Food In Korea (푸드 인 코리아)
What to eat in Korea. Where to eat in Korea. The best Korean food and where to get it. Want to cook in Korea? Here are some great Korean recipes tried and tested. (한국에서 무엇을 먹을까. 한국에서 식사하는 곳. 최고의 한국 음식과 그것을 어디서 구해야 하는지. 한국에서 요리하고 싶으세요? 여기 몇 가지 훌륭한 한국 요리법이 있다.)
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Korean Eating: A Fishy Feast Called Haemultang
As I’ve mentioned before, living on a peninsula has given me the opportunity to try shellfish everything, fish there aren’t English names for aside from the biological terms, and everything in between. Haemultang (해물탕), or a Korean fish stew is a dish that puts all of them together into one deliciously spicy fishy stew. Haemultang is a fish stew you’ll often find on the coasts of Korea. If you’re headed down to Busan, Jeju Island, or some other coastal region and need a spicy warm-up, definitely seek out some seafood soup like haemultang. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you…
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Korean Cooking: A Korean Potato Side Dish
Growing up in the American Midwest with a family of English and German descent means my starch of choice is almost always potatoes. With that in mind when we head to the market I stock up on potatoes like my mother did. She always had one of those big mesh bags in the cupboard with about fifty potatoes on hand at all times. I don’t really buy that many at a time, due to the fact that we have to carry everything home without a car, but there’s sure to be a good amount of potatoes in my house so I’ve learned a few Korean recipes for them. I tasted…
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Korean Cooking: How To Make A Pickled Garlic Side Dish
When you eat out in Korea there is never a shortage of side dishes. Well, some dreadful monsoon rainy summers there have been shortages on kimchi, but that aside, eating out provides an opportunity to try oh so many Korean side dishes, or banchan, and one that quickly became a favorite for me was pickled garlic (마늘장아찌). Not having learned the art of pickling or fermenting prior to coming to Korea, when I decided to delve into making my own banchan, I decided pickled ginger was going to be one of the first side dishes I’d make. With the help of my Korean mother-in-law, her recipe in fact, I’ve now…
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Jokbal: What Is Korean Braised Pig’s Feet and How To Eat It
Want to have a picnic on the Han River the Korean way? The food on the blanket might surprise you. Alongside the fried chicken and the snacks, there’s a good chance you’ll find jokbal (족발), Korean braised pig’s trotters. Rich, savory, and built for eating alongside a drink, jokbal is one of those dishes that reveals something true about Korean food culture: the line between picnic food and drinking food is essentially non-existent. Get ready to eat pigs feet in Korea: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank you for your…
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Korean Cooking: How to make Korean dumplings
Mandu (만두), or Korean dumplings are easy to make and because you can put anything in them, you can cater to everyone’s tastes. Dumplings are one of those universal foods that you can find all around the world with some version in every culture. Little dough sacks filled with goodness. They can be sweet, savory, or cheesy. It’s amazing. I found some dumpling skins at our local market in Korea and decided to make some Korean pork and tofu dumplings. See how the Koreans… or my husband, makes them, and then make your own… any way you want! (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage…
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Korean Cooking: Sesame Bean Sprout Side Dish
The women at the market are always filling my bags to overflowing and of course the idea that bigger is better leaves me departing satisfied until I get home and realize we have way too much food than we will be able to devour before it goes bad. Of course, we always end up eating it all or inviting friends over to eat with us so nothing goes to waste. But, every week as soon as I get home with my grocery bags full it’s inevitable that my brain goes blank and I have no idea what I could possibly make with all of this food. This week I had…
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Korean Cooking: Southern Mother Style Bean Sprout Soup
Bean sprout soup, or kongnamulguk (콩나물국), is a simple broth soup that you will find at restaurants around the country, a specialty of Jeonju, and in homes too. It’s a meal that is pretty easy for most people to eat, and since soybean sprouts are a staple Korean vegetable, you can eat it and find it year round without fail. We use bean sprouts for all kinds of things with the most popular being the sesame bean sprout side dish. Suffice to say, I’ve eaten in and outside of the home so many times, I was shocked to create a boisterous hubbub at the farmer’s market this week when I…
