Let me just start by saying that I love Korean food. While there were things that I tried simply to see what it actually tastes like in Korea, there were also dishes that I had never had before. Here are my top 10 foods to try ranked in order and the restaurants that I enjoyed them at:
Table of Contents
1. Ganjang-gejang
Ganjang gejang is a raw crab dish where the crab is marinated in soy sauce. It is enjoyed with rice and banchan (side dishes). Ours was already cut in a way where it was easy to suck the crab meat out. DO NOT THROW AWAY the crab guts. The lady working there made sure to inform us that the guts were the best part and they did not disappoint… the crab guts were super delicious over a bed of warm rice.
My friend liked it so much, that she ordered it a la carte another night, but I would recommend going to a restaurant that specializes in ganjang-gejang for the full experience!
Where we ate: Hamcho Ganjang Gejang
2. Soondae Guk Bap
Soondae guk is a hearty Korean blood sausage soup. This was my favorite comfort food to eat in Seoul. The soup is a bone broth that contains sliced soondae, various cuts of pork offal, and chives. Soondae can be made with various ingredients but commonly contains pork blood, glass noodles and glutinous rice. The texture is chewy, kind of like mochi. White rice is served on the side. You can add the preferred amount of salt, perilla powder, a seasoning paste, and picked radishes for more flavor.
We were seated right before lunch rush for the nearby office workers. I got the feeling that it wasn’t a lunch spot to dilly dally at so we slurped our soup and left. Definitely a great dish to get a taste of local cuisine and one of my favorites during the trip!
Where we ate: 백암왕순대순대국 와이티엔점
3. Dakgalbi
Dakgalbi is a stir-fried marinated chicken rib dish that comes with ttebokki (rice cakes), cabbage, and other vegetables. We ordered ours with some cheese, and a pairing of soju and beer.
Save some room, because the leftover sauce gets mixed up with some rice to make this tasty stir-fried rice!
Where we ate: Jangin Dakgalbi
4. Yukhoe Bibimbap
Yukhoe bibimbap is essentially a mixed rice dish with raw beef. If you can eat beef tartare, you can definitely eat yukhoe. We had ours in Jeonju and it came with meal set with many side dishes, and even some soup to cleanse the palate at the end. When the bibimbap arrives, take your pics and mix up that rice bowl!
Where to eat: 하숙영가마솥비빔밥
5. Korean Fried Chicken
While Korean Fried Chicken has started to grow in popularity in the States, it is still worth trying this crispy double fried chicken in South Korea. There are so many korean fried chicken chains, and you’ll see delivery bikes running around to deliver them from time to time.
I am boring and my favorite flavor is plain fried chicken but yangnyeom is a sweet and spicy flavor that is usually pretty popular if you can handle a bit of spice! They typically come with pickled radish on the side.
Where we ate: delivery from bb.q chicken
6. Mandu
Mandu is Korean dumpling and it will come steamed, fried or in soup. My friends and I ordered a sampling from a stall down the street from Ssamzigil and our favorite from there was the steamed galbi mandu, I would probably pass on the fried ones if I went again.
Where we ate: Bukchon Sonmandu Insa Main Branch
7. Gimbap
Gimbap or kimbap is a Korean nori roll filled with a variety of fillings, usually cooked. The rice is usually seasoned with sesame oil. If anyone has watched Extraordinary Attorney Woo, you would’ve seen her smash on many gimbap throughout the drama series. The gimbap restaurant I went to had a little fish cake soup station in the back, which I indulged in while waiting for them to roll my gimbap.
Where to eat: Donggyo Gimbap this just happened to be a place nearby our Airbnb when I was walking around looking for breakfast, but it sure hit the spot.
8. Bingsu
Bingsu is a Korean shaved ice dessert and can be topped with a variety of things including syrup, chopped fruit, condensed milk, red beans, mochi and more. It is very refreshing to have one of these on a hot day and the size is usually shareable.
Where we ate: In Jeonju, we ate at masirange but there are probably many other places you can choose from, wherever you go! Masirange had a photo booth area for those trying to get a framed Instagram picture.
9. Street Food
If you smell something sweet and spicy in the streets, chances are you may be smelling tteokbokki, a rice cake roll that is swimming in a spicy sauce. There are so many other street food to try in Korea, try as much as your stomach can fit!
Where to eat: Anywhere, but easy to find at Myeongdong Night Market.
10. Ramyeon
Some of you may be wondering why instant ramen is on the list. It’s on the list for the experience. Try buying a packet of ramyeon, any toppings you prefer (fish cake, sausage, boiled egg, kimchi, etc), and going to the back of the convenience store and eating it right in the front/back of the store. It’s a good quick snack! Or better yet, try buying a pack at the Han River and eating it with a view.
Where to eat: convenience store or Han River
Other Things I tried but could skip next time:
- Eggcellent – Korean egg sandwiches are featured all the time in dramas. I didn’t find mine that enjoyable because their egg sandwiches are more sweet than I expected and it just wasn’t my thing.
- Korean BBQ – This may depend on where you live, but I’ve eaten Korean BBQ all over the West Coast of the U.S. and I preferred it over the one I had at Gogikkun Kimchubae. The cocktails were good though!
