Tteokbokki

Korean Food

TTEOKBOKKI

Tteokbokki is a snack from South Korea. Tteokbokki is also known as Korean street food snacks. It's commonly sold on street corners and at food stands normally use tents or so called "Pojangmacha". Tteokbokki cooked right there, so tteokbokki can be eaten while warm. Tteokbokki has its own history, initially in Korean history the food is from the Joseon Dynasty palace cuisine at 1392 - 1910 called "Gungjung Tteokbokki". Gungjung means "Royal Court" in Korean. As the name suggests, the dish was part of the royal cuisine. This dish is usually served when on celebration days like the Lunar New Year or during ancestral Ceremonies. At that time, this form of huintteok dishes are cooked with soy sauce with beef, bagogari, mung bean sprouts, parsley, shitake mushrooms, carrots, and onions. It was far different from tteokbokki spicy chili known today. In 1953, the spicy one was developed when the year the Korean War ended, by a woman named Ma Bong Nim in the Sindang-dong neighborhood in Seoul. Therefore Sindang-dong district in Seoul is known as a place that sells a lot of tteokbokki. Through the opening of the restaurant, Ma Bong Nim introduced a new version of tteokbokki. The chewy rice cakes in a spicy red chili pepper paste (gochujang) sauce instantly became popular as an affordable comfort snack. Over time, the dish has continued to evolve, and its popularity has steadily grown. The secret of this restaurant’s tteokbokki lies in the fact that red pepper paste is mixed with Chinese soybean paste for a sweet and spicy taste. Adopted by other Sindang-dong restaurants, the recipe is no longer a secret. Nevertheless, there is something special about this restaurant’s fare.

Tteokbokki made of Tteok in Korean language or rice cake that cooked with spices gochujang. Tteok is Korean cake made from cereals, mainly rice or sticky rice. Gochujang seasoning tastes spicy and sweet. Rice cake used to make Tteokbokki rod-shaped or cylindrical. Tteokbokki is easily made, because just needs two main ingredients, and it’s easy to found virtually anywhere in Korea. Tteokbokki is often introduced through Korean Drama. Almost every Korean movies and drama series show scene eating tteokbokki. Tteokbokki most suitable eaten during the winter, because it is spicy and warm. Tteokbokki can be cooked with other ingredients such as ramyeon, pastries, boiled eggs, and even seafood are added to this dish. The original tteokbokki was a stir fried dish consisting of garaetteok combined with a variety of ingredients, such as beef, mung bean sprouts, green onions, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and onions, and seasoned with soy sauce. Tteokbokki has a chewy texture and soft when eaten.

The spicy level of tteokbokki varies widely among different brands of Korean red chili pepper paste (gochujang) and red chili pepper flakes (gochugaru). Adding red chili pepper flakes is the way to increase the heat level without altering the saltiness and sweetness. Tteokbokki be presented with a wide variety ranging from original tteokbokki, cheese tteokbokki and gungjung tteokbokki or use soy sauce seasoning. Although just as a snack, tteokbokki also has nutritional value such as protein and kabohidrat. Fish cakes and eggs are added also be a contributor to the protein content in tteokbokki. Since Tteokbokki has become one of the most popular dishes, one will easily find a place to enjoy eating Tteokbokki in Korea. Tteokbokki also one of the typical South Korea's most famous snacks in the world.

Kimchi Bokkeumbap

Korean Food

KIMCHI BOKKEUMBAP

Kimchi Bokkeumbap is one of the variations of Bokkeumbap. Although there are a wide range of fried rice dishes that are frequently prepared in Korean cuisine but Kimchi Bokkeumbap is one of the most popular Korean dishes. In Korean, bokkeum means sautéed or fried and bop means steamed rice. So essentially, Kimchi Bokkeumbap or Kimchi Fried Rice is a Korean food such as fried rice with kimchi. Fried rice is a food that is quite popular in Asia. While Kimchi is a traditional fermented food derived from vegetables, particularly cabbage, radish and cucumber. Kimchi is also the main ingredients in many recipes Korean Food, one of them to make Kimchi Bokkeumbap. Kimchi Bokkeumbap is easy to make because it only requires rice, kimchi, a little cooking oil or sesame oil. Kimchi fried rice is favorite and addictive to many mainly for its crunch, pickled and slightly fermented flavor. Moreover, this dish rather cost effective which explains why it’s a common favorite for Korean students on a budget. Not only easy to make, Kimchi Bokkeumbap also sold and readily available in the shop stalls in Korean territory.

For make Kimchi Bokkeumbap must use rice that has cooled overnight or at least for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. To make this dish healthier, use brown rice or brown rice mixed with white rice. It looks prettier and certainly tastes more delicious if cook kimchi bokkeumbap with white rice only. Otherwise, Kimchi Bokkeumbap become like a mush. Moreover, over-ripened kimchi as ingredients are usually preferred in preparing Kimchi Bokkeumbap. Over-ripened kimchi can also be used for cooking kimchi jjigae. Indeed, well-fermented kimchi and chilled rice can produce a flavor of greater richness as opposed to freshly made kimchi and rice. For this Kimchi Bokkeumbap spices can be added pepper, garlic, onion, pepper slices, or leeks. Additionally, various other ingredients can be added according to taste, such as: pork, ham, spam, sausage, canned tuna, and egg. But Pork or spam are the most common.

