Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Zyzyfer]

You shove it in your mouth, chew, and shove something different in your mouth if it doesn't taste so good. Eventually, you'll swallow and everything will be okay.

I never realized just how many foods were fermented, though. I never really thought about cheese until I came here, and now it seems like 3/4ths of today's foods was discovered when crap would spoil and our ancestors would shove it in their mouths regardless.

[shevek]

Where are you from that didn't have kimchee? We ate kimchi in the Netherlands and in San Diego. I thought it was one of the most famous foods in the world. And for me, the amount of rice available with most dishes here allows a nice "bland-ing" (I know that's not a word) to take place whenever something is too spicy or intense in flavor.

[Zed]

I never encountered kimchee until I came to Korea. I wouldn't think that it's particularly famous.

[Corporal]

Yeah...what he said.

[shevek]

I am curious, so let me repeat it: where are you from? I know people from several countries who aren't Korean and who've never been here who are familiar with kimchi. I know it's not as famous as sushi, but I thought it was fairly well known in more urban areas.

[Zed]

I lived in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Saskatoon as an adult and travelled to 20 countries before I came here. The only place I encountered kimchi before I landed in Korea was at the Anchorage airport about 12 hours earlier.

[batman]

Korean food spicy? hahahahahahahahaha
Oh, that's a good one. Almost as funny as that thread on getting fingerprinted for the arc.
hahahahahaha
Thanks for the morning smile.

(although, i should add, the best and spiciest kim-chi i have had was in japan. the stuff in (south) korea tends to be sour and salty but, like the rest of the food here, rarely spicy. i am amazed, though, that kimchi is not made with a ton and half of sugar like the rest of the food stuff here.)

[shawner88]

This is a great topic. When I came here, my (soon to realize daddy's girl) coworker convinced me that all Korean food is dirty and awful. She took me to all the places that had "western" food. For awhile I avoided Korean foods all together because I hung out with her. When she quit, thank God, I was on my own and totally sick of Korean style western food. I started to try new dishes. Some good ones to start with as a westerner are Bulgogi, Garbi-Tang (beef soup), Sam Gyeop Sal, Mandu, Bimimbap, Sam Gae Tang (wonderful chicken soup) etc... I used to find Kimchi horribly disgusting. But I tried a little here and there, and it really does grow on you. I can't imagine ever living without it now. I buy it all the time and always enjoy trying new kinds and styles. It tastes wonderful to me! I love it!
In fact, I now enjoy most Korean food so much, I no longer crave western food anymore, except an occasional fast food burger or sandwich (oh I miss turkey, salami, real cheese, etc). If I had continued on with the diet I lived on in the states as a bachelor, I would be dead of a heart attack at age 30, or fat.

Some people on this board have scoffed at this, but I do have to say some Korean foods are spicy. Certain Kimchis can be too pastey and hot as well, you can tell by looking at them. Look for the glossy kind. Some Korean foods, mostly "chigaes" are hot as well: Sundubu or Buddae (the one with cut up hotdogs in it), and depending on the cook, Dwen Jang (sometimes has too many jalepeno peppers) and Kimchi Chigae can be hot, but not always. If the soup is bright red, it's bound to burn, in other words. Another dish to be careful about is Nokksi Bokum, fried Octupus, which usually has way too much red sauce in it. (Yes, you will likely like certain kinds of octupus dishes sooner or later).

I hope this helps you. Just give it time and try a little here and there. My guess is that you will learn to enjoy the wonderful foods Korea has to offer.

If you want to try some "clean" and good tasting kimchi, get a bag of manufactured Poki Kimchi at any supermarket. Just ask for it. It's a little more expensive than the average kind, but it has a wonderful taste. Oh wonderful, really! I buy it once a week. Also, most radish based Kimchi is pretty good for a newbie. I spent a lot of time on this post. Good luck!

[Son Deureo!]

It was never a matter of getting used to Korean food for me, I liked most of it right away. I lived in the dorms for my entire four years, so I am no longer a very picky eater, so this helps. I'm from Buffalo, so I was raised on suicide wings, plus I'd say most Americans (can't speak for anyone else) grow up on enough spicy food that Korean food shouldn't be too big of a deal.

Some things I don't like, and never will. The intestine stirfries (gop-chang and mak-chang), acorn jelly (dok-tori-mok), giant sea snails (so-ra), anchovies (myeol-chee), cheap kimbap (won-jo kimbap, the kind that always costs W1000), and anything radish oriented are not things that I ever expect to like, or even try again. So what? You don't have to like everything and there are plenty of options.

There are plenty of dishes out there, and most of them appeal just fine to the Western palate. Any grilled meat is good, omu rice, kalbi tang, jay-yook-deop-bap, ddeok-gook, sam-gye-tang, and saeng-seon-goo-ee are all non-spicy dishes that are pretty innocuous. There's a great list of foods here with descriptions and the names in roman script and hangeul, I'm sure you can find something you'll enjoy:http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=6005&highlight=food

If you can't handle Korean food, you can always just cook for yourself for the next year.

[bucheon bum]

[Joe Thanks]

Occasionally a bit dry, like a good martini. I appreciate reading your posts.

Cheers,

Joe

[Joe Thanks]

You might want to try some North Korean style cuisine (yes, they have great cuisine, before Kim Jeong-Hitler slowly starved his own people so he could have 8 custom-built pizza ovens, several harems and whatnot � North Korea had food and made great stuff). I forget the chains� name, but one dude who fled the oppressive north found asylum in South Korea, and taking advantage of the start-up dough SK gives to NK refugees when he arrived, he opened one restaurant, then another, and another �and his chain specializes in NK style cuisine.

NK style cuisine isn�t as spicy and doesn�t feature a lot of �gochu� (hot red peppers South Koreans inherited from Japan � who inherited them from the Spanish or Portuguese) in the dishes.

North Korean kimchi is called �baek kimchi,� literally, �white kimchi.� It�s more vinegary and is quite good. It also doesn�t ferment for as long as red kimchi.

North Korean �mandu� is truer to the dish�s Chinese roots and uses chunks of seasoned meat rather than minced hamburger-like meat. There are some great chicken and pork dishes as well, and some wonderful potato sside-dishes.

No joke � maybe the NK style Korean cuisine is more to your liking? Try getting a Korean friend to help you find some.

I like both Koreas� cuisines, but I don�t care much for NK in and of itself (ouch!).


Cheers,

Joe

[matthewwoodford]

You're all strange and weird!!

I loved kimchi right from the get go - first came across it in Oz - maybe cos in England I'm a fan of pickles, piccallilli, Worcester sauce, relishes, mustard and all the other sharp hot stuff. So I wrongly assumed I would like Korean food - found it far too hot at first. Indian or Mexican food never fazed me but Korean food did. Yet it's addictive and now I absolutely love it!

How on earth can any westerner take to it straight away though? Beats me. I prided myself on being willing to try anything but found it hard to eat for months before it all clicked.

[little mixed girl]

.....

[princess]

Hey bugs,
When I first came to Korea I wanted to try kimchi right away. I got here around 10AM and my boss took me to a place and I ate some kimchi and LOVED it right away. When it comes to food, the spicier, the better. I can eat those hottest peppers in the world, habaneros, from Mexico. I have been called "the pepper girl". To me, kimchi and the spicy soups here are a joke compared to some of the Mexican foods I have eaten. I love Korean food. Thai food is spicy too and is to die for. MMMM.