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North Korea

North Korea, in East Asia, is a secretive dictatorship with Pyongyang as its Orwellian capital of monuments and mass games, locked in Juche ideology. Known for nuclear ambitions, propaganda, and famines, its economy staggers under sanctions, relying on state control and illicit trade. Its mountains and closed borders hide a surreal, isolated world. North Korea’s enigma chills.

North Korea

Featured Dishes from North Korea

Bindae-tteok

Bindae-tteok

Bindae-tteok , or mung bean pancake, is a type of buchimgae (Korean pancake) that originated in the Pyongan Province. It is made by grinding soaked mung beans, adding vegetables and meat and pan-frying it into a round, flat shape. Bindae-tteok first appears under the name pincya (빈쟈) in the Guidebook of Homemade Food and Drinks, a 1670 cookbook written by Jang Gye-hyang. The word appears to be derived from pingcya (빙쟈), the Middle Korean transcription of the hanja word 餠?, whose first character is pronounced bǐng and means "round and flat pancake-like food". The pronunciation and the meaning of the second letter are unknown. Tteok (떡) means a steamed, boiled, or pan-fried cake; usually a rice cake but in this case a pancake. During the Joseon era (1392–1897), richer households would dispense bindae-tteok to poorer people gathered outside the South Great Gate of Seoul during times of hardship.

Cornmeal juk

Cornmeal juk

Congee is a form of savoury rice porridge made by boiling rice in a large amount of water until the rice softens. Depending on rice–water ratio, the thickness of congee varies from a Western oatmeal porridge to a gruel. Since the history of rice cultivation in Asia stretches back to the Baiyue-inhabited lower Yangtze circa 10,000 BC, congee is unlikely to have appeared before that date. Congee is typically served with side dishes, or it can be topped with meat, fish, and pickled vegetables. Vivid experiences of eating or delivering thin congee as wartime or famine food often feature in diaries and chronicles. In some cultures, congee is eaten primarily as a breakfast food or late supper; some may also eat it as a substitute for rice at other meals. It is often considered suitable for the sick as a mild, easily digestible food.

Juk

Juk

Congee is a form of savoury rice porridge made by boiling rice in a large amount of water until the rice softens. Depending on rice–water ratio, the thickness of congee varies from a Western oatmeal porridge to a gruel. Since the history of rice cultivation in Asia stretches back to the Baiyue-inhabited lower Yangtze circa 10,000 BC, congee is unlikely to have appeared before that date. Congee is typically served with side dishes, or it can be topped with meat, fish, and pickled vegetables. Vivid experiences of eating or delivering thin congee as wartime or famine food often feature in diaries and chronicles. In some cultures, congee is eaten primarily as a breakfast food or late supper; some may also eat it as a substitute for rice at other meals. It is often considered suitable for the sick as a mild, easily digestible food.

Alsatang

Alsatang

A sugar and vinegar snack

Bingsu

Bingsu

Bingsu , sometimes written as bingsoo, is a milk-based Korean shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings that may include chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, and red beans.

Kongsatang

Kongsatang

Roasted soy beans coated with sugar or with glucose from grapes

Milk candies

Milk candies

Korean milk candies, like Malang Cow, are soft, chewy sweets that often have a condensed milk flavor and a texture similar to marshmallows. They are typically made with ingredients like corn starch syrup, sugar, and milk, and are popular for their unique taste and nostalgic appeal.

Sujeonggwa

Sujeonggwa

Sujeonggwa is a Korean traditional cinnamon punch. Dark reddish brown in color, it is made from mainly cinnamon, sugar, water and ginger. It is often served with gotgam (dried persimmon) and garnished with pine nuts. The punch is made by brewing first the cinnamon sticks and ginger at a slow boil. The solids are then removed for clarification and the remaining liquid is boiled again after adding either honey or brown sugar. The dried persimmons are cut into portions and are added to soak and soften after the brew has completely cooled. This is usually done several hours before serving, as extensive soaking of the fruit may thicken the clear liquid to a murky appearance. Sujeonggwa is served cold and commonly as a dessert, much like sikhye, due to its sweet taste. It is also widely available in canned form. The earliest mention of sujeonggwa dates back to 1849 in the book Dongguksesigi (동국세시기; 東國歲時記), a book of seasonal customs written by scholar Hong Seok-mo (홍석모). The sujeonggwa recipe mentioned in the book is a dried persimmon brew with added ginger and pine nuts.[citation needed]

