Korean Food Vol. 2 - Soup!

Korean soup...great for any meal!

Today, we are going to be looking at the backbone of any Korean meal: soup and stews! Koreans like to eat soups or a stew with just about every meal and these dishes vary greatly in ingredients and taste. I want to cover some of my favorite dishes and share some of the varieties of food offered in most Korean eateries. I will rate each dish on availability (1 being nowhere, 5 being everywhere), cost, taste (1 being terrible, 10 being amazing), and spicy-ness (1 being not spicy, 5 being spicy as hell).

Korean Soups (-jjigae -찌개 or -guk -국)
Soups in Korea are very straight-forward. Take X amount of ingredient 1, Y amount of ingredient 2, mix with group peppers, add water, and boil. Such a simple combination, sure, but some of the best tasting food you can get here in Korea. I am going to go through some simple soups that I enjoy, so prepare your taste buds for salivation.

1. Kimchi-jjigae (김치찌개)
Kimchi soup. Served with tofu, cabbage, onions, and pork in a spicy soup.

Availability: 5

Taste: 9 (My favorite soup)

Cost: Around 4,000W

Spicy-ness: 2-4

2. Sundubu-jjigae (순두부찌개)
Raw bean curd (tofu) soup. Served with vegetables in a semi-spicy soup.

Availability: 5

Taste: 8

Cost: Around 4,000W

Spicy-ness: 1-3

3. Miyeok-guk (미역국)
Seaweed soup. Don't let this one fool you; it's super tasty and great to chow on.

Availability: 3

Taste: 8

Cost: Around 3,500W

Spicy-ness: 0

4. Budae-jjigae (부대찌개)
Spicy soup served with ramyun, hotdogs, vegetables, rice cakes, and/or fish cakes. Prepared for more than one person.

Availability: 4

Taste: 9

Cost: Around 9,000W per person

Spicy-ness: 2-4

Korean Stews (-tang -탕)
Stews in Korea are a mixed bad of goodies, usually mixing meat with vegetables and simmering for hours, providing a great tasting dish. I will rate each dish on availability (1 being nowhere, 5 being everywhere), cost, taste (1 being terrible, 10 being amazing), and spicy-ness (1 being not spicy, 5 being spicy as hell).

1. Galbi-tang (갈비탕)
Boiled beef bone stew in a broth of onions, salt, and pepper.

Availability: 4

Taste: 8.5

Cost: Around 4,000W

Spicy-ness: 0

2. Seolleong-tang (설렁탕)
Boiled ox tail stew in a broth of onions, salt, and pepper. Sometimes served with flour noodles.

Availability: 2

Taste: 9

Cost: Around 5,000W

Spicy-ness: 0

3. Samgye-tang (삼계탕)
Boiled and stuffed chicken, server with ginseng shoots, jujubes, and glutenous rice.

Availability: 3

Taste: 10

Cost: Around 5,500W

Spicy-ness: 0

4. Gamja-tang (감자탕)
Boiled potato and meat stew. Served in a spicy broth.

Availability: 2

Taste: 7

Cost: Around 5,000W

Spicy-ness: 4-5