Food

July 11, 2020

So there's a chance that I have already posted about some of the foods that you will see on this post but here you go anyway! Not all is Korean food but just wanted to give you an idea of mainly Korean foods and just food in general we get on a regular basis. Our kitchen is quite small in both size and height. I'm too tall for the stove and we only had one burner at the beginning but now have two. It still does not allow for easy cooking so we just don't very frequently. It's also about the same cost to eat at a restaurant as long as we are getting Korean food.

Alright, in no particular order of how recently or how frequently we eat this particular food, here goes:

Meet Cheddar, one of our favorite neighborhood baristas. Coffee in Korea is EVERYWHERE and of course some places are better than others. This place, White Bridge Cafe, is one of the best. We will miss frequenting here when we move!

Our favorite sushi place, Nori Table, is California style and we usually order from home using Shuttle (too easy to spend all the money on food there!) We went here for Mother's Day.

Bibimbap. Translates to "everything rice" and it varies by region and even by day and what is available. This bowl has bean sprouts, carrots, seaweed, onion, a variety of greens, pickled radish, marinated zucchini, an egg, and of course, rice. Mix in some spicy red bean paste and you've got yourself a healthy meal! There is also a hot version called dolsot bibimbap and that is good as well but much saltier and just super hot. Food in Korea served in a hot dish takes forever to cool down and when you eat out with kids, you don't have forever.

Sweet potatoes! A favorite hot snack in the cold winter months. Sold on the streets and in convenience stores.

Green tea ice cream as tall as Lotte Tower!

Spicy ramen from our favorite Japanese style ramen place in Gangnam. I wish you could taste the photo. It's so good.

Mexican food is one of the cuisines that is more expensive and tough to find quality. This is from El Pino's in Itaewon which is probably the closest to authentic Mexican food. On the Border has some decent stuff too but so expensive!

More ramen from another ramen place. This one isn't as high quality but it's still good and takes care of the cravings. Also, fried chicken for extra protein.

Chamchi Kimbap-Tuna kimbap-basically like a Korean sushi. I get this all the time and there are many versions. I just prefer this one with the tuna. The ingredients for these can also vary depending on where you go. The best places add a sesame leaf-it adds a bit of a bitter but earthy/herby taste and it's a Korean superfood! The one pictured has a pickled radish, carrots, steamed greens, ham, egg, and a root of something I don't know the name of...

Nagasaki Jjamppong which is a seafood noodle soup. It's very flavorful and is always loaded with mussels and mini shrimp. I feel like I might be taking my chances with ordering this but it is really so good. The noodles are thicker than regular ramen and the boiled cabbage is a good addition as well.

Tteok ramen and fried chicken for lunch on our ski trip!

Seolleongtang or oxbone soup is made from ox bones, briskets, and other such meats. It has thin rice noodles you see in pho so they are pretty similar. It's usually a pretty bland broth so we typically add salt and lots of pepper. I like to add my rice to soak up the liquid.

Finn's kids meal is pretty substantial compared to kids meals you might see elsewhere. A full pork cutlet and a bowl of udon noodles. Of course rice and a corn salad.

Grown-up pork cutlet. Also Japanese food. This is filled with Sweet potato and cheese... yum

Back before Brett and I knew the word for this on our first time around, we called this "Three person, good stuff stew" because we went with our friend and it's full of... good stuff! Now we are much more educated and know that it is actually called Budaejjigae. It is made with ham, sausage, spam, baked beans, kimchi, bacon, hot dogs, ground beef, spicy red bean paste, tofu, tteok (rice cake) and more! You can also opt to add extra ramen or udon noodles. The origins stem from the Korean war and this was a stew Koreans made by scrounging and smuggling US rations. They would put it all in a pot and voila! Dinner.

White kimchi-not spicy and usually served for children or with budaejjijae because that's spicy enough and you still need more kimchi!

Remember that superfood I talked about? Well here it is again as a side dish! This is the sesame leaf that I like in my kimbap. Marinated like this is not my favorite but I do love it for Korean BBQ.

Budaejjigae in it's stewed glory!

Yum, yum, yum!

Hotteok- a hot and sugary filled pancake

Barbecue: samgyupsal-pork belly

Kimchi jjigae: spicy kimchi stew

cheesy ramen

Thai food

mandu: meat and veggie dumplings

tteokboki: spicy, chewy rice cake, one of my favorite snacks

kimchi and pickled radish: popular side dishes with every meal

Tonkatsu: Japanese fried pork cutlet and rice, one of Finn's favorites

Sushi!

Tteok ramen: ramen with sliced rice cake

Kimbap and tteok mandu guk (soup with mandu and sliced rice cake)

Chamchi bibimbap: bibimbap--rice and vegetables, with canned tuna

Ramen

Ramen

Soju-all the flavors in Dan and Mandi's fridge

Bas burger: amazing, and great beer too!

You can buy canned or on the street!

Pizza from The Booth: massive pizza!

Uncle Sam's Pancake House

Quail eggs: common side dish in the school lunch

Tteok mandu guk again but this time with kimchi AND meat mandu

street chicken skewers (and beer)

Bungapang and Gyeranpang: the fish one is basically a pancake flavored pastry filled with red bean paste (bungapang) and the other is a sweet bread with an egg fried on top