Yaksik

Yaksik

Yaksik or yakbap (약밥; lit. medicine rice) is a sweet Korean dish made by steaming glutinous rice, and mixing with chestnuts, jujubes, and pine nuts. It is seasoned with honey or brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and sometimes cinnamon. It is traditionally eaten on Jeongwol Daeboreum (정월대보름), a Korean holiday which falls on every January 15 in the lunar calendar, but also for weddings and hwangap festivities. Yaksik got its name due to the use of honey in its ingredients. According to the etymology book A-eon Gakbi (아언각비; 雅言覺非) written in early 19th century Joseon, it is noted that honey was commonly called as yak (medicine). Thus honey buckwheat wine was called yakju (약주), honey rice was called yakban (약반, old word for yaksik), and fried honey ricecake was called yakgwa (약과).

Carbonated sweet water

Carbonated sweet water

A cola-type drink

Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially available. There are also various coffee substitutes. Typically served hot, coffee has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks. Coffee production begins when the seeds from coffee cherries are separated to produce unroasted green coffee beans. The "beans" are roasted and then ground into fine particles. Coffee is brewed from the ground roasted beans, which are typically steeped in hot water before being filtered out. It is usually served hot, although chilled or iced coffee is common. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways (e.g., espresso, French press, caffè latte, or already-brewed canned coffee). Sugar, sugar substitutes, milk, and cream are often added to mask the bitter taste or enhance the flavor.

Insam cha

Insam cha

Kyonghyung

Kyonghyung

Makgeolli

Makgeolli

Makgeolli , sometimes anglicized to makkoli (/ˈmækəli/, MAK-ə-lee), is a Korean alcoholic drink. It is a milky, off-white, and lightly sparkling rice wine that has a slight viscosity, and tastes slightly sweet, tangy, bitter, and astringent. Chalky sediment gives it a cloudy appearance. As a low proof drink of six to nine percent alcohol by volume, it is often considered a "communal beverage" rather than hard liquor. In Korea, makgeolli is often unpasteurized, and the wine continues to mature in the bottle. Because of the short shelf life of unpasteurized "draft" makgeolli, many exported makgeolli undergo pasteurization, which deprives the beverage of complex enzymes and flavor compounds. Recently, various fruits such as strawberries and bananas have been added to makgeolli to create forms with new flavours. The name makgeolli (막걸리) is a compound, consisting of mak (막; "roughly, recklessly, carelessly") and a deverbal noun derived from the verb stem georeu- (거르-; "to strain, to sift, to filter") to which is added a noun-forming suffix -i (-이).

Ponghak

Ponghak

Raekwon

Raekwon

Rakwon

Rakwon

Ryongsong

Ryongsong

Soju

Soju

Soju is a clear and colorless distilled alcoholic beverage, traditionally made from rice, but later from other grains and has a flavor similar to vodka. It is usually consumed neat. Its alcohol content varies from about 12.5% to 53% alcohol by volume (ABV), although since 2007 low alcohol soju below 20% has become more popular. Traditionally, most brands of soju are produced in the Andong region, but also in other regions and countries. While soju was traditionally made from rice, South Korean ethanol producers replace rice with other starch, such as cassava due to significantly lower capital costs. Soju often appears similar to several other East Asian liquors while differing in alcohol contents.