The classic Korean version of fried rice, Kimchi Bokkeumbap is a bit different from Chinese fried rice. It doesn’t generally contain scrambled egg, but there can be a fried egg with a soft yolk on top. Just like with bibimbap, the diner breaks the egg and uses the yolk to enrich the rice. However, many claim that the Korean fried rice is healthier than the Chinese version. In a plate serving of kimchi bokkeumbap contained 147 calories. Other popular bokkeumbap include Gaeran Bokkeumba (egg fried rice), Dakgalbi Bokkeumbap (chicken) and Seawoo Bokkeumbap (shrimp). Kimchi Bokkeumbap is usually served with a small bowl danmuji and different types of light and hearty soups like miyeok woof, which is soup made ​​with wakame or kongnamul woof. Kimchi is usually made of various vegetables that contain a high concentration with enough nutritional value with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Most types of kimchi contain onions, garlic, and peppers, all of which are salutary. Kimchi is rich in vitamin A, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), calcium, and iron, and contains a number of lactic acid bacteria.

Gejang

Korean Food

GEJANG

Gejang is one of the typical Korean dishes that are well known. Gejang are foods with raw seafood types are usually raw crab with a special sauce. Gejang usually eaten in the spring, because many crabs sold in the market in spring and according to Korean traditional medicine, crab has a cold nature that could cool one's body temperature, so Gejang is believed to be good for driving away the spring fever. Gejang well liked by adults will even by children. Many Koreans call Gejang is a "Meal Thief" or "Rice Killer" or "Rice Robber", a dish so delicious that the accompanying bowl of rice is gone in no time. So in basically, this dish makes us eat a lot of rice because it’s just too delicious. Some areas in South Korea such as Gyeongsang, Jeolla, and Jeju Island are famous for their own characteristic gejang.

Gejang or Gejeot is a variety of jeotgal, salted fermented seafood in Korean cuisine, which is made by marinating fresh raw crabs either in ganjang (soy sauce) or in a sauce based on chili pepper powder. The term consists of the two words Ge meaning A Crab, and Jang which means Condiment in Korean. Although Gejang originally referred only to crabs marinated in soy sauce, it has begun to be called "Ganjang Gejang" these days to differentiate it from "Yangnyeom Gejang". The latter is relatively a new dish that emerged since the restaurant business began to thrive in South Korea. Yangnyeom literally means Seasoning or Seasoned in Korean but refers to the spicy sauce made with chili pepper powder.

To make Gejang, we needs crab's baby and don't need to be cooked before consumption. Simply, the fresh raw crabs are first thoroughly cleaned using a brush while submerged in a bowl of water, and are then rinsed to remove the moisture. Once cleaned, crabs put in earthenware crock or the Korean language "Hangari". Then, left for six hours. To make the sauce, a mixture of sesame oil, sugar, finely sliced scallions, minced garlic, ginger, and finely shredded fresh red chili pepper. After six hours, the crabs are removed from Hangari and poured into the bowl. After that, pour the sauce that was prepared. An hour later, the ganjang is removed from the bowl and reheated until boiling. It is again poured over the crabs, and the procedure is repeated for a third and fourth time. The dish can be eaten once the sauce is chilled. But in addition can be dipped in soy sauce, crab can also be mixed with spicy red batter and flavored with a variety of sauces and eaten raw. Interestingly, because the baby crabs are eaten, the shells are softer than adult crabs can be chewed easily. Gejang is very popular not only in Korea. Crab's baby as the main ingredient is also easily found in any fish market in the country. Gejang is food that is worth a try when in Korea, especially for people who like seafood.

Galbi

Korean Food

GALBI

Korean Barbecue or Korean people generally said Galbi. Galbi is well known both in and outside of Korea as one of the typical dishes from Korea. In Korean, Galbi means ribs or short ribs are meat that is around the ribs. This dish is usually served with a side of lettuce, spinach, or other leafy vegetable, which is used to wrap a slice of cooked meat, often times along with a dab of ssamjang, kimchi, or other side dishes and then eaten as a whole. Its food usually served in winter and autumn.

Galbi is a typical Korean food made from beef, pork, chicken, or other types of meat baked with charcoal and can be given flavor or not. If given flavor, the meat is usually marinated in a sauce made ​​from Asian pear juice, rice wine, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and sugar. This sauce can be made spicy or according to taste. Most recipes contain these basic ingredients but many variations exist from sweet to spicier marinades.

