These are the eleven most famous Korean dishes; the dishes you simply have to try when you travel to South Korea.
And even if you are determined to choose a lesser-known Korean dish, restaurant owners will suggest these dishes to you if you take too long (say one minute) to decide what to eat from the Korean menu. You’d think they’d be impressed that you made an effort to translate and understand the menu….
1) Korean BBQ
The number one spot on this list goes to Korean Barbeque. If you have ever watched a Korean TV show or movie, you will have seen this one. So go find a Korean BBQ restaurant and grill your own meat. If they let you… Restaurant staff are very helpful, and as such, they will go out of their way to help you grill and cut the meat.
The most common meat to put on the grill is samgyeopsal (pork belly, 삼겹살), but you can often buy other cuts of pork, or beef and chicken. On Jeju Island, you can try black pork, and if you go to a seafood restaurant, for example in Boryeong‘s Daecheon beach, you can grill shellfish and snails, or eel.
When the meat is ready, take a perilla leaf or lettuce, add some garlic, ssamjang (spicy sauce), kimchi, rice, the meat you grilled, and whatever else you like to wrap it up in a delicious package.
2) Korean Fried Chicken (치킨 / 닭강정)
The Korean Fried Chicken is a contender for the #1 spot on this list. Ideal for takeout or delivery, but also lots of fun to eat in a restaurant. This dish often comes with radishes and tastes very good with beer. You’ll need the beer and radish if you order one of the spicy flavors. The crispy coating is what makes Korean Fried Chicken so delicious.
3) Bulgogi (불고기)
Bulgogi – nicknamed Korean BBQ beef – is thinly sliced beef marinated in a sweet sauce. It is the number one dish so helpfully recommended by restaurant staff and other customers when you seem to be having trouble deciding what to eat. And by difficulty, I mean that it takes you more than a minute to decipher the all-Korean menu.
4) Jjajangmyeon (짜장면) / Jjajangbap
Have you also spent some time wondering what the noodle dish with black bean sauce (춘장) is called? It is Jjajangmyeon (with noodles) or Jjajangbap (with rice). It is usually served in Chinese restaurants in South Korea, or tiny restaurants that specialize in this dish. You will usually find cubes of pork and vegetables in it, but you can also order a seafood version with octopus, shrimp and the like.
5) Dakgalbi (닭갈비)
The city of Chuncheon is famous for its Dakgalbi. There is a whole street – Myeongdong street – that specializes in this dish. It consists of pieces of chicken, cabbage, rice cake, sweet potato and, of course, spicy sauce. In the Hongdae neighborhood of Seoul, I found a restaurant that serves cheese on the side.
6) Bibimbap (비빔밥)
Bibimbap is rice topped with thinly sliced vegetables and meat or seafood. You can often choose from different toppings, including vegetarian options. The city of Jeonju is famous for its Bibimbap with raw beef tartare.
What makes Bibimbap such a great choice is that you never know what vegetables are going to be used. In Sokcho I ate this dish with wild mountain vegetables and in Tongyeong seaweed was added to the rice (and sliced sashimi).
7) Stir-fried Spicy Pork (제육볶음)
You will find this dish on the menu in most restaurants and it always tastes delicious. The degree of spiciness and the side dishes vary from restaurant to restaurant, so you can order this dish over and over again.
8) Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup (삼계탕)
This soup is great for your health, so if you feel like you’re about to get a cold, have some Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup (Samgyetang). See if you can find a specialized restaurant because this dish deserves to be eaten at its best.
What makes this chicken soup so special is that you find a whole chicken in your soup bowl, which you then get to dissect with chopsticks and a spoon. The chicken is stuffed with rice, Korean ginseng, jujube, chestnuts, ginko nuts and garlic.
9) Army Stew (부대찌개)
When you lack inspiration, you can’t go wrong with a skillet filled with army stew (budae jjigae) in front of you. This may not be the healthiest dish on this list, but it will fill your belly.
In the stew you will usually find spam, sausages, tofu, enoki, rice cake, and a variety of vegetables.
10) Porridge (죽)
Porridge is a light meal and is therefore often served to sick people. A porridge of pine nuts or one with abalone does wonders for health. It is also a good option for breakfast, as porridge restaurants open early. You can also buy porridge as a quick meal or sweet treat (red bean porridge and pumpkin porridge) at a traditional market.
11) Seaweed Soup (미역국)
