Cuisine in Korea covers a lot of ground. First, it’s important to note that you can eat anything here and I do mean anything. Want Italian? I’ve had the best Italian food I’ve ever eaten here. Want German? Got it. French, Thai, Japanese, English brewery, Danish Hot Dogs? Got them all. American food? I swear we have more Outback steak houses, Baskin Robins ice cream stores, Pizza Huts, KFCs and Dunkin Doughnuts than anywhere else in the world including the good ol’ USA. In a 5 kilometer radius from our apartment there are literally at least 4 Outbacks, 3 Pizza Huts, 3 KFCs, 2 Subways, a Bennigans, a TGI Fridays, and several McDonalds and Burger Kings.
From a daily diet standpoint, we have ready access to North American food at the local Costco, E-Mart or Lotte Mart (the later two are like a Super-Walmart) and there is a local western market right down the hill from our house. So really, as far as what we want to eat here, it’s just a matter of if we are willing to pay for it. Seoul is the 2nd most expensive place in the world to live (only Tokyo costs more) so food in general can cost quite a bit ($6 gallon of milk for example). But with western food, some prices can get really out of line fast – a ½ gallon of ice cream $17, sliced salami lunch meat $13, a box of Rice Crispies cereal $14. Fortunately, most main staples (fruit, vegetables, meats, etc) aren’t so bad in price so we just pick the few luxuries we want to spend on and we have a pretty regular western menu at home. In fact, some local foods (Asian pears, mandarin oranges, local salad greens, sweet potatoes, rice, etc) are much better than what we get in the states so daily eating is hardly a hardship.
So that takes care of what our daily diet is like. What about Korean meals? Well, in 2 months I’ve been exposed to a wide range of Korean dishes. Korean food runs the gamut from foods we westerners find normal and tasty, to things most of us cringe at.
Items I place on the tasty side of the menu are…
Bulgogi - Korean Barbecued beef – tastes like roast beef but can be fairly spicy (all Korean food carries this warning).
Galbi - barbecue short ribs
Mandu - dumplings of various types with beef, pork and/or vegetables inside
Gimbap - Rice, vegetables and pineapple wrapped in seaweed leaves – very tasty and locals tell me it is the “hamburger of Korea”. Mostly, this just means it’s fast food. Extremely healthy for you though.
Bibimbap – Rice and mixed vegetables served in a red hot stone bowl with a raw egg on top. As you stir it before eating, the egg mixes in and cooks. Very, very good. Maybe my favorite Korean meal.
Shabu-Shabu – a meal from the Japanese occupation period of Korea. It’s originally Japanese, but in Korea it has a Korean twist – red pepper. Is sometimes overly spicy in my opinion (again, can be said of all Korean meals – red pepper is very popular here). Also as with most Korean dishes it is served family style so everyone eats it from a common pot with each person taking out what they like. This is a stew which starts as a very spicy soup and then has various leeks, greens and mushrooms added. Once these are ready, just about everything you can imagine is added to the pot – shrimp, beef, oysters, whelk, crab, pork, you name it – it’s in there. Some of the stuff that is put in I don’t care for, but it’s a great dish to sample different things. As the pot is emptied, eventually, only a bit of soup is left. At this point rice will be added to absorb the remainder and a tasty fried rice is made. Overall a very good meal.
Soups – Lots of great soups here. Standard warning on the spices here of course but among those I really like here are clam chowder, Gimchiguk (Kimchi soup), potato soup, sweet potato soup and pumpkin soup.
Kimchi – Belongs on both lists – easy to eat and not so easy - but mostly I like it. Very often for my taste (and too many of my Korean friends surprisingly) it’s overly spiced. But when it’s not swimming in the red pepper spice, it’s very good. So what is it? It’s most typically pickled cabbage and other vegetables (Radish, summer greens, mushrooms, etc).
Now for the other side of the menu - the not so tasty (at least not to me)…
Raw fish – Very, very popular here but not a favorite of mine I’m afraid. Unfortunately it is the favorite food for most Koreans. All over town are restaurants specializing in raw fish. You can tell which ones they are without understanding how to read a lick of Korean. Just look for the restaurants with fish tanks making up one of the outer walls. You can pick your fish out of the tank and watch them prepare it right at the counter if you wish! So you are absolutely sure it's fresh, the head and tail are still on when it's served to you. Yum!
In particular, flat fish (Flounder), which I have been served at least 3 times now, is popular delicacy here and is usually served as the main course. I can recommend that of the cuts available, go for the belly meat (usually slightly more opaque and white in color). Much more solid and better flavor than the rest of the fish. Also, be sure to note if a leaf warp is being offered with the meal. I find the raw fish dishes taste much better if there is something with texture served with it. On it’s own, raw fish is slimy to me and hard to chew. The bay leafs or other greens often provided to wrap it in make it much more palatable. No pictures yet. Sorry.
Squid and octopus – This is another Asian delicacy and I really must say I’m not a fan – cooked or raw. Cooked it’s just rubbery and tasteless. Really not a bad food, just not for my taste a good food. The raw tentacles are often served to guests of honor at a party or welcome dinner and often the tentacles are still moving when served as this is considered to convey potency and vitality to men. I have eaten it this way once and it was not an event I will likely ever forget or look to repeat. Aside from the visual shock to western sensibilities (eating something that looks slimy while still moving) it actually does not taste bad – in fact to me it had no taste and was not in fact slimy. However, I have to admit it was all I could do to eat the still wiggling little bugger of a tentacle. But don’t take my word for it – check it out yourself at You Tube through this link.
Dog – Yeah. They do eat it here. I Haven’t had it yet. Don’t plan to. Hope I don’t ever get asked to have it. It’s a delicacy here and very expensive so I know I won’t get it in error at a buffet or be served it in place of beef. Just not looking to try this. Then again, the octopus was never a choice I was going to make. Just have to try to keep from being the guest of honor anymore!
A final comment on food. Almost all meals here are served family style from big platters you help yourself from. When a dish runs out, the staff slips in a replaces it with another dish. A meal here goes on and on forever - a couple hours is the norm for a regular dinner. And I don't mean like a European long meal either with long pauses for just digesting and conversing. The food just keeps coming and coming and coming. For such small people they can eat any westerner under the table no problem. I simply have never seen so much food consumed as I have at a Korean restaurant. A US Thanksgiving feast is just a typical night out here. Amazing.
Until the next article...Ma Ni Chop Su Se Yo (literally "Eat a lot" in Korean - the local equivalent of Bona Petit said at the start of a meal).
Life in Korea: Cuisine
