Korean Food Vol. 1

Typical Korean meal setup

So you have never had Korean food, right? Maybe you have heard stories of the infamous kimchi, or heard rumors about dogs for dinner. I'll help you by dispelling some myths about Korean food and perhaps preparing you for what you can expect when eating the native cuisine here. I'll even try to help with table manners and how to eat the food properly.

Things You Need to Know

Korean food is usually crazy spicy: Imagine southern food taken to the next level. It is seen as an accomplishment for restaurants to make the hottest food.

Koreans eat a lot of plants and vegetables: They eat leaves, random plants, soybeans, radish, and just about anything else that grows in the ground. Key tip: most of it is delicious.

Koreans cook food on their tables: When going to a restaurant that serves any type of meat, just know that they will bring you a hotplate and mini-burner to cook the meat on.

Meals usually have multiple dishes to "play" with: The usual Korean meal will look like the picture above, where you have a lot of different dishes to deal with. Don't be overwhelmed and just keep this one tip in mind: There is no wrong way or combination when it comes to eating these. Simply partake and enjoy.

Korean meat dishes consist mainly of pork, beef, chicken, dog, or squid: Just keep in mind that squid is very popular out here. Dog is not as popular, but can often be seen as a substitute for some meats if a store is running low.

Ramen is a separate food group here: Ramen is split into two groups here: spicy (normally "shin ramen", 신라면) or not spicy (usually "jjajang ramen", 짜장면). Spicy is obviously a red color, where non spicy jjajangmyun is a thick black color. Koreans pronounce the word 'ramen' as 'ramyun', due to spelling differences.

Kimchi Ramyun

Jjajangmyun

I'll post some more tips along with recommended foods in my next volume of Korean Food.