didn't Tyra Banks say something about bibimbap? World's next top food? I tend of agree with that statement because of nutritional values in this dish. This dish just has everything one can crave for - meat, egg, vegetables, rice and spice. It's the winner dish for the most nutritious and tasty of all time. My grand father has eaten bibimbap for dinner everyday for about 15 years and lived until he was near 90. (Disclaimer: no proven connection or correlation with longevity and bibimbap.) That's all folks. I hope you have or will have tried those top 10 most popular Korean dishes above.

Article - Northwest Asian Weekly

No objections to law student’s tasty blog

http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2008270032/cakes20082732.htm

By Eleanor Lee

Northwest Asian Weekly

At first glance, Peter Park, a 28-year-old male law student, doesn’t fit the bill as a traditional Korean food connoisseur. But check out his cooking blog, Home Cooking Diary, and it’s obvious he can give any Korean grandma a run for her money.

When he makes doenjang jigae — a spicy miso stew — Park goes the extra mile and brings out his very own tuk bae gi — a traditional Korean earthenware bowl rarely seen in home kitchens these days.

Park immigrated from Korea when he was 15 and has been exposed to great cooking growing up as his parents own a soup restaurant in Westlake Center in downtown Seattle called McKinley’s Soup Plus.

By day he attends law school at Willamette University in Salem, Ore. By night Park maintains his blog, providing instructions for cooking dishes such as naengmyeon — buckwheat vermicelli noodles — the aforementioned doenjang jigae and haemool pajeon — a tasty seafood pancake.

Park’s blog also contains Japanese, Chinese and Asian fusion recipes, as well as a special category just for “instant foods.” And yes, the ever-conscientious Park painstakingly provides step-by-step instructions and photos for each category. It’s more than enough to make any Korean mother swoon.

Park admits that “many Korean mothers really like me after seeing my blog or trying my food,” although he adds that some find it strange that a man would have so much interest in cooking.

He added, “Also, I ended up teaching many of my girl friends how to cook. I definitely feel more welcomed by people since I published my blog.”

We found his blog so informative and endearing that we asked him to elaborate on his experience as a food blogger.

NWAW: Where did you learn to cook like that?

Park: I definitely learned how to cook from my mom. She taught me how to use condiments and herbs for flavoring including, but not limited to, Korean food. Also, whenever I eat out at good restaurants, I am usually analytical in guessing the ingredients when I taste something really good. I think I always had a genuine interest and appreciation for food and flavors.

NWAW: What gave you the idea to start the blog?

Park: When I first moved to a small town in Oregon for school, there weren’t many good restaurants near my school, and I remember always craving some good Asian food. ... Thanks to all the dried chili powders, soybean paste and all the condiments my mom packed for me before I left for school, cooking Korean food was easy when I finally became determined to set aside some time to cook almost every day.

Moreover, I felt really lucky that Safeway in my town had a small Asian section with stuff like wasabi and fish sauce. I had all I needed to cook whatever I wanted to eat and later really enjoyed myself from cooking to the point where I wanted to share the food by inviting some school friends who never had Korean food before.

They kept coming back to my apartment every weekend with six-packs of beer asking for recipes and to observe me while I cooked. So I thought maybe I will just create a blog and put up my recipes and pictures online so they don’t ask me for the same recipe, like, a hundred times. They loved it, especially that I took pictures of the step-by-step process.

Then I realized that there are a lot of people out there who will appreciate my recipes and the visual instructions.

NWAW: How much time do you spend working on the blog?

Park: Whenever I cook something new, I take pictures and that adds an additional 10-20 minutes to my normal dinnertime. After that, I upload and write recipes on weekend nights. I upload one or two recipes per week, and on average, I spend about an hour per week working on my blog.

NWAW: Do you prepare a sit-down dinner every night? What are some Asian restaurants in Seattle that you like?

Park: Right now, I am ... at my parent’s house for summer and I eat at home 80 percent of the time. I cook for my family a lot and love to see them enjoy eating, but really, nothing beats my mom’s Korean food, and that’s when I enjoy my dinner the most.

In Seattle, my favorite restaurants are Blue Ginger, Haru, Cedars, Taste of India, Thai Tom, Wasabi Bistro and Jade Garden.

NWAW: Do you think it’s important for Asian Americans to know how to cook traditional food? Can culture be retained without knowledge of one’s ethnic cuisine?

Park: I think food is such a big part of one’s culture that everyone should appreciate their own ethnic food culture. ... The easiest way is through experiencing ethnic cuisines at earlier ages.

