“And the Koreans have invaded the
town (nope that’s me with a smile).”
Yes, more than the uber choreographed music K-Pop videos, more than the
fast-paced koreanovelas, and definitely more than Grace Lee (ehe, sorry for the
ladies who might not be able to relate, just click on the link and find out)
the Korean culture has slowly and steadily melted with our existing
culture. This blog’s food house feature
will showcase what we call ‘Korean Fast Food’, dubbed as such because there
have been many nooks established with the very basic dishes served fast minus
all the intricacies of offered by fine dining experience. Lower those eyebrows for a minute (especially
the ever conservative foodies) but for me, if it’s good food, it doesn’t have
to come with fancy plates and silver wares.
But before I officially go on in this what I perceive as a 2 or 3-part
feature, let us go first with the basics.
Crash Course to Korean Cuisine
The web is ‘steaming’ with lots
of information if you type in Korean cuisine.
Here are some of my the basic information I gathered which are think are
vital before you proceed reading.
>>From Wikipedia
Korean
cuisine is said to have originated from the ancient prehistoric traditions in
the Korean Peninsula evolving through a complex interaction of environmental,
political (rich indeed, ehe) and cultural trends. It is largely based upon rice (hurray for
Filipinos), vegetables and meats.
Commonly
used ingredients include sesame oil, doenjang (fermented bean paste), soy
sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and gochujang (fermented red chili
paste)
Korean
food can be largely (and loosely) categorized into groups of “main staple foods”,
subsidiary dishes and dessert. The main
dishes are made from grains such as bap (a bowl of rice), juk (porridge) and
guksu (noodles).
>>From About.com
Korean
food stands out from other cuisines with the many (and very delicious) side
dishes (banchan) (special note: also
sometimes spelled as panch’an) that are served during meals. (This is actually my measure of the
authenticity of any Korean resto/food nook.
If they don’t serve banchan, then they don’t know their food, ehe)
The
number of side dishes can range anywhere from 2 to 12, but everyday meals
feature at least a few. These side
dishes will come in small bowls and can be anything from vegetables to meat to
seafood prepared in any number of ways.
An important note also is that except for the banchan, the Korean dishes
are all served at the same time, so there are no separate courses like in
Western cuisines.
TYPES OF BANCHAN
(a)
Kimchi – the most popular one and it is
almost unimaginable to not have this one in every meal. Sadly, I know plenty of people who shun away
from this by the mere sight (and smell of it).
I think an authentic Korean meal is never complete without this. Just in case you don’t know what this is, it
is referred to as the fermented veggies (usually cabbage – Napa / baechu),
seasoned with chili peppers and salt. On
my checklist this is a definite CHECK!
 |
| (Photo credits - wikibooks.org) |
(b) Namul
– refers to steamed, marinated, or stir-fried vegetables usually seasoned with
sesame oil, salt, vinegar, minced garlic, chopped green onions, dried chili
peppers and soy sauce. This one also gets my check and have tried
it once or twice already.
 |
| (Photocredits - justbento.com) |
(c)
Bokkeum – is a side dish stir-fried with
sauce (like pork stir-fried with kimchi, etc.).
Tried this one too and is highly
recommended.
 |
| (Photocredits - photofinder.com) |
(d) Jorim
– is a dish simmered in a seasoned broth (as in tofu simmered in a soy sauce
mix).
 |
| (Photocredits - Asiansupper.com) |
(e) Jjim
– refers to a steamed side dish (eggs and or fish in hotpot, etc.)
 |
| (Photocredits - mykoreankitchen.com) |
(f)
Jeon – indicates a variety of pan-fried
dishes (like potato pancakes, spring-onion pancakes, etc.). Tried
this one too.
 |
| (Photocredits - fortychestnuts.com) |
(g) Japchae
– sometimes a dish in itself, but is also offered as part of the banchan
set. It refers to glass noodles accompanied
with a variety of vegetable and beef in a slightly-sweet garlic sauce. A must
try for all!
 | |
| (Photocredit - ifood.tv) |
