food in korea 101

thanks to this wonderful blogger friend who asked me to tell you all about korean food, here is a small selection of the amazing choices this wonderful country contains for food.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

the National dish of korea. 

kimchi is the staple - breakfast, lunch and dinner. it's fermented cabbage and it is hot! it's an acquired taste and surprisingly i have grown an appetite for it even though my appreciation for cabbage took some time (you can ask my mum, i was never a fan of cabbage as a kid!). but i love kimchi! my mouth is watering even typing this (is that embarrassing?). people have said that kimchi is addictive. i think i agree. as you can see below, it is not just restricted to cabbage there are many variations. another of my other absolute faves is kkakdugi, diced radish kimchi. so so good!

practice your chopstick skills.

having never lived in an asian country before i was quick to realise my chopstick skills were not up to standard when we first arrived in this fair land. the skill of using chopsticks daily and actually successfully getting food into my mouth (haha) was something i worked at and now i don't even really think about it any more. funny how things become normal, i went home in february and i felt really strange using a knife and fork. i hope to keep it up!

korean bbq is where it's at.

many, many different restaurants to choose from.

warm on cold days.

cook-it-yourself style.

always better with others.

many side dishes make it never boring. 

healthy and tasty. 

sharing is the name of the game.

korean dishes are cooked right at the table on charcoal grills that are built into the centre of the table itself. the variations are numerous and we always like to try something different. even yesterday, we went to an all-you-eat place - the beef was amazing but we need to pace ourselves next time! haha. 

featured dishes:

this is the most one of the most delicious dishes here in the land of kimchi! this is a steamed dish that is a made up of chicken, carrots, green veggies, clear noodles made from kumara (sweet potato) flour, chillies and is mixed in spicy soy sauce. it is honestly, so good. we came across this by accident on the day we bought my camera so it was such a fun time and by the look on hubby's face we were both happy!

secondly, dalk galbi is a goodie too. it's a stir-fry dish, where marinated diced chicken is cooked in a chilli pepper paste with sliced cabbage, sweet potato (kumara again!), onions and cylinder like rice cakes combined together on a hot plate. there is etiquette to this dish and is always prepared in front of you by the restaurant staff. it has a strong taste, which lingers so we usually eat this only when we really feel like it and it always hits the spot.

well, there is the first instalment. i really hope i do the korean nationals justice because they are talented people with many varieties of food - it's been hard to pick a few things to start with!

so questions for you...

have you ever eaten korean food? what was it? and how was it for you?