Food & Drink

Rice is a staple food, and a typical meal consists of rice, soup, rice water and at least eight side dishes (banchan) of vegetables, poultry, eggs, bean-curd and sea plants. Korean cuisine is generally quite spicy and has a heavy use of red pepper. Almost all meals will be accompanied by kimchi, a spicy pickle of cabbage or radish with turnips, onion, salt, fish, chestnuts and the ubiquitous red pepper.

Korean food is usually seasoned with sesame oil, soy sauce, doenjang (fermented soybean paste), salt, garlic, ginger and gochujang (red chili paste). At traditional restaurants, meats are cooked at the centre of the table over a charcoal grill, surrounded by various banchan and individual rice bowls. The cooked meat is then cut into small pieces and wrapped with fresh lettuce leaves, with rice, thin slice of garlic, ssamjang (mixture of gochujang and doenjang), and other seasoning.

Soups and Stews

• Doenjang jjigae: soybean paste soup, served as the main course or served alongside a meat course. It contains a variety of vegetables, shellfish and tofu, including small mussels, shrimp and/or large anchovies.
• Cheonggukjang: soup made from strong-smelling thick soybean paste.
• Gamjatang : "potato stew" - a spicy soup with pork spine, vegetables (especially potatoes) and hot peppers. The vertebrae are usually separated. This is often a late night snack but is also served for a lunch or dinner.
• Janchi guksu: a light seaweed broth based noodle soup served with fresh condiments, usually kimchi, thinly sliced egg, green onions, and cucumbers.
• Jeongol: a traditional spicy Korean stew, consisting of various types of seafood and vegetables. It is generally served on a burner.
• Kimchi jjigae: a soup made of mainly Kimchi with pork and tofu. It is a common lunch meal or accompaniment to a meat course. It is normally served in a stone pot, still boiling when it arrives at the table.
• Mae-woon tang: a refreshing hot & spicy fish soup.
• Sundubu jjigae: a thick spicy stew made with soft tofu. Traditionally, the diner cracks a raw egg in it while it's still boiling.

Meat Dishes

• Bulgogi: which comprises charcoal-broiled beef marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, sugar, green onions and black pepper. Variations include pork (Dweji bulgogi), chicken (Dak bulgogi), or squid (Ojingeo bulgogi).
• Galbi: pork or beef ribs, cooked on a metal plate over charcoal in the centre of the table. It is often known as Korean BBQ, and can be seasoned or unseasoned.
• Jokbal: pig's feet served with a red salted shrimp sauce.
• Samgyeopsal: Unseasoned pork bacon cut from the belly, served in the same fashion as galbi. Commonly grilled with garlic and onions, dipped in ssamjjang and wrapped in lettuce leaves.
• Hoe: raw seafood dish dipped in gochujang or soy sauce with wasabi, served with lettuce or sesame leaves.
• Sannakji: octopus served live and still moving on the plate.
• Makchang: grilled pork large intestines prepared like samgyeopsal and galbi, and very popular in Daegu and the surrounding Gyeongsang region.

Mixed Rice

• Bibimbap: rice topped with vegetables, beef and egg, and served with a dollop of chili pepper paste. A variation of this dish, dolsot bibimbap, is served in a heated stone bowl, in which a raw egg is cooked against the sides of the bowl. Everything (seasonings, rice and vegetables) is stirred together in one large bowl and eaten with a spoon.
• Hoedeopbap: cubed raw fish mixed with fresh vegetables and rice and gochujang.

Banchan (Side Dishes)

• Kimchi: vegetables (usually cabbage, white radish, or cucumber) fermented in a brine of ginger, garlic, green onion and chilli pepper. Koreans traditionally made enough kimchi to last for the entire winter season, although refrigerators and commercial bottled kimchi made this practice less common.
• Kongnamul: Soybean sprouts, usually eaten in boiled and seasoned banchan.

Noodles

• Naengmyeon: a summer dish that consists of several varieties of thin, hand-made buckwheat noodles, and is served in a large bowl with a tangy iced broth, raw julienned vegetables and fruit, and often a boiled egg and cold cooked beef.
• Japchae: boiled dangmyeon or potato noodle, steamed spinach, roasted beef, roasted sliced onion and roasted carrot mixed with seasoning by soy sauce, sesame oil and half-refined sugar.
• Jajangmyeon: made with a black bean sauce, usually with some sort of meat and a variety of vegetables including courgette and potatoes.
• Kalguksu: boiled flat noodles, usually in a broth made of anchovies and sliced courgette.
• Ramyeon: a spicy variation of Japanese Ramen, usually cooked with vegetables and meats.

Drinks

Jungjong is an expensive rice wine, while soju is a rather harsh tasting vodka-type drink made from potatoes or grain. Notable beer brands are Cass, Hite and OB.