Although there are other parts of a culture besides food that one can retain, such as studying the history or the politics, understanding the ethnic cuisine is so fundamental as it helps you appreciate the flavor of your own culture and provides an important opportunity to socialize and build a stronger bond between family members and friends.

I would say you should learn how to cook at least one ethnic cuisine, but if you’re really not a kitchen person, at least know some great Asian restaurants!

Visit Home Cooking Diary at www.homecookingdiary.com.

Eleanor Lee can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Kimchi

Kimchi, also spelled gimchi or kimchee, is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of some select vegetables with varied seasonings, most commonly referring to the spicy baechu variety. Kimchi is the most common Korean banchan, or side dish, eaten with rice along with other banchan dishes. Kimchi is also a common ingredient and cooked with other ingredients to make dishes such as kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae) and kimchi fried rice (kimchi bokkeumbap).

History
he history of kimchi traces back to ancient times. References to kimchi can be found as early as 2600-3000 years ago.[1] The first text-written evidence of its existence can be found in the first Chinese poetry book, Sikyeong (hangul:시경 hanja:詩經). In this book, kimchi was referred to as “Ji”, the term used before it was known as “Chimchae”.

The earliest form of kimchi was made of only cabbage, and it was in the 12th century when people began to include other spices to create different flavors, such as sweet and sour flavors, and colors of kimchi, such as white and orange.

Chili peppers, now a major ingredient in most forms of kimchi, were unknown in Korea until the early 17th century. Chili peppers originated from the New World and were introduced to East Asia by Western traders.[4], specifically, the Portuguese trading in Nagasaki. This particular style of kimchi made with chili peppers and baechu, a variety of Chinese cabbage, gained popularity in the 19th century and this baechu kimchi continues to be the most common and popular form of kimchi today.

Composition
Kimchi's composition can be separated into the main vegetable ingredient and the mix of seasonings used to flavor the kimchi. While the most popular type of kimchi is the baechu (a type of Chinese cabbage) variety, many different types exist including regional and seasonal varieties. Popular variants include ggakdugi (hangul: 깍두기) which is a kimchi made with cubed radishes, pa kimchi (made with scallions), and oisobaegi (hangul: 오이 소배기) which is a cucumber kimchi stuffed with hot and spicy seasonings. Ggaennip (hangul: 깻잎) kimchi features layers of perilla leaves marinated in soy sauce and other spices.

The Kimchi Field Museum in Seoul has documented 187 historic and current varieties of kimchi. Although the most common seasonings include brine, garlic, scallions and chili pepper grind, countless varieties of seasoning and ingredients can be replaced or added depending on the type of kimchi being made. Common seasonings also include ginger, onions, low-sodium aekjeot (hangul: 액젓) as well as fruit or fresh seafood. Aekjeot has replaced high-sodium myeolchi jeot and saewoo jeot since the early 1970s.

Kimchi varieties

Kimchi can be categorized by main ingredients, regions or seasons. Korea's northern and southern sections have a considerable temperature difference. Northern regions tend to have longer winters compared to the southern regions of Korea. Kimchi from the northern parts of Korea tend to have less salt as well as less red chilli and usually do not have brined seafood for seasoning. Northern kimchi often has a watery consistency. Unlike northern styles, kimchi in the southern parts of Korea, such as Jeolla-do and Gyeongsang-do, uses salt, chili peppers and myeolchi jeot (hangul: 멸치젓, brined anchovy allowed to ferment) or saewoo jeot (hangul: 새우젓, brined shrimp allowed to ferment), myeolchi aekjeot (hangul: 멸치액젓, liquid anchovy jeot, similar to fish sauce used in Southeast Asia, but thicker). In the Seoul area saewoo jeot is preferred.

Saewoo jeot (hangul: 새우젓) or meyolchi jeot (hangul: 멸치젓) is not directly put into 속(a mixture of spices and seasonings used for Kimchi filling), but normally is boiled at medium heat to deodorize odors, eliminate tannic flavor and fats, and then is mixed with a thickener made of rice or wheat starch (hangul: 풀). But this tedious process of deodorizing has come into oblivion for about 40 years.

Other brined fish jeot can be used, but does not make up the mainstream of kimchi recipes, and modern commercialization has made 액젓 (either 멸치젓 or 새우젓) more affordable and convenient. Depending upon the season of the year, the various weather conditions, and ingredients available in the region, different varieties of kimchi are produced.