Some variations of Galbi has its own name such as chicken called dakgalbi, Jokbal or pork leg served with clam sauce salty, Ssutbulgalbi or grilled beef ribs, beef ribs Galbitang or soup, Galbijjim or beef ribs with sweet and salty sauce, Dwaeji galbi made with pork ribs that can be seasoned with a typical ganjang-based sauce or gochujang-based sauce (chili pepper condiment), Tteokgalbi made with beef ribs and rice cakes, and LA galbi made with beef ribs thinly cut across the bone.

Some restaurants serve "pork galbi", and chicken galbi is a popular specialty of the Chuncheon region. There was also a Galbitang is a clear soup containing pieces of galbi. Galbi jjigae is a thick stew with many large pieces of galbi, usually single bone cuts, which may also contain red peppers, green peppers, kimchi, and doenjang (Korean bean paste). Galbi Jjim is short ribs braised in sweet soy sauce based sauce. Galbi’s meat is cut thinner than bulgogi. When cooked on a griddle or grill, the meat is usually cut in thin slices across the bones and called L.A. Galbi so that the sauce can seep quickly into the meat and it also makes it will mature faster. With these pieces of meat can be more easily consumed by using chopsticks after being cooked.

Galbi is usually available in most Korean restaurants but it is generally served in venues that specialize in galbi. Such dishes are often prepared at the diner's table on gas or charcoal grills that are built into the center of the table itself. Some Korean restaurants that do not have built-in grills provide portable stoves for diners to use at their tables. Galbi is usually served in restaurants known as "galbijip" (Galbi's Houses). The meat is cooked right at customers' tables on grills set in the tables and usually grilled by the customers themselves.  The meat is then wrapped with lettuce, perilla leaves, or other leaf vegetables. Before you eat, the meat was wrapped in leaves dipped in ssamjang first, the sauce is made from a mixture of soy bean paste and red pepper. It is often accompanied by side dishes known as banchan. In Korea, galbi is also a popular picnic food, and many people have portable gas or charcoal stoves for cooking it outside.

Ramyeon

Korean Food

RAMYEON

Ramyeon is a typical Korean ramen noodles. Ramyeon is often introduced through Korean Drama. Almost every Korean movies and drama series, the ritual of eating Ramyeon is shown. Korean Ramyeon could also mean instant noodles are sold in packs.

Some famous Ramyeon's brand in Korea such as Samyang ramyeon (삼양 라면) which was launched in 1963 and is Korea's oldest ramyeon. Samyang Ramyeon is really genuine ramyeon not given any mix. The second brand is Shin ramyeon launched in 1986. The 'shin' (辛) simply means "spicy/hot". In accordance with characteristic spicy taste Korean food. Spicy Korean food comes in many different levels and aftertastes. There is a hot spicy, there's also a warm. Shin ramyeon spiciness is a mixture of both. Shin ramyeon is also a mixture of stew beef and shiitake mushrooms. Furthermore, Neoguri (너구리) which means "raccoon" in Korean. It's was launched in 1982. Neoguri has a thick noodle compared to all types of existing ramyeon. Naeoguri containing soup with savory flavor that comes from a dashima (다시마), or same meaning with seaweed. Neoguri ramyeon it has a creamy and spicy. Then Ojingeo Jjampong (오징어 짬뽕) is a modified version of ramyeon popular Chinese dish Koreanized of jjampong squid. It's thick noodles and it was not too spicy is suitable for children. And the fifth brand is Anseongtang-myeon (안성 탕 면). This soup is based on a sense ugeoji jangguk (우거지 장국) or green vegetable soup flavor. This ramyeon soup tasted a little spicy.

Ramyeon actually a noodle soup that originated in China, but in China known as ramen. In Japan Ramyeon also known as Ramen. Tokugawa Mitsukuni (Mito Komon) is often referred to as the first Korean people that eat ramyeon. Ramyeon estimated becoming known many people since time immemorial. At that time, ramyeon has entered into the menu of a restaurant in the settlement of Korean descent in Osaka and Yokohama. After that, the Taisho era, noodle seller in Hokkaido already selling ramyeon like ramyeon who known people at this time. Although both types of ramen noodles, but Ramyeon very different from Japanese ramen noodles. Korean Ramyeon, its noodles such as instant noodles are sold packaged in supermarkets, just cooked with a very spicy sauce.

Ramyeon are usually served with meat, eggs, mushrooms, potato, sausage, cheese, seafood, rice cakes, bean sprouts, garlic, spinach, hot pepper powder, vinegar, and so on. The most common ingredients are eggs, dumplings, scallion and kimchi. Vegetables as well as the most common flavoring for ramen is sliced ​​scallions. Obviously, these are additional ingredients, so pick whatever is available or whatever you’d like to. Ramyeon relatively easy to make. Simply by entering the noodles have been boiled briefly into a bowl of soup made from various types of broth. Usually the broth already contains pork broth base. Then add ingredients available or desired. Ramyeon much loved by Korean people, because it is not only easy to make. Ramyeon also having good taste.