Top 5 korean food you have to try

All images are of my attempts to follow the recipes linked below. The recipes are easy to follow and each one is incredibly delicious. If you can make these dishes you should because home cooking is always best, but if it is not possible, be sure to try them all out at your local Korean restaurant. You should also note that the recipes all contain videos of the cooking process.

The Korean culture is quite unique in its approach to food. Food seems to permeate every aspect of life. If you have watched a Korean drama or movie you will undoubtedly have noticed that in at least one scene someone is eating. There are even entire films and dramas based around Korean cuisine. For Koreans food is much more than something to fill the belly – it provides taste, medicine, and a connection to the country. Below  this is a list of five dishes that are truly the most delicious; these are foods that every Westerner will love as much as Koreans.
5
Yangnyeom Tongdak Seasoned Fried Chicken -양념통닭
I guarantee that once you try this, you will be ditching KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) and switching to the other KFC – Korean Fried Chicken. This fried chicken has to be tasted to be believed. When you bite into a piece of this chicken you are initially met with a sticky, sweet, spicy red sauce. But then your teeth crunch through a triple cooked batter so crispy that you wouldn’t believe it possible. This then leads to the most incredibly moist and flavorsome chicken inside. This really is one of the most delicious Korean foods ever invented. In Korea there are many shops selling their own special version of yangnyeom tongdak and they deliver until the late house of the night. But home made is always better. This recipe is particularly good as it shows (because of the addition of ketchup) how Koreans are willing to adopt foreign flavors and use them to their advantage. You need to try this as soon as possible.



4 Japchae
Stir Fried Noodles –
Japchae is one of the most popular Korean dishes both inside and outside of Korea and when you taste it you will understand why. Originally japchae was made without noodles – it was invented for the King by one of his chefs and he loved it so much that it became famous across Korea. In more recent times the noodles were added and now they are an essential element to the dish. The noodles used are sweet potato starch noodles which give japchae its very distinct chewy texture. The vegetables are all lightly cooked so they retain all their flavor. This is definitely a great alternative to the typical (and often bland) stir fry we all cook at home when we want “Chinese”. Korean dish.
3 Bulgogi Marinated Beef BBQ – 불고기

Bulgogi (Korean pronunciation: [pulɡoɡi]) or neobiani[1] is a Korean dish that usually consists of marinated barbecued beef, chicken or pork. It is listed at number 23 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.

The word Bulgogi (불고기) literally means "fire meat" in Korean, derived from Pyongan dialect, equivalent to neobiani in Seoul dialect. It refers to cooked marinated meat, applied old traditional grilling techniques using gridirons or perforated dome griddles that sit on braziers, unlike deep frying or boiling in water. The term is also applied to variations such as dak bulgogi (made with chicken) or dwaeji bulgogi (made with pork), depending on what kind of meat ingredient and corresponding seasoning are used.


Bulgogi is believed to have originated during the Goguryeo era (37 BC–668 AD) when it was originally called maekjeok (맥적), with the beef being grilled on a skewer. It was called neobiani (너비아니), meaning "thinly spread" meat, in the Joseon Dynasty and was traditionally prepared especially for the wealthy and the nobility class

Bulgogi is an extremely versatile way of preparing beef and the one most westerners have sampled at Korean restaurants. Typically in the west we eat bulgogi on a korean barbecue – a hot plate in the middle of the table. But in Korea this is just one of many ways. It can be made into a stew (as in the recipe above) or as the basis for other dishes. It is such a versatile marinated meet that you could even use it to replace pulled pork in a western style sandwich. Bulgogi is very thinly sliced beef which is marinated in a sauce made from pear juice, garlic, soy sauce, and many other things. There are as many recipes as their are uses. The end result is a delicious sweet, savory, and soft slice of meat.


2 Bibimbap Mixed Rice – 비빔밥
Bibimbap (비빔밥, Korean pronunciation: [pibimp͈ap̚] is a signature Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed meal" or "mixed rice". Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions.  It can be served either cold or hot.

. All of the ingredients except the meat (which is optional) are prepared in advance so you can add them at room temperature to the top of hot steamed rice. You then quickly fry and add the meat and a sunny-side up egg to the top. Bibimbap is usually served with a spicy sauce made from gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) which you can add to your liking – allowing you to control how hot it is. You then use your spoon (Korean food is always served with metal chopsticks and a spoon) to “bibim” it all until it is completely mixed together. The trick then is to see how much you can fit in your mouth in one go! Well, not really, but it tastes so good that that is invariably what happens at my house. This really is a taste sensation and it really is impossible not to fall in love at first bite.
In Korea, Jeonju, Jinju, and Tongyeong are especially famous for their versions of bibimbap. It is listed at number 40 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.


1. Kimchi
Fermented Cabbage – 김치
Kimchi is the national dish of Korea. At first it can sound daunting to us westerners because of the word “fermented” but don’t forget that we eat a lot of fermented foods already – yoghurt and bread for example. In the case of kimchi the cabbage is coated leaf by leaf in a delicious spicy mix of hot pepper flakes, garlic, chives, onion, pear juice, and more. It is then able to be eaten right away (in which case it is fresh, not fermented) or you can leave it out of the refrigerator for two or three days to start the fermentation process. As it ferments it develops a rich and slightly sour flavor – true also of German sauerkraut (which means sour herb or cabbage). It lasts for months and is also used as the base for many other dishes such as kimchi stew and even as a filling for kimbap (Korean sushi). Kimchi is such an important dish in Korea that it is eaten with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It may not look pretty but it sure tastes good! And if you don’t have time to make it yourself (it can be a little time consuming) it is always available pre-made at your local Korean grocery.