Korean food has some similarities to the
cuisine of other
Asian countries, but some differences as well. Of course,
rice is a staple, although
Koreans tend to use
medium grain rice, as opposed to the stickier
short grain rice favored by the
Chinese (this is probably why
Koreans generally use a spoon for rice, and the
Chinese use
chopsticks). The
Korean diet also includes an absurd amount of their local invention,
kimchi (
gimchi/
kimchee), a kind of spicy, pickled
cabbage. Aside from these two staples,
Korean food generally includes a lot of vegetables, and is seasoned primarily with
garlic and
red chili, although
ginger and
ginseng are also used. Various kinds of
barbequed meat,
seafood and
soups are also popular.
As well as their own unique cuisine, Koreans have also developed Koreanized versions of Japanese and Chinese dishes.
I will give here a list and brief description of all the Korean dishes that I've tried (and remember), and will eventually start creating nodes for as many as possible. The list will be weak in the seafood department, because I don't eat it:
Real Korean Foods
Koreanized Chinese Foods
Jjajang myeon (noodles with black bean sauce)
Tang soo yook (sweet-and-sour pork)
Japchae (rice noodles)
Bokkeumbap (fried rice)
Mandoo (dumplings)
Koreanized Japanese Foods
Sashimi (raw fish)
Oodong (thick noodle soup. Japanese: udon)
Saengson Chobap (a kind of sushi)
Yubu Chobap (sushi rice wrapped in fried tofu. Japanese: inarizushi)
Donkass (pork cutlet. Japanese: tonkatsu)
Obviously, this list is far from complete. If anyone adds a node for a Korean food not on the list, /msg me and I'll add it to the list.