White kimchi (baek kimchi) is baechu seasoned without chili pepper and is neither red in color nor spicy. White radish kimchi (dongchimi) is another example of a popular kimchi that is not spicy. The watery white kimchi varieties are a popular ingredient in a number of dishes such as cold noodles in "dongchimi" brine (dongchimi guksu) and is eaten widely during the summer months. (Dongchimi picture on the left)

By region
This regional classification dates back to 1960s and contains plenty of historical facts but the current kimchi-making trends in Korea are generally different than mentioned below.

Hamgyeong-do (Upper Northeast)
Due to its proximity to the ocean, people in this particular region use fresh fish and oysters to season their kimchi.

Hwanghae-do (MidWest)
The taste of kimchi in Hwanghaedo can be best described as "moderate" — not bland but not overly spicy. Most kimchi from this region has less color since red chili flakes are not used. The typical kimchi for Hwanghaedo is called pumpkin kimchi (bundi).

Gyeonggi-do (Lower Midwest of Hwanghaedo)
People use a wide variety of vegetables and seasonings to make kimchi. Gyeonggido kimchi is also well known for its eye-catching decorations.

Chungcheong-do (Between Gyeonggido and Jeollado)
Instead of using fermented fish, people in the region rely on salt and fermentation to make savory kimchi. Chungcheongdo is known for the greatest varieties of kimchi.

Gangwon-do (MidEast)
Compared to other regions, it is very typical in Gangwondo to store kimchi for longer periods of time. Unlike other coastal regions in Korea, kimchi in this area does not contain much salted fish.

Jeolla-do (Lower Southwest)
People use different types of fermented fish, such as salted yellow corvine and salted butterfish to create different seasonings for kimchi.

Gyeongsang-do (Lower Southeast)
This region is famous for salty and spicy flavors in its dishes and their kimchi is no exception. The most common seasoning components includes myeochi jeot( hangul:멸치젓 ) which produce a briny and savory flavor.

Unlike French wine, kimchi is not commercially classified in terms of vintage and district or Appellation d'origine contrôlée but classification of kimchi by region may seem gradually outdated and lose significance for a variety of reasons.

By season

Spring

Traditionally, after a long period of consuming gimjang kimchi ( hangul: 김장김치) during the winter, fresh potherbs and vegetables were popular for making kimchi. These kinds of kimchi were not fermented or even stored for long periods of time but were freshly consumed.

Summer

Young summer radishes and cucumbers are popular summer vegetables made into kimchi, yeolmu kimchi (hangul: 열무김치, picture on the left) which is eaten in several bites. Brined fish or shellfish can be added and freshly ground dried chili peppers are often used.

Autumn

Baechu kimchi is the most common type of kimchi in the fall. It is prepared by inserting blended stuffing materials, called sok (literally meaning inside), between layers of salted leaves of uncut, whole Napa cabbage (also widely called Chinese cabbage). The ingredients of sok (hangul: 속) can vary, depending on the different regions and weather conditions. Generally, baechoo kimchi used to have a strong salty flavor until late 1960s when a large amount of myeochi jeot or saewoo jeot had been used. Since the advent of aekjeot (hangul: 액젓, Korean fish sauce) in the early 1970s, however, low-sodium kimchi is preferably made both at homes and at factories.

Winter

Traditionally, the greatest varieties of kimchi were available during the winter. In preparation for the long winter months, many types of kimjang kimchi (hangul: 김장 김치) were prepared in early winter and stored in the ground in large kimchi pots. These days, kimchi refrigerators offering precise temperature controls are used to store gimjang kimchi. It is often November or December when people begin to make kimchi; women often gather together in each others' homes to help with winter kimchi preparations. White kimchi (baek kimchi), is a common and popular kimchi to make during the wintertime. "Baechu kimchi" is made with salted baechu (a type of Chinese cabbage) filled with thin strips of radish, parsley, pine nuts, pears, chestnuts, shredded red pepper, manna lichen (석이버섯), garlic, and ginger.

Nutrition and health
Kimchi is made of various vegetables and contains a high concentration of dietary fiber, while being low in calories. One serving also provides up to 80% of the daily required amount of ascorbic acid and carotene. Most types of kimchi contain onions, garlic and peppers all of which are salutary. The vegetables being made into kimchi also contribute to the overall nutritional value. Kimchi is rich in vitamin A, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), calcium and iron, and contains a number of lactic acid bacteria. In 2000, a novel bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacterium (strain MT-1077T) was isolated from Kimchi and was named Lactobacillus kimchi.

