Joanna James
Being one of the most popular cuisines in the world, South Korean food is not merely rice, a bowl of soup or a stew with a side dish. It is a culmination of imagination and skill using vegetables, greens, seafood and meat to suit the distinct seasons in Korea and the palates of locals and visitors.
A bowl of rice, vegetables, beef, hot chilli paste (gochujang) topped with an enticing fried egg sprinkled with soy sauce and mustard seeds, Bibimbap is a complete and satisfying meal enjoyed by locals and visitors during lunch and is readily available at restaurants in the vicinity of Jeju Island accommodation. A bowlful will keep you energized for hours.
A colourful and tasty dessert of chopped fruit and red beans (bingsu) tossed over a bowl containing a heap of ice shavings covered by condensed milk. The crunch of ice, the gooey condensed milk and fresh fruit combination is simply heavenly. Traditionally this dessert comes in a large bowl for people to eat together from the bowl.
An aromatic dish of stringy glass noodles which are made out of sweet potato. The noodle is stir-fried with beef, wild mushrooms and multi-hued vegetables using sesame oil making it an inviting dish eaten with a spoon and chopsticks as is enjoyed by guests at Somerset Jeju Shinhwa World.
A low calorie however rich in fibre side dish without which a Korean meal especially dinner seems incomplete. A light salad made with a variety of fermented vegetables with cabbage taking the foremost position. It is crunchy, spicy as well as sour. Kimchi is almost a part of Korean culture enjoyed by all.
A famous speciality in Korea of barbecued meat, Bulgogi is made from beef, chicken or pork cutting the meat lengthwise into strips. Thoroughly marinated strips of the meat in sweet soy sauce sprinkled well with garlic and sesame oil are grilled to perfection extracting the juices making it a heavenly dish to be savoured with good conversation and drinks with family and friends.
Though called pancakes these are different from the pan-fried thin cakes with a layer of syrup over them that most people are accustomed to. The Korean ones are loaded with salted fillings and deep-fried in oil, Mung Bean pancakes are made with ground mung beans, green onion and kimchi then deep-fried. Served with dips this is a great snack at any time during the day.
A famous Korean street food that is found all over Korea and sold by street hawkers. Korean Rice cake, fish cake, soup stock/dashi stock and gochujang which is the Korean chilli paste are used to make these red rice cakes. Delicious and insanely addictive, try a few and discover that you keep reaching out for more even if you are full.
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