Types of the Korean Food

Jeon (pan-fried dishes)
Mushroom, zucchini, fish fillet, oyster, or green pepper with ground meat filling are thinly coated with flour, dipped in a beaten egg, and then pan fried. These are also pancake-type jeon: mung bean powder, batter, and green onion, kimchi, or chopped pork are stirred in, then fried.

Jjim and jorim (simmered meat or fish)
Jjim and jorim are similar. Meat or fish are simmered over low heat in soy sauce flavored with other seasonings until tender and tasty. Jjim also refers to a steamed dish.

Gui (broiled or barbecued dishes)
Bulgogi(thin-sliced, marinated, and barbecued beef) and galbi(marinated beef ribs) are well-known examples of gui. Fish are often broiled, too.

Hoe (raw fish)
Sliced raw fish is becoming popular around the world. Tuna, croaker, flatfish, oyster, skate, sea cucumber, abalone, sea urchin, and squid are popular in Korea- and sometimes raw beef. Sesame leaves or lettuces are common garnishes, and choices of thin-sliced ginger, wasabi mustard or red pepper paste sauce provide pungency. Hoe is pronounced “hwey”

Juk (porridge-usually rice)
Sometimes a delicacy, sometimes a restorative. Pine nuts, red beans, pumpkin, abalone, ginseng, chicken, vegetables, mushrooms and bean sprouts are the most popular ingredient.

Jeongol and Jjigae (casserole and stew)
Less watery and containing more substance to chew than soup, these dishes can be the main part of a meal. Jeongol is usually cooked in a casserole dish on a fire at the dining table. Noodles, pine mushroom, octopus, tripe, and vegetables are favored substance to make jeongol. Soybean paste stew is a very popular jjigae.

Jangajji(pickles)
Garlic, sesame leaves, radish and cucumber are pickled in soy sauce, soy been paste or hot pepper paste to make jangajji. Before serving, the pickled vegetables are cut into slices and sometimes mixed with other seasoning.

Namul (vegetable or wild-greens dishes)
The Korean diet includes hundreds of vegetable and wild-greens dishes called namul, and a visit to a Korean marketplace shows a huge variety of usual greens. Namul is usually parboiled or stir-fried and seasoned with combinations of salt, soy sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oil, garlic and green onion.

Jeotgal (Seafood fermented in salt)
Fish, clams, shrimp, oyster, fish roe, or selected fish organs are popular for making jeotgal. Very salty. A pungent side dish in itself with boiled rice, it is sometimes added in making kimchi or used to season other foods.

Guk and Tang (soup)
The Korean table is never complete without soup. Vegetables, meat, fish and shellfish, seaweed, and even boiled cow bones are used to make guk and tang.

Bop (boiled rice)
Staple of the Korean diet. Barley beans, chestnut, millet or other grains are often added for special taste and further nutritional value.

Kimchi
Kimchi is a fermented vegetable dish allowing long storage. In the past, Koreans used to prepare it as a substitute for fresh vegetables during the winter months. Today housewives still prepare a large amount of winter kimchi, somewhere from late November through early December. This nationwide annual event is calling Gimjang.
The introduction of red pepper to Korea from Europe through Japan in the 17th century, brought a major innovation to kimchi and to the Korean diet in general. There are now more than 160 kimchi varieties differentiated by region and ingredients, most of them quite spicy. Kimchi is the basic side dish at every Korean meal; it is also an ingredient in other popular dishes such as kimchi stew, Kimchi pancakes, kimchi fried rice and kimchi ramyen(ramen noodles). Kimchi is being widely tried in various ways in an effort to create new taste and flavors. These days kimchi is gaining popularity worldwide for its nutritional value and disease-prevention effect.