Taedonggang

Taedonggang

Taedonggang is a brand of North Korean beer brewed by the state-owned Taedonggang Brewing Company based in Pyongyang. There are four brands of beer marketed as Taedonggang,[self-published source?] though the brand known simply as "Taedonggang Beer" is that described below. In 2000, the North Korean government decided to acquire a brewery. At that point having good relations with the West, via connections to Germany, the Government of North Korea bought the intact and still in place brewery plant of the closed Ushers of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England for £1.5 million via broker Uwe Oehms. Concerned it could be used for chemical weapons production, after assurances, Peter Ward, of brewing company Thomas Hardy Brewing and Packaging bought the plant and arranged for a team from North Korea to travel to Trowbridge to dismantle it. Reinstalled and operational from 2002, the brewery uses German-made computerized brewing control technology.[citation needed] Since then, North Korea has had a steady supply of beer. On 3 July 2009, a commercial for the product was broadcast on state-run Korean Central Television in a rare move, as there are very few advertisements on North Korean television. The commercial shows technicians sampling the beer and beer bottles floating in space, shooting out foam reminiscent of a missile launch. North Korea's Taepodong missiles are sometimes called "Taedong" missiles. The commercial has been broadcast three times in all.

Tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and northern Myanmar. Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of Camellia taliensis. After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the third century AD, in a medical text written by Chinese physician Hua Tuo. It was popularised as a recreational drink during the Chinese Tang dynasty, and tea drinking subsequently spread to other East Asian countries. Portuguese priests and merchants introduced it to Europe during the 16th century. During the 17th century, drinking tea became fashionable among the English, who started to plant tea on a large scale in British India.

Tea

Tea

Yanggakdo Hotel Microbrewery beers

Yanggakdo Hotel Microbrewery beers

Air Koryo burger

Air Koryo burger

Burger served on North Korea's Air Koryo flights, not something North Korean citizens eat regularly

Bap

Bap

Bap is a Korean name for cooked rice prepared by boiling rice or other grains, such as black rice, barley, sorghum, various millets, and beans, until the water has cooked away. Special ingredients such as vegetables, seafood, and meat can also be added to create different kinds of bap. In the past, except for the socially wealthy class, people used to eat mixed grain rice together with beans and barley rather than only rice. In Korea, grain food centered on rice has been the most commonly used since ancient times and has established itself as a staple food in everyday diets. In Korean, the honorific terms for bap (meal) include jinji (진지) for an elderly person, sura (수라) for a monarch, and me (메) for the deceased (in the ancestral rites).

Bibimbap

Bibimbap

Bibimbap , sometimes romanized as bi bim bap or bi bim bop, is a Korean rice dish. The term bibim means "mixing" and bap is cooked rice. It is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed or blanched seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). Egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions, stirred together thoroughly just before eating.

Bindae-tteok

Bindae-tteok

Bindae-tteok , or mung bean pancake, is a type of buchimgae (Korean pancake) that originated in the Pyongan Province. It is made by grinding soaked mung beans, adding vegetables and meat and pan-frying it into a round, flat shape. Bindae-tteok first appears under the name pincya (빈쟈) in the Guidebook of Homemade Food and Drinks, a 1670 cookbook written by Jang Gye-hyang. The word appears to be derived from pingcya (빙쟈), the Middle Korean transcription of the hanja word 餠?, whose first character is pronounced bǐng and means "round and flat pancake-like food". The pronunciation and the meaning of the second letter are unknown. Tteok (떡) means a steamed, boiled, or pan-fried cake; usually a rice cake but in this case a pancake. During the Joseon era (1392–1897), richer households would dispense bindae-tteok to poorer people gathered outside the South Great Gate of Seoul during times of hardship.

Bosintang

Bosintang

Bosintang[a] or tan'gogikuk (단고기국, North Korean name) is a Korean soup (guk) that uses dog meat as its primary ingredient. The meat is boiled with vegetables such as green onions, perilla leaves, and dandelions, and flavorants such as doenjang, gochujang, and perilla seed powder. It is seasoned with agastache rugosa before eating. The soup has been claimed to provide increased virility. The dish, as with all dog meat consumption in South Korea, has become highly controversial in recent decades. There are now a number of significant legal restrictions around the butchering of dogs. According to a 2020 survey of South Koreans, 83.8% have never eaten dog meat before. There are a number of names for the dish.

