Korean Food with the international touch
Whenever you go to a new place, you must try to eat the what the locals eat. But sometimes the local food isn’t originally from the place where you are now. In Korea, there are some kinds of food which are inherited or inspired from its neighboring countries, such as Japan and China. But they are quite popular and many tourists love them.
1. Jjajjangmyeon ( 짜짱면 )
Jjajjangmyeon is basically noodles with black soybean sauce. Usually there are some ingredients added to this food, such as pork, vegetables,etc. This food was originally from China. So that’s why jjajjangmyeon is always available in the Chinese food restaurants in Korea. The original name of this food is zhajiangmian and it was firstly served in Shandong region, China. But Korean jjajjangmyeon is a lot different from the original one since it uses onion as one of the ingredients.
2. Kimbab ( 김밥 )
Kimbab is a rice-rolled dish filled with egg, vegetables, beef, tuna, cheese and rolled with a nori ( seaweed laver ). It looks like a sushi roll from Japan. Kimbab is one of the most popular and quickest breakfast meal around. It is can be found at the local street stalls and small Korean food joints. It doesn’t cost a lot, approximately 2.500 won per roll. Kimbab is derived from Japanese futomaki ( makizushi ). Makizushi uses vinegared rice, but kimbab uses sesame oil instead. There are some varieties of kimbab, so better you try them all.
3. Jjambbong ( 짬뽕)
This was the first food I ate after I arrived in Daejeon. Jjambbong is a hot seafood soup with a really thick seafood broth served with noodles or rice and kimchi. Jjambbong is available in the Chinese food restaurant, but nowadays you can find jjambbong in te local Korean food resaurant. Jjambbong is derived from northern China, such as Beijing and Shandong. This soup is filled with oyster, squid, shrimp, slices of fish, spring onion, tofu, etc. I ate jjambbong in a restaurant in Daejeon and I found out that I could adjust the hotness of the soup. My tongue burned so bad! I need rice to neutralize the heat on my mouth and throat. If you’re a spicy food lover, you better give it a try!
So don’ forget to list these food down on your list when you visit Korea. The delicacy of these food will bring you to another sensation when enjoying Korean cuisine. Happy eating !