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Korean Cooking: How To Cook Eggplant Korean Style
When you visit a market in Korea, you’ll be able to see easily what is in season and what isn’t. You won’t wonder at all why there is a plethora of garlic side dishes at certain times at restaurants or why there is eggplant, for example. When eggplant is in season you can get bags of the good stuff and after you’ve made eggplant parmesan or something, take the rest and whip up some delicious Korean sesame eggplant (가지무침). This Korean side dish is delicious and a nice treat when eggplant are readily available. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if…
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Korean Cooking: How To Make Pumpkin Porridge
Pumpkin porridge, or hobak-juk (호박죽) in Korean, is one of those meals I’ve found people either love or hate. It’s not pumpkin soup like my Australian and European friends expect, it’s thicker and more of a porridge. I never had anything except pumpkin pie growing up, so I didn’t try the dish the first time with many expectations at all. Having a daughter now who loves the stuff, I can say I really do too. It can be a bit sweet or even salty depending on how you like it. Pumpkin porridge makes a great breakfast in Korea, or you might see it as a Korean dessert option in a…
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Dwaeji Ggupdaegi: Korean Grilled Pig Skin and Why It’s Worth Trying
No part of the pig should be thrown away! The Mapo district of Seoul is known for its pig skin restaurants and now I understand why there are so many here. There’s hardly a night out for pork on the grill that doesn’t end with some chewy, but also crackled at the beginning if done just right, pig skin, or dwaeji ggupdaegi (돼지 껍데기). Don’t be surprised if you’re out and a friend orders some pig skin for your Korean BBQ night out: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank you…
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Korean Cooking: A Spicy Stuffed Cucumber Side Dish
Are you trying to learn how to make Korean side dishes? Try a side dish at a restaurant and wonder how you can make it? Well, I’m in the same boat. On a mission to learn how to prepare more Korean side dishes as I have a Korean husband, I found a recipe for one of my favorite kimchis often found on the restaurant table in the summer. Get ready to make some Korean cucumber kimchi (오이소박이). This is a pretty easy recipe. I’ve noticed that a lot of Korean side dishes are pretty straight forward to make and it’s more about adjusting to find the taste that suits you.…
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Korean Cooking: Dried Anchovy Side Dish
Dried anchovies have not always been one of my favorite Korean side dishes, but they have become a staple of my mother-in-law’s side dish shipments and have inched up the likability scale for me. I can’t ever remember my mother cooking with anchovies, so the first time I saw them on the table I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about them. Slowly but surely though, this dried anchovy side dish (멸치볶음) has become one that I look forward to seeing on the table, so I learned how to cook them myself. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase…
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Korean Cooking: You’ve Had Kimchi, How About Kimchijeon?
By now I’m sure you’ve heard of the food most often associated with Korea. That being kimchi. The spicy fermented cabbage side dish is a necessary side dish on every Korean table. Maybe you’ve even tried it. But, have you tried kimchijeon (김치전)? Jeon, or Korean pancakes would be the easiest description, can be made with a variety of vegetables and even fish. There are loads of options for “jeon” as well: kimchijeon, seafoodjeon, squidjeon, or vegetablejeon, among others. Haven’t eaten it often enough, I wondered if it was truly as easy as making pancakes. Looking for a makgeolli and jeon meal, I started with kimchijeon. You can even make…
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Dwaejigukbap: Busan’s Famous Pork and Rice Soup and Where To Eat It
If you’re headed to Busan, dwaejigukbap (돼지국밥) needs to be on your food list. This pork and rice soup is one of the city’s most celebrated dishes. It’s hearty, deeply savory, served boiling hot, and eaten with a table full of condiments that you season to your own taste. You can find it in other parts of Korea, but Busan is where it originated and where it’s taken most seriously. My husband is from Busan and this is near the top of his list of Korean dishes. It’s the kind of food that makes complete sense in context: in a port city, at the end of a long day, with…
