Eating in Korea

When Tony and I travel we always enjoy trying some of the local foods. Actually, one of my favorite things to do in a new country is visit the local grocery store. I find it fascinating! Heading to Korea, however, I was pretty nervous about what foods we would be eating. While I do like to try new foods, I also prefer to “play it safe” and eat things that I can identify, etc.  In many Asian cultures, the foods are less identifiable, at least to my Midwestern USA eyes.

I have been to a couple of Korean restaurants in the US and Tony’s family sometimes makes Korean food, so I am familiar with a few basis such as Bulgogi, Bibimbap, Japchae and Mandu. My goal for this trip was to keep an open mind and to try street food – a very common thing here, especially in the evenings. So, here are a few things I tried (I’m sorry that I don’t have photos of these, though I am sure an internet search will turn up plenty):

Bibimbap: I got to try this a few times, both in the hot stone bowl (dolsot bibimbap) and without. It is basically a rice dish with a small amount of meat and a variety of vegetables, with a spicy red pepper paste on top. I prefer the stone bowl version as the rice gets crispy and there is a soft egg on top that mixes with the spicy red pepper paste nicely.  Very similar to what I’ve had in the US and one of the easy introductions to Korean cuisine.

Bulgogi: We had this twice – once where it was made and served for us, and once where we cooked it at the table. The meat is sliced extremely thin, thinner than I’ve seen in the US. In general I find it kind of bland. They don’t marinate it in any seasonings, but rather you are to eat it with the assorted kimchi sides (and since I can’t stand kimchi, I end up eating it plain). It was fun to cook it up on our table though, and again it’s an easy introduction to Korean food.

Makgeolli: this is an alcoholic drink, similar to beer or soda. Sweet, bubbly and easy to drink. I think it’s pretty yummy, and apparently it has some health benefits to it (minerals, fibers and active enzymes). Yum!

Soju: this is a must try and a very common drink among Koreans. A bottle of soju is cheaper than soda or water! It has a higher alcohol content than beer or wine, but less than hard alcohol. Unfortunately it doesn’t have much flavor and while I don’t mind it, I don’t love it.

Koong Joong Tteokpoki: Served on a portable burner in a large pot, it is a braised dish of sliced rice cakes, meat/seafood, egg and seasonings like chili (spicy) or bean (more savory) paste. There is also a common version served as street food without all of the meat and seafood. This is where eating gets more adventurous! There are fish cakes, squid (with the little suckers), mussels and more. I ate it all except the mussels, since I don’t care for them and there weren’t too many too go around. Interesting and I know I could eat it again if needed – though I think I liked the bean paste more than the chili paste.

Saengseon Gui: grilled fish, in this case mackerel. Not a big fish fan, but this was decent. It comes as a whole fish, sliced in half. So you pick the meat away from the bones, dip it into a sauce and eat it (all with chopsticks, of course!).

Haemul Pajeon: a form of the Korean pancake made with egg, flour and green onion. Seafood was added to the one we tried. I didn’t love the seafood, but the rest was very tasty.

Mandu: we had several varieties – steamed and fried, filled with a variety of things. Pretty yummy!

Bungeo-bbang: street food! And so very yummy, I could eat these all the time. Fried bread (chewy and a bit sweet) filled with sweet red bean paste and shaped like a carp. Served warm. Perfect for a dessert girl like me! And you can get 3 good sized fish for 1,000 won ($1).

Toast: another street food and another “five star” rating from me. These are little pieces of a sweet chewy bread with an egg in the middle (cooked). Served warm the savory from the egg and the sweet from the bread are a great combo. Also very warming on a cold night. One toast is 1,000 won and they are sold at the same stands as the bungeo-bbang.

We’ve also tried some snacks (no idea what they are; sold like chips in the convenience store), buns (dough filled with meats or sweets), soups (served with meals and I have no idea what they are), tofu (part of the food tour….and it was just regular tofu) and more. We also tried McDonalds and Burger King – both have a bulgogi burger that Tony really likes. Seoul has a lot of fast food restaurants with menus similar but different to what we have in the US. There are also so many coffee shops. You can easily see 5 shops in one building with 3 of them being coffee shops. Coffee is a bit more expensive here, but on par with what we are used to.

While I was nervous about eating here in Seoul (and we did avoid many places without a menu in English), I have found several things I enjoy. Maybe now I will feel more comfortable looking through the Korean cook books I have at home! Now we are off to the airport. Tony is excited to check it out – apparently it’s one of the top airports in the world (with a golf course, movie theater and more AT the airport!). Now it is on to Japan for our overnight, then back to Minnesota.