Famous for its music, culture and food, Korea has made its way to the bucket list of tourists. Who doesn’t want to visit Korea and experience the richness of its culture, the tasty meals and listen to the popular K-pop music? If you are still contemplating, I bet the list of Korean meals to try will make you want to leave for Korea today!

If you are already in Korea, then that’s perfect because we are here to make sure you enjoy your stay.

You cannot discuss Korea without mentionly “Korean cuisine”.

Korean cuisine refers to the customary cooking traditions and practices of the Korean culinary arts. This has experienced a lot of changes over the past few years.

Of course, the meal you ate as a child may be quite different now, but the fact remains that the changes only made them tastier.

Going through the menu in a Korean restaurant may leave you confused because there are lots of great meals you would find on that menu. We are here to make it easier for you with our recommendations.

Top Korean meals you can’t live without

  • Kimchi: You cannot visit Korea without tasting kimshi and, if you already did that, well you have to take the next available flight back to Korea for kimshi and you would be grateful you did. Kimshi is prepared by salting fermented cabbage in a bed of ginger, pepper, garlic, scallion and other spices you’d love to add. If you are a vegetarian, i recommend this because it doesn’t break your vegetarian rules. If you are not a vegetarian, you will also love this.
  • Ramyeon (instant noodles): If you see a lot of korean movies, you will definitely be craving dor raymeon right now. This is not just the regular instant noodles you are accustomed to. It is prepared in a way different from the regular way. Ramyeon is prepared by adding the noodles and the spice to boiling water then canned tuna, cheese, and eggs are added. Wondering what makes this stand out? Well, here it is – Unlike other noodles, ramyeon is served watery.
  • Soft tofu stew: Just like the name sounds, it is made from freshly curdled soft tofu. The soft tofu is prepared with onions, vegetables, meat or seafood. Raw egg can also be added to the stew before serving. This can be eaten with white rice.
  • Bulgogi: This is a delicious dish of grilled marinated beef. The beef is grilled with onions, garlic and flavor. It is one of the popular korean meat dishes that make travellers crave for more. The meat can be eaten with a thick red spicy paste known as ssamjang and it is usually wrapped in lettuce.
  • Ddukbokki: This is spicy red cake commonly spelt as tteokbokki. It is made of triangular fish cake, cylindrical rice cakes, sweet red chilli sauce and vegetables. If you love spicy foods, then this is for you.
  • Bibimbap (mixed rice): Just a look at this meal would make you place an order for it and the good news is that it tastes as nice as it looks. It is a dish containing mixed ingredients like rice, mushrooms, beef, namul (seasoned and sauted vegetables), chilli pepper paste and fried egg. The amazing thing about this meal is that the ingredients vary from region to region. Who knows, you might want to try all the Bibimbap from all the regionsm
  • Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup): The word ginseng rings a bell. It is a traditional soup made of rice, chicken, scallion, garlic, korean ginseng, spices and korean jujube. If you know about the popular korean ginseng, you will be familiar with the health benefits it possesses. This dish is creamy with high nutritional value.
  • Hobakjuk (pumpkin porridge): If you love grainy dishes, you will love Hobakjuk. It is a korean porridge made from glutinous rice soaked in water and steamed pumpkin. The pumpkin makes this very delicious and it is recommended for people who cannot eat heavy meals due to their health status.
  • Soondae (blood sausage): This meal is made of pig’s intestines stuffed with ingredients like pork blood, barley and noodles. The ingredients used in soondae (sundae) vary from region to region. Soondae is usually soft and flavorful on the side and chewy on the outside.
  • Patbingsu: if you talk about korean desserts without including patbingsu, then your list is incomplete. It is one of the most popular korean desserts. It is made with sweet toppings and ice shavings and decorated with red beans and chopped fruits. There are chances that you may be served a big bowl of this in a restaurant. Not to worry, this is the korean culture and you not even want to share that big bowl of tasty patbingsu with anyone.
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