Bulgogi

Bulgogi

Bulgogi is a gui (Korean-style grilled or roasted dish) made of thin, marinated slices of meat, most commonly beef, grilled on a barbecue or on a stove-top griddle. It is also often stir-fried in a pan in home cooking. Sirloin and rib eye are frequently used cuts of beef for the dish. Bulgogi is a very popular dish in South Korea, where it can be found anywhere from upscale restaurants to local supermarkets as pan-ready kits. Bulgogi came from the Korean word bul-gogi (불고기), consisting of bul ("fire") and gogi ("meat"). The compound word is derived from the Pyongan dialect, as the dish itself is a delicacy of Pyongan Province, North Korea. The dish became popular in Seoul and other parts of South Korea, introduced by refugees from Pyongan. It was listed in the 1947 edition of the Dictionary of the Korean Language as meat grilled directly over a charcoal fire. In the Standard Korean Language Dictionary published by the National Institute of Korean Language, the word is listed as meat, such as beef that is thinly sliced, marinated, and grilled over the fire. The word is also included in English-language dictionaries such as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and the Oxford Dictionary of English. Merriam-Webster dated the word's appearance in the American English lexicon in 1961.

Chicken

Chicken

The chicken is a large and round short-winged bird, domesticated from the red junglefowl of Southeast Asia around 8,000 years ago. Most chickens are raised for food, providing meat and eggs; others are kept as pets or for cockfighting. Chickens are common and widespread domestic animals, with a total population of 26.5 billion as of 2023[update], and an annual production of more than 50 billion birds. A hen bred for laying can produce over 300 eggs per year. There are numerous cultural references to chickens in folklore, religion, and literature.

Cod

Cod

Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus Gadus is commonly not called cod (Alaska pollock, Gadus chalcogrammus). The two most common species of cod are the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), which lives in the colder waters and deeper sea regions throughout the North Atlantic, and the Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), which is found in both eastern and western regions of the northern Pacific. Gadus morhua was named by Linnaeus in 1758. (However, G. morhua callarias, a low-salinity, nonmigratory race restricted to parts of the Baltic, was originally described as Gadus callarias by Linnaeus.)

Corn

Corn

Maize /meɪz/ , also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native Americans planted it alongside beans and squashes in the Three Sisters polyculture. The leafy stalk of the plant gives rise to male inflorescences or tassels which produce pollen, and female inflorescences called ears. The ears yield grain, known as kernels or seeds. In modern commercial varieties, these are usually yellow or white; other varieties can be of many colors. Maize relies on humans for its propagation. Since the Columbian exchange, it has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat and rice. Much maize is used for animal feed, whether as grain or as the whole plant, which can either be baled or made into the more palatable silage. Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are grown for human consumption, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, for uses such as cornmeal or masa, corn starch, corn syrup, pressing into corn oil, alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey, and as chemical feedstocks including ethanol and other biofuels.

Cornmeal juk

Cornmeal juk

Congee is a form of savoury rice porridge made by boiling rice in a large amount of water until the rice softens. Depending on rice–water ratio, the thickness of congee varies from a Western oatmeal porridge to a gruel. Since the history of rice cultivation in Asia stretches back to the Baiyue-inhabited lower Yangtze circa 10,000 BC, congee is unlikely to have appeared before that date. Congee is typically served with side dishes, or it can be topped with meat, fish, and pickled vegetables. Vivid experiences of eating or delivering thin congee as wartime or famine food often feature in diaries and chronicles. In some cultures, congee is eaten primarily as a breakfast food or late supper; some may also eat it as a substitute for rice at other meals. It is often considered suitable for the sick as a mild, easily digestible food.

Dak-galbi

Dak-galbi

Dak-galbi , or spicy stir-fried chicken, is a popular South Korean dish made by stir-frying marinated diced chicken in a gochujang-based sauce with sweet potatoes, cabbage, perilla leaves, scallions, tteok (rice cake), and other ingredients. In Korean, galbi means rib, and usually refers to braised or grilled short ribs. Dak-galbi is not made with chicken ribs, however, and the dish gained this nickname during the post-War era when chicken was used as a substitute for pork ribs. Many dak-galbi restaurants have round hot plates that are built into the tables. Lettuce and perilla leaves are served as ssam (wrap) vegetables. Although dak and galbi translate into "chicken" and "rib" respectively, the term dak-galbi does not refer to chicken ribs.

