Image credit: Hanjip

Author: Rosalyn Ding

With the burgeoning of Korean restaurants in Malaysia serving everything from traditional BBQ sets to the trendy Korean fried chicken with melted cheese, the Korean food wave has hit us; and hard. Think you know your kimchi? Well, there's that, and a whole host of other lip-smacking delicacies. Here's to celebrating this welcomed food culture with an introduction on some classic Korean dishes!

Kimchi

Image credit: Maangchi

Kimchi is a Korean staple made from cabbage, carrots, and scallion that's mixed with chili paste and left to ferment before consumption. It is eaten as an accompaniment to almost any Korean dish and present at every meal, even breakfast. In recent times, kimchi has risen to fame due to the many claimed health benefits such as improving the digestive system, being rich in antioxidants, and helping to curb food cravings.

Banchan

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Banchan is a collective name for the small side dishes that typically accompany rice meals. There can be as little as three or as many as 12 banchan, which is used in Korean royal cuisine. Kimchi is an expected banchan inclusion, while other standard options range from gyeran-mari (Korean rolled omelette), zucchini kimchi, pickled radish, and stir-fried spinach to macaroni salad and stir-fried beansprouts.

Pajeon

Image credit: The Wanderlust Kitchen

AKA scallion pancake. Pa- means scallion, while -jeon means pancake. There are two main varieties – seafood or kimchi. The former has ingredients like shellfish and squid, while the latter is perfect for kimchi enthusiasts. Depending on the main ingredient, the name will change accordingly. For example, if the dominant ingredient is squid (ojing'eo), it would then be an ojing'eo jeon (squid pancake). The base batter is made from eggs, wheat flour, rice flour, and scallions.

Bibimbap

Image credit: Jakub Kapusnak

Bibimbap is a warm rice dish. Bibim means the action of mixing, and bap means rice. The dish is eaten by first mixing all the ingredients. Typically served in a stone bowl, white rice is topped with slices of sauteed vegetables, a raw or fried egg, chili pepper paste (gochujang), and fermented bean paste (doenjang). Additional toppings include choices like beef or chicken.

Bulgogi

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Bulgogi translates literally to 'fire meat.' Thin slices of meat (beef or pork) are marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ground black pepper, and scallions to enhance their flavour and tenderness. Although the meat for bulgogi was traditionally grilled on a barbecue of stove-top griddle, it is commonly stir-fried nowadays. Bulgogi can taste a little sweet, and is usually eaten as a dish with white rice, or wrapped in a lettuce leaf with accompaniments like kimchi and sliced raw garlic.

Gimbap

Image credit: Filippo Faruffini

This familiar-looking rice delicacy is what the Koreans call gimbap. Gim refers to dried sheets of nori seaweed while bap is rice, as we've learned. This dish is made with cooked rice and other ingredients, then shaped into a roll with the nori seaweed as a wrapper of sorts. Gimbap is usually filled with many ingredients like luncheon meat, spicy cooked squid, beef, imitation crab meat, egg strips, spinach, burdock root, cheese, and even bulgogi.

Japchae

Image credit: Kimchi Chick

Japchae is stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables that can be served as banchan or on a bowl of rice. The most common noodle type used is called dangmyeon, a kind of cellophane noodles made from sweet potato starch. The noodles are stir-fried with assorted vegetables, meat, and mushrooms to create a light yet filling dish.

Samgyeopsal

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Samgyeopsal is grilled pork belly, a favourite at Korean BBQ places. Worry not, Muslim friends, as plenty of Korean restaurants in Malaysia are halal-certified and offer beef and chicken instead of pork. Customers can choose if they prefer to cook the meat on the grill at their table, or ask the restaurant to cook it for them. The grilled meat is usually eaten by making a wrap of sorts with fresh lettuce leaves, gochujang, kimchi, and raw garlic.

Tteok-bokki

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Tteok-bokki, or stir-fried rice cakes, is a popular Korean street snack. It comprises stir-fried rice cakes, thin slices of fishcake, hard-boiled eggs, and scallion in a spicy chili paste (gochujang). Now, there are multiple versions of this dish including curry, cream sauce, seafood, jajang (black bean paste), and galbi (grilled ribs). It is usually eaten as a snack, however many restaurants in Malaysia have added things like ramen, chicken, and cheese and turned this into a full-fledged meal.

Kimchi Fried Rice

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A basic but a goodie, kimchi fried rice is a standard dish you'll find in any Korean restaurant. Usually comes topped with a fried egg.

Jjajangmyeon

Image credit: Maangchi

The sauce, jjajjang, is made from a fried sweet bean sauce, soy sauce, meat or seafood, ginger, and garlic. It was once favoured by many due to its economical price point. Perhaps you could think of it as a form of thick noodles wantan mee with a thicker, more starchy and meaty black sauce.

Ramyeon

Image credit: Hanbing Korean Dessert Cafe

Basically, Korean instant noodles. If you've watched the hit reality TV show Running Man, you'll know how much they love their ramyeon. There are all kinds of ramyeon soups and ingredients to suit your preference, from a spicy seafood soup to a porky broth with kimchi. Make your own by buying ramyeon from departmental stores and add any additional ingredients to suit your taste. Cheese is a popular choice!

Naengmyeon

Image credit: Jolan Wathelet

This noodle dishes is pretty special and worth trying if you haven't. It is a cold dish of handmade starchy noodles (buckwheat, potato, and sweet potato are common varieties) that come in two main ways. The first is a served as a cold soup with noodles in a broth made from beef, chicken, or dongchimi. Another version is called bibim naengmyeon, which uses a chili paste and is eaten by mixing all ingredients in the bowl, like bibimbap.

Samgyetang

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Also known as ginseng chicken soup, samgyetang is a nourishing dish that's perfect for when you're feeling a little under the weather. A whole young chicken is stuffed with rice, garlic, ginseng, and jujube and boiled until tender.

Cheese Buldak

Image credit: Maangchi

If you love Korean fried chicken and cheese, you've probably already tried this. Cheese buldak is chunks of Korean fried chicken served with melted cheese for dipping. Google up the nearest restaurant that serves this and try this fail-proof dish!

Eaten as: A snack or full meal, depending on the portion

Gyeran Jjim

Image credit: Ipegasu

This fluffy, steamy bowl of goodness is a gyeran jjim, or egg souffle. There are several versions of this dish, however the most common would look like the one above, that doesn't have much soup. The fluffiness is achieved by gently whisking the egg and stock combination while cooking, then leaving it to steam for another 5 minutes. Gyeran jjim is sometimes served as a banchan, as a great complement to the other more flavourful and spicy dishes.

Eaten as: Accompaniment or banchan

Goguma Mattang

Image credit: My Korean Kitchen

You've reached the last dish, so here's a (sweet) potato. Goguma mattang is candied sweet potato. If you're lucky, you might get this as a banchan sometimes. Deep-fried sweet potato cubes are coated in a sugar glaze to create a sweet and crunchy potato treat. It is recommended that you eat goguma mattang within 30 minutes of it being cooked, which shouldn't be a problem.