Popular Korean Dishes That You Must Try!
If you are one of the Filipino who hasn’t tried Korean Dishes today, you’re one step behind from the Filipinos who are enjoying the trending foreign taste of Korean Dishes. Embracing the Korean Culture here in the Philippines has become one of the major trend, such as the over so catchy Korean Pop Music, and Korean Fashion. They are everywhere and still dominating in national influence as they take over the music, fashion and food industry.
We have gathered the cream of the top Korean Dishes dated today, very popular and a must try delicious dishes to have a little taste of Korea starting with all time favorite:
Bulgogi(Grilled Marinated Beef)
Not only in Korea that this beef dish is popular, whereas here in the Philippines is popular as well. It is mainly marinated with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, black pepper, onions ginger and sugar, kept in a marinating process for four hours to enhance the flavor and tenderization.
Some restaurant served it to their customers cooked but most Korean Restaurants give their customers the experience to cook or grill it by themselves, best served with different kind of side dishes for their customers to enjoy the food more.
Galbi (Grilled Beef Short Ribs)
Galbi is a very popular Korean meat dish made from beef short ribs. The ribs are marinated in a sauce made from Korean pear juice, rice wine, soy sauce, garlic, sesame seed oil and sugar. Most recipes contain these basic ingredients but many variations exist from sweet to spicier marinades.
The meat itself is often cut in the L.A. rib style, which is basically a rack of ribs cut in thin slices across the bones. This makes eating galbi easier with chopsticks or with fingers. Galbi is usually available in most Korean restaurants but it is generally served in venues that specialize in galbi and the meat is cooked on an in-table BBQ.
Samgyupsal (Grilled Pork Strips)
Samgyupsal is another popular Korean meat dish that are enjoyed at home or at Korean resaturants that specializes in meat dishes. It consists of thick pork strips, served in the same fashion as galbi but there is no marinating involved. It is usually cooked on a grill with pa muchim, kimchi, mushrooms, garlic, onions and consumed altogether.
This dish is usually served with a side of lettuce, spinach, or other leafy vegetable(s), which is used to wrap a slice of cooked samgyupsal. A dab of ssamjang (usually made ofgochujang or dwenjang), kimchi, or other side dishes are also added and then eaten as a whole.
Budae Chigae (“Army” Stew)
Budae chigae is one of many favorite dishes for Koreans worldwide. Budae which translates into army in Korean and chigae meaning stew, this dish is known to have originated from the Korean War. During the war, Koreans have salvaged any means of food from the American soldiers in which there were an abundance of hot dog, sausages, and spam along with other staples.
Much like kimchi chigae, this soup-based dish contains kimchi, tofu, scallions, onions,gochujang, and much more. Also, to add texture and volume to the soup, it can contain vermicelli as well as ramyun noodles. It is consumed along with a bowl of steamed rice, bop, to compliment its spiciness and its abundance in meat such as spam, sausages and pork.
Kimchi Chigae(“Spicy Cabbage Soup”)
Kimchi chigae is a very popular soup made primarily with kimchi. It is often prepared using older, more fermented and ripe kimchi, creating a stronger and flavorful taste while fresh kimchi may not bring out the full and rich flavors. Different variations can exist but sliced kimchi is usually put into a pot with tofu, onions, garlic and beef, pork or seafood, which are all boiled together with water or anchovy stock.
The soup is seasoned with either dwenjang and/or gochujang which contributes to the distinctive red color. Final soup is normally served in a stone pot and still boiling when served on the table. Typically, kimchi chigae is eaten with a bowl of rice accompanied by various side dishes.
Japchae(“Beef & Vegetable Noodles”)
Japchae is a stir-fried dish that combines sweet vermicelli noodles made from the starch of a white sweet potato, thinly slices of beef, and various vegetables. It is usually prepared with carrots, green onion, spinach, shiitake mushrooms and green peppers. Beef may be added as an option but may be left out to be served as a vegetarian dish. The noodles are gray when raw and turn almost translucent when cooked (thus given its popular nickname, glass noodles). When cooked correctly, they retain a chewy texture.
Japchae is often served at Korean parties and during special occasions as the main dish or as a side dish. It can be added to a bed of rice and mixed together to make japchaebop, bop meaning rice.
Shin Ramyun(“Spicy Ramen Noodles”)
Shin ramyun is a staple noodle soup with a traditional spicy taste for all Asians worldwide. It is very easy to prepare yet a satisfying meal which can be prepared within ten minutes. All the ingredients are found within the package and additional ingredients such as kimchi, egg, green onions can be added to enhance its flavors and texture.
Nong Shim, the manufacturer of Shin ramen first introduced its noodles in 1986 and it is known to be very popular in Japan, US, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Other popular ramyuns (or ramens) from Nong Shim are Neoguri and Kimchi ramyun.
Kimchi(“Fermented Cabbage”)
Kimchi is a national Korean dish consisting of fermented chili peppers and vegetables, usually based on cabbage. It is suspected that the name kimchi originated from shimchae (salting of vegetable) which went through some phonetic changes: shimchae > dimchae >kimchae > kimchi.
Common ingredients include Chinese cabbage, radish, garlic, red pepper, spring onion, ginger, salt, and sugar. While kimchi is generally identified internationally as Chinese cabbage fermented with a mixture of red pepper, garlic, ginger, and salted fish sauce, several types of kimchi exists, including regional and seasonal variations. There are variants, includingkkakdugi, based on radish and containing no cabbage.
Kimchi has been cited by Health Magazine as one of the world’s five “healthiest foods”, with the claim that it is rich in vitamins, aids digestion, and may even prevent cancer. The health properties of kimchi are due to a variety of factors. It is usually made with cabbage, onions, and garlic, all of which have well-known health benefits. It also has active and beneficial bacterial cultures, like yogurt. Lastly, kimchi contains liberal quantities of red chili peppers (gochugaru) which has been suggested to have health benefits as well.
The best tasting kimchi is stored in room temperature for an average of six months to reach its full flavor. It is a popular side dish but is also often used as an ingredient in cooking other popular Korean dish, including kimchi chigae (kimchi soup) and kimchi bokumbop (kimchi fried rice).
Pajeon(“Korean-Style Pancake”)
Pajeon is a traditional Korean-style pancake which is a very popular appetizer or snack. It is made with pancake mix batter, eggs, and green onions/scallions, served with a mixture of soy sauce & vinegar for its dipping sauce. In translation, jeon (pronounced jun) is the actual battered ingredient and pa means scallions in Korean. The basic type of this dish consists of just scallions along with pancake mix and eggs but endless variation of this dish can exists by simply adding other ingredients such as seafood, kimchi, or vegetables.
To cook, the batter is poured into an oiled pan and fried to a golden crisp on a frying pan, just like a pancake and one of the key to this dish is the egg which contributes to the crispness in texture. The most popular pajeon dish is the seafood hae-mul pajeon, which usually consists of little bits of oysters, fresh baby clams, shrimps and even squids. It’s nothing compared to pancakes most frequently found on North American breakfast tables as a regular pan of pajeon is big enough to feed three hungry mouths.
Trying something different especially for the taste of asian cuisine, Korean Dishes is a must try! So if you will be crossing a korean restaurant (which is normally spotted in the city) suggests these awesome dishes to your friends and ask their opinion about it.