Kimchi has a reputation of being a healthy food. The US magazine Health named kimchi in its list of top five "World's Healthiest Foods" for being rich in vitamins, aiding digestion, and even possibly retarding cancer growth. However, some research focused on high-sodium dietary dependence has found overconsumption of kimchi and soybean paste ( hangul: 된장 similar to miso ) to be a risk factor in gastric cancer (most likely due to nitrates and salt) while unfermented alliums and unfermented seafood were found to be protective factors. One oncological study found one type of kimchi to be a protective factor against gastric cancer while two other types of such high-sodium kimchi as dongchimi (hangul: 동치미) were risk factors.

Kimchi in popular culture
Many Koreans store kimchi in a kimchi refrigerator (hangul: 김치냉장고) that is specifically designed with precise controls to keep different varieties of kimchi at optimal temperatures for various stages of fermentation and also for longer storage than in regular fridges.

The South Korean Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) are hoping to have the first Korean in space to experiment with kimchi while aboard the Russian-manned space ship Soyuz. KARI has developed a space-safe kimchi recipe by sterilizing the food with radiation blasts, heat, freezing and packaging.

When taking photographs, South Koreans often say the word "kimchi" the same way English speakers would use the word "cheese".

Gwangju Kimchi Festival is an annual event held in Gwangju city in southern Korea and is open to Koreans and foreign tourists as well.

In U.S. slang, "kimchi" is occasionally used in the phrase "in deep kimchi", a euphemism for "in deep shit". This phrase is particularly common in the U.S. Military community, which has had a presence in South Korea since the Korean War.
wikipedia

Popular Sashimi Kinds and Terms

Aji, Horse Makerel _________Maguro, Tuna



Shimesaba, Mirinated Makerel _____Amaebi, Raw Shrimp

Bintoro, Undisclosed Part of Tuna ___Chutoro, Marbled Tuna Belly

Ebi, Cooked Prawn ________Katsuo, Bonito

Hamachi, Yellowtail _______Hokkigai, Surf Clam Dude

Tako, Octopus ___________ Hotate, Scallop



Ika, Squid

• Maguro, Tuna
• Toro, Fatty Tuna Belly
• shiro Maguro, Albacore
• Hamachi, Yellowtail
• Katsuo, Bonito
• Kohada, Japanese Shad
• Saba, Macherel
• Sake, Salmon (not a drink!)
• Tai, Porgy, Red Snapper
• Hirame, Balibut
• Suzuki, Sea Bass
• Unagi, Freshwater Eel
• Anago, Sea Eel
• Tako, Octopus
• Ika, Squid
• Swabi, Abalone
• Mirugai, Geoduck Clam
• Torigai, Japanese Cockle
• Aoyagi, Japanese Red Clam
• Akagai, Pepitona Clam
• Kobashira, Small Scallops
• Kaibashira, Large Scallops
• Kani, Crab
• Ebi, Cooked Pawn
• Ama, Ebi, Raw Prawn
• ikura, Salmon Roe
• Uni, Sea Urchin Roe
• Tobiko, Flying-fish Roe
• Masago, Capelin Roe
• Tamago, Hen's egg omelet

Article from palpark.com

North Korean food?

North Korean food is largely unknown to the outside world and largely underrated due to its comparisons to South Korean food. It is said that on the southern tip of Korea, there is a larger emphasis on spicier food selections while on the northern end, there is a tilt toward the traditional. North Korean food is highly popular, for sure, and is categorized in many ways by the cold noodles any time of the year.

Cold noodles in North Korean food

The biggest thing that separates North Korean food from South Korean food is the fact that the North has a large concentration on cold noodles being served at homes and restaurants. Naengmyeon, as they are known, are popular and in Pyeongyang, there are even a multitude of restaurants that specialize in noodle dishes.

The most popular noodle dish served in North Korea is known as mul naengmyeon. This dish is basically a noodle meal served in broth. It is served in a giant metal bowl and it includes cold noodles, cucumbers, thin slices of beef and sometimes a hard-boiled egg. The noodles themselves are made out of sweet potato flour that is made distinctively for the dish.

Traditional dishes still reign in North Korea

While there are certainly more cold noodle based meals found in North Korea as opposed to South Korea, there are also a wealth of traditional dishes abound. North Korean food is in many cases, at least partially, ‘from the sea.’ This means that seafood is incorporated in many of the dishes and the popular seasonings found in many of the recipes are from the ocean as well, such as seaweed (which is used in many North Korean recipes).

Some of the more popular additions to North Korea meals include: Red and green peppers, soy sauce, onions, garlic, ginger, vinegar and wine.

The meals and food in North Korea are very high in quality and include a combination of taste and healthy nutrients.

article from Galbijjim.com