Korea is home to thousands of years of culinary tradition that have given rise to unique and flavorful recipes. From the basics of a rice and vegetable based diet, Korean cuisine has evolved to make use of five distinct flavors and how they are balanced in a meal. From sour kimchi to savory bulgogi and spicy buldak (fire chicken), Korean cuisine is full of lively, memorable tastes. This article explores the nature of Korean cooking and provides links to videos explaining how to prepare some popular dishes. Be sure to check out the many Korean cookbooks in your library’s collection, too. Explore the joys of Korean cuisine with your library!
Noodle Dishes, the Cornerstone of Korean Cooking
As with other East Asian cuisines like Chinese and Japanese food, Korean food makes use of noodle dishes in imaginative ways. One of the best loved Korean noodle dishes is jajangmyeon, opens a new window, which makes use of a dark, heavy sauce made from black bean paste and pork belly. The noodles used should be thick wheat noodles. Note that although the original jajangmyeon was created by Chinese immigrants to Korea, the bean paste, opens a new window Koreans use to make jajangmyeon is different from the Chinese one. Ideally, only the Korean version of the sauce should be used for an authentic experience. Some jajangmyeon recipes, opens a new window also call for toppings, such as boiled egg, sweet corn, or cucumber.
Another popular Korean noodle dish is naengmyeon, opens a new window. This dish was tradionally mainly popular in the northern part of Korea, especially the city of Pyongyang, but spread across the rest of the Korean peninsula after the Korean War. Naengmyeon is made in several styles. The two most popular are mul naengmyeon, opens a new window, which is served cold with a savory meat broth, and bibim naengmyeon, opens a new window, with a spicy sauce made from red chili paste. Mul naengmyeon, opens a new window is particularly well loved during the warm period of the Korean summer, its coldness providing refreshment from the oppressive heat. Bibim naengmyeon, opens a new window, with a cold but tangy flavor from chili and sesame seeds, is eaten year round.
Bibim guksu, opens a new window is a Korean noodle dish with a unique, spicy taste. It uses kimchi, red chili paste, sesame oil, and sesame seeds for flavoring. It may also use various toppings such as diced beef, hard-boiled eggs, or cucumbers on top for additional flavor. Although the beef used should be stir-fried, the dish is served cold. It’s possible to make bibim guksu vegan-style, opens a new window too, without the fried egg or meat included.
Some Korean noodle dishes are prepared in soup form. Kalguksu, opens a new window is a Korean noodle soup that is made with knife-cut noodles, a seafood-based broth, and other ingredients. Some recipes, opens a new window call for using noodles bought from a Korean store for kalguksu. Other chefs, opens a new window recommend preparing the kalguksu noodles yourself. Kalguksu can be prepared with a wide variety of ingredients, ranging from chicken and beef to clams and a seafood mix.
Jjamppong is another popular type of Korean noodle soup. Jjamppong is particularly popular in Korean restaurants because it uses the same type of noodles, opens a new window as jajangmyeon. It is typically prepared with multiple types of seafood and a red chili-flavored broth. The types of seafood in jjamppong vary based on individual recipes, but shrimp, opens a new window and mussels are very common. Some versions, opens a new window of jjamppong make use of pork or beef, too.
Kimchi, Korea’s Favorite Side Dish
Perhaps the best loved of all Korean foods is kimchi, a side dish (banchan) that is served with almost every meal. How could one specific dish become so popular? Because there are many different types, opens a new window of kimchi, the dish can be prepared in several different ways. Kimchi is made with a fermented vegetable (most often Napa cabbage, opens a new window). Kimchi should be sliced, opens a new window, salted, and then placed in a jar to ferment. After the basic salting and fermenting, kimchi can be prepared in a number of different ways.