Duck

Duck

In cooking and gastronomy, duck or duckling is the meat of several species of bird in the family Anatidae, found in both fresh and salt water. Duck is eaten in many cuisines around the world. It is a high-fat, high-protein meat rich in iron. Duckling nominally comes from a juvenile animal, but may be simply a menu name. One species of freshwater duck, the mallard, has been domesticated; the domesticated duck is a common livestock bird in a variety of cultures. The Pekin duck is another livestock breed of importance, particularly in North America. Magret refers specifically to the breast of a mulard or Muscovy duck that has been force fed to produce foie gras.

Fish

Fish

Gasoline-grilled clams

Gasoline-grilled clams

Clams are placed in a pit, covered with gasoline and lit on fire

Gimbap

Gimbap

Gimbap , also romanized as kimbap, is a Korean dish made from cooked rice, vegetables, and optionally cooked seafood or meat, rolled in gim—dried sheets of seaweed—and served in bite-sized slices. The origins of gimbap are debated. Some sources suggest it originates from Japanese norimaki, introduced during Japanese colonial rule, while others argue it is a modernized version of bokssam from the Joseon era. The dish is often part of a packed meal, or dosirak, to be eaten at picnics and outdoor events, and can serve as a light lunch along with danmuji (yellow pickled radish) and kimchi. It is a popular takeaway food in South Korea and abroad and is known as a convenient food because of its portability. Gim (김) refers to edible seaweed in the genus Porphyra and Pyropia. Bap (밥) broadly refers to cooked rice. The compound term gimbap is a neologism; it was not a part of the Korean language until the 20th century.

Gogigui

Gogigui

Korean barbecue is a popular method in Korean cuisine of grilling meat, typically beef, pork or chicken. Such dishes are often prepared on gas or charcoal grills built into the dining table itself, though some restaurants provide customers with portable stoves for diners to use at their tables. Alternatively, a chef uses a centrally displayed grill to prepare dishes that are made to order. The most representative form of gogi-gui is bulgogi, usually made from thinly sliced marinated beef sirloin or tenderloin. Another popular form is galbi, made from marinated beef short ribs. However, gogi-gui also includes many other kinds of marinated and unmarinated meat dishes, and can be divided into several categories. Korean barbecue is popular in its home country. It gained its global popularity through Hallyu, more commonly known as the "Korean Wave", a term that describes the rise in popularity of Korean culture during the 1990s and 2000s.[citation needed] Maekjeok (Korean: 맥적; Hanja: 貊炙) from Goguryeo era (37 BCE–668 CE) is the oldest record related to Korean barbecue. During the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), roasted beef Neobiani was a favorite of the Joseon royal family.

Gukbap

Gukbap

Gukbap is a Korean dish made by putting cooked rice into hot soup or boiling rice in soup. It is commonly served in a ttukbaegi. Whereas soup and rice is generally eaten separately in Korea, in gukbap, rice is expected to be mixed into the soup. With Jumaks, gukbap became popular especially at the late Joseon Dynasty.

Hot pot

Hot pot

Hot pot or hotpot, also known as steamboat, is a dish of soup/stock kept simmering in a pot by a heat source on the table, accompanied by an array of raw meats, vegetables and soy-based foods which diners quickly cook by dip-boiling in the broth. Hot pot is a flavorful broth traditionally served inside a large metal pot. There are many types of hot pot, like Chongqing hot pot, Beijing hot pot, Yunnan hot pot, and so on. The broth is brought to a boil and left simmering for the duration of the meal. Raw ingredients, such as meat and vegetables, are placed into the simmering broth and thus cooked. The cooked pieces are dipped into dipping sauces for additional flavor. Hot pot is considered a main course and is usually served without rice or noodles on the side. Hot pots can be prepared and eaten at home or in a restaurant. Typical hot pot ingredients include thinly sliced meat, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, vermicelli, sliced potatoes, bean products, egg dumplings, tofu, and seafood. Raw ingredients are pre-sliced into thin sections that will cook quickly and consistently in the simmering broth, which is kept at a gentle boiling temperature. Most raw foods can be cooked in a hot pot, although they may have different cooking times, and must be immersed in the soup and then removed accordingly.

