Food

Food in Korea is really delicious, but you have to be able to enjoy spicy food. Back in the U.S. I admittedly wasn't the biggest vegetable guy in the world, but in Korea they disguise the bitter taste of some vegetables with delicious and very flavorful sauces. For this entry, I'll just put up some pictures and give brief explanations.



It is relatively cheap to eat out in Korea, but only if you eat Korean food. Eating out is even more economical because you don't have to tip. This was less than $15 worth of food that I split with one other teacher. The top dish in the black bowl is bi bim bap, which consists of rice, veggies, and a red pepper paste. This particular order was dol sot bi bim bap, meaning it's served in a very hot stone bowl with an egg freshly cracked on top. As you stir the food, the egg cooks. Very yummy. The other main dish was a noodle dish that looked better in the picture than it tasted. I have had some delicious noodles since coming here though. The dumplings are called mandoo, which are stuffed with pork and vegetables. The meal also includes soup and other small side dishes, which is characteristic of Korean meals.


Samgyeopsal- A true delicacy, especially for all of those who love bacon as much as I do. It's one of the two meats I've had at a Korean BBQ so far. The other is galbi (marinated strips of beef), which though I've eaten three times, I do not have any pictures of it. Samgyeopsal is thick strips of pork belly, that are thrown onto a grill right at your table. The strips are then cut up and you put a piece or two on to a leaf of lettuce, along with grilled onions and garlic and scrumptious sauces. To the right of the pork in the first picture is kimchi, Korea's national food. It sounds disgusting at first, but if you come to Korea, you have no choice but to like it because it is served with every meal. It is pickled cabbage covered in red pepper and garlic. It's really grown on me in my short time here, and it tastes truly delicious grilled.
















In Korea there are tons of street vendors, selling anything from fried food to sweets to silk worm larvae (for some reason, I haven't made it around to trying those just yet...). This is me and two of the other new teachers, Dara and Alexa eating this delicious pancake-like treat filled with cinnamon and sugar.


Dak Galbi- This is basically a chicken stir fry cooked in a frying pan right at your table. It contains chicken which has been marinated in a spicy red sauce, sweet potato, greens, some zucchini or cucumber, cabbage, onion, and these chewy rice cakes called dak bokki. You can order it "with cheese," which we did.















That's all.