If you haven’t tried Korean food yet, you are missing out! Most meals are not only healthy, big, but have a wide variety of ingredients. Traditional Korean food is popular globally and for good reason! Don’t know what to try? Here are the 5 most popular Korean Dishes and my personal recommendations!
1. Bibimbap
Starting at number 1 is Bibimbap (the literal translation is mixed rice). This is for my veggie lovers out there! You can get this dish made vegetarian or with meat. It usually consists of rice, vegetables, meat, chilli paste, and is topped with an egg.
Although the exact origins of this yummy dish are unknown, it definitely left a huge impact on Korean history! The earliest records of it were found in the 1560s, however some scholars think that it originated as a food offering during jesa/ancestral rites.
2. Kimchi-Jjigae
This is a staple dish in Korea, many people eat it at least once a week. It is made with meat (I had pork in mine), scallions, onions, diced tofu, and of course kimchi! Kimchi actually tastes better the longer it ages. More fermented kimchi has a pronounced flavor and has an increased amount of probiotics.
This kimchi stew is one you share with your friends, family, or community! It is traditionally placed at the center of the table, accompanied by many side dishes.
Kimich existed long before the Joseon era (around the 1300s) and Kimchi-Jjigae was assumed to come shortly afterwards!
3. Tteokbokki
Tteokbokki!!! A food many are already familiar with (and one of my favorites)! It is made with rice cake noodles, fish cakes, boiled eggs, and scallions.
The one I recently ate also had beef and dumplings (mandu)! There are so many different ways to make this dish- it can even have a spicy, sweet, or creamy sauce!
Tteokbokki actually only has records dating back to the very end of the Chosun dynasty in 1920. Even though this is a fairly-new Korean dish, it has so many variations! The first tteokbokki dishes actually had very little pepper in them and were more sweet than spicy.
4. Samgyeopsal
One of the most popular dishes in Korea is grilled pork belly! It is typical to eat this with a lot of sides and soju. After work you will see barbeque restaurants full of employees drinking!
This dish was first recorded in the 1970s but it was only in the late 1980s when pork rose in popularity. Since then, this dish has become very common!
5. Budae Jjigae
The name, 부대찌개, literally translates to army base stew! The dish was actually created near the end of the Korean war. People made use of the surplus foods that were at the US army base.
That is why this stew has ingredients such as ham, sausage, spam, baked beans, kimchi, and instant noodles. Despite the fact that this stew was invented during a period of economic hardship, it is still immensely popular today.
And those are my top 5 Korean food recommendations! If you want to learn about different Korean foods and their history, make sure to check out my blog! I find good food in Korea and tell you the ingredients, the history and if I liked it or not! Check out it out here: https://www.facebook.com/Koreanfoodvlogs
Hope you enjoy these amazing foods 🙂
