Korean Food (Part I of my Apt in Pictures)

If I were to sum up korean food in a few words they would be: very good, pickled, rice and spicy. I really haven't had anything yet that I have not enjoyed. As you may imagine, being that Korea is in Asia, they eat a lot of rice. Many dishes have rice as a part of them, and almost all dishes at least come with a side of rice. They are also really fond of pickling things here. Kimchee is pickled, but they also pickle cucumbers, roots and other unidentifiable vegetables. They are all pretty good, though I still haven't quite gotten used to tasting vinegar with such frequency.

I have tried Kimchee, did so within a few days of getting here. It is severed everywhere as a side dish. I like it. Its spicy and has a strong vinegar taste but I'm slowly getting used to that. As far as I know, kimchee is cabbage, spices, vinegar and who knows what else stuffed into a giant ceramic jar and let alone to ferment for a while. And speaking of side dishes above, everywhere you go you get between 2 and 6 side dishes with your food. (no extra cost)

I guess the best thing to do is just to start listing foods that I've tried and actually know the name of. I'll start with Kimbaab. It looks like a sushi roll but instead of fish it has a pickled yellow root thing, processed ham, random other veggies and can be plain, with meat, tuna, kimchee, cheese, and who knows what else. The tastes actually all combine very well and its super cheap, Plain usually costing around 1,200 won.

Donkass is a pork cutlet that is fried and served with a brown sauce of varying tastes depending on where you get it. Its very good, always comes with rice and can sometimes be stuffed with cheese.

Bosam is steamed pork. It is sliced and served with white kimchee and other side dishes. You put the pork and whatever else you like on the white kimchee and wrap it up. Then you stuff it in your mouth and enjoy.

Galbi fried rice is usually chicken, spices and sauce, rice and veggies all thrown into a large skillet like pan. Its very tasty when done and is a communal type dish. You either scoop some onto your plate or just eat it right from the skillet.

Bibimbap is a rice bowl type dish. It can be any assortment of beef, chicken, seafood, etc with veggies, some sauce and what have you. You mix it up and just start eating it however you feel like.

Mandu are dumplings. Very similar to what you would get at a Chinese restaurant in America. Again these can have various stuffings.

Jay Yook Dop Bap is a rice dish with spicy pork. I'm not sure how else to describe this one. Anyway, thats it for food that I can actually put a name to. I'll try to follow up this post with one on Korean drinks (alcoholic mostly). And as for the pictures, they are my apartment building from a short distance, the entrance to the building and my front door.