The most common type of kimchi is baechu kimchi, opens a new window, which is made from Napa cabbage and a sauce consisting of red pepper flakes, onion, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce (or soy sauce). This is the “default” type of kimchi sold at Korean restaurants. Another popular type of kimchi is baek kimchi, opens a new window (“white kimchi”). Baek kimchi is a favorite recipe to serve to small children and the elderly because it is not very spicy. It uses Napa cabbage as a base, flavored, opens a new window with radish, carrot, jujubes,, opens a new window chives, chestnuts, and red bell pepper.
Kimchi can be made with vegetables other than cabbage as a base. One popular variety of non-cabbage kimchi is gat kimchi, opens a new window. Gat kimchi is made from mustard greens and should have a spicy and slightly sour flavor when prepared, opens a new window properly. Pa kimchi, opens a new window is made from green onions and is prepared with a red pepper flake sauce similar to that of baechu kimchi. Pa kimchi is a very hot and spicy food, with the taste of the onion accentuated by the chili pepper. Yeolmu kimchi, opens a new window is a kind of kimchi made from young summer radish, a type of radish commonly grown in Korea. This style of kimchi is commonly eaten in summer in Korea and is often eaten fresh rather than being fermented.
The Joy of Korean Barbeque
Korean cuisine has many distinct types of grilled meat dishes to delight your taste buds. One of the best-loved Korean barbeque dishes is bulgogi, opens a new window (“fire meat”). Bulgogi is thinly sliced meat (usually beef, although pork is used in some recipes) that is marinated to add softness and flavor. The marinade used for bulgogi tends to vary a great deal between individual restaurants and family recipes. The marinade is always soy-based, but may incorporate a variety of distinct ingredients, such as Korean pears, opens a new window, pineapple, opens a new window, mushrooms, and peppers.
Increasingly, bulgogi recipes experiment with using other proteins instead of beef. Pork bulgogi, opens a new window became increasingly popular in Korea over the course of the 20th century. It’s also possible to use mushrooms, opens a new window instead of animal meat if you want a vegetarian bulgogi. You can use chicken, opens a new window if you’d prefer to not have red meat in your bulgogi.
Another popular Korean barbeque dish is galbi, opens a new window (beef short ribs). When served at restaurants, galbi is often first given to the customer raw, then cooked by the customer using a small tabletop grill. Some galbi is referred to as LA galbi., opens a new window This is because it is a lateral cut across the bone for a long, thin strip of meat that crosses three pieces of bone. In Korea, galbi is typically cut along a single bone. Most galbi recipes in the U.S use the LA galbi cut, although there are a few traditional galbi, opens a new window recipes available. There is even a special variant called galbi jjim, opens a new window which is typically only eaten at special occasions, such as Lunar New Year or Chuseok, opens a new window, the mid-autumn harvest festival. Galbi jjim is essentially prepared as a stew and requires many ingredients, so making it is time and labor intensive.
Pork galbi, opens a new window (dwaeji galbi) is also a common dish in Korea, although it is somewhat different from the beef version. It typically makes use of a pork shoulder in addition to the ribs, as pork ribs are smaller than beef. Beef galbi almost always uses a soy-based marinade, whereas pork galbi sometimes uses a chili-based marinade, opens a new window instead. There is also a pork version of galbi jjim,, opens a new window which is popular for special occasions in Korea.
Some types of unmarinated meats are popular in Korea, too. Pork belly, opens a new window is a favorite grilled meat in many Korean homes and restaurants. Pork belly is typically brought out as a series of raw cuts of meat and is grilled by the customer using the type of tabletop grill used for bulgogi. It’s usually served with a dipping sauce called ssamjang, opens a new window. Another popular type of grilled meat is chadolbaegi, opens a new window. A very thinly sliced type of brisket, chadolbaegi can be grilled quickly and needs only simple ingredients, making it a favorite for a fast meal.
These are some of the many delicious Korean recipes you can prepare at home. From noodles to barbecue to kimchi, there are numerous delights to be found in Korean cuisine. For more ideas about Korean food and many other kinds of cuisines, be sure to visit your Library, a place for culinary creativity and adventure!