Injo gogi bap

Injo gogi bap

Injo-gogi-bap, which means rice with artificial meat, is a North Korean dish, made of rice, kimchi, soy bean paste and soy bean oil. It is made by wrapping steamed rice in a light skin made from leftover soybean paste and dressed with a chili sauce. This creates a meat-like texture. Injo-gogi-bap was created during the North Korean famine, which lasted from 1994 to 1998.

Japchae

Japchae

Japchae is a savory and slightly sweet dish of stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables that is popular in Korean cuisine. Japchae is typically prepared with dangmyeon (당면, 唐麵), a type of cellophane noodles made from sweet potato starch; the noodles are mixed with assorted vegetables, meat, and mushrooms, and seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil. Once a royal dish, japchae is now one of the most popular traditional celebration dishes, often served on special occasions, such as weddings, birthdays (especially dol, the first birthday, and hwangap, the sixtieth), and holidays. It is also popular at banquets, parties, and potlucks, due to the ease of bulk preparation and flexible serving: japchae can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold from the refrigerator, and can be eaten freshly made or the day after. Japchae is commonly served as a banchan (side dish), though it may also be eaten as a main dish. It is sometimes served on a bed of rice: with rice, it is known as japchae-bap (잡채밥).

Jeon

Jeon

Jeon is a fritter in Korean cuisine made by seasoning whole, sliced, or minced fish, meat, vegetables, etc., and coating them with wheat flour and egg wash before frying them in oil. Jeon can be served as an appetizer, a banchan (side dish), or an anju (food served and eaten with drinks). Some jeons are sweet desserts; one such variety is called hwajeon (literally "flower jeon").

Kimchi guk

Kimchi guk

Lamb

Lamb

Lamb and mutton, collectively sheep meat is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, Ovis aries, and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in their second, and mutton, from older sheep. Generally, "hogget" and "sheep meat" are not used by consumers outside Norway, New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland, and Australia. Hogget has become more common in England, particularly in the North (Lancashire and Yorkshire) often in association with rare breed and organic farming. In South Asian and Caribbean cuisine, "mutton" often means goat meat. At various times and places, "mutton" or "goat mutton" has occasionally been used to mean goat meat.

Mandu

Mandu

Mandu , or mandoo, are dumplings in Korean cuisine. Mandu can be steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or deep-fried. The styles also vary across regions in the Korean Peninsula. Mandu were long part of Korean royal court cuisine, but are now found in supermarkets, restaurants, and snack places such as pojangmacha and bunsikjip throughout South Korea. The name is cognate with the names of similar types of meat-filled dumplings along the Silk Road in Central Asia, such as Uyghur manta (مانتا), Turkish mantı, Kazakh mänti (мәнті), Uzbek manti, Afghan mantu, and Armenian mantʿi (մանթի). Chinese mántou (馒头; 饅頭) is also considered a cognate, which used to mean meat-filled dumplings but now refers to steamed buns without any filling. Mandu can be divided into gyoja (교자; 餃子) type and poja (포자; 包子) type. In Chinese, the categories of dumplings are called jiǎozi (饺子; 餃子) and bāozi (包子) respectively, which are cognates with the Korean words. In Japanese, the former-type dumplings are called gyōza (餃子), which is also a cognate. In Mongolian, the latter-type dumplings are called buuz (бууз) and in Nepalese and Tibetan, they are called momo (मम, མོག་མོག) all of which is also cognates with the former.[citation needed]

Meatballs

Meatballs

A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types of meatballs using different types of meats and spices. The term is sometimes extended to meatless versions based on legumes, vegetables, mushrooms, fish (also commonly known as fish balls) or other seafood. The ancient Roman cookbook Apicius included many meatball-type recipes. Early recipes included in some of the earliest known Arabic cookbooks generally feature seasoned lamb rolled into orange-sized balls and glazed with egg yolk and sometimes saffron.

Miyeok guk

Miyeok guk

Miyeok-guk (also rendered as miyuk guk) or seaweed soup is a non-spicy Korean soup whose main ingredient is miyeok, or seaweed. It is traditionally eaten as a birthday breakfast in honor of one's mother and by women who have given birth for several months postpartum. Miyeok-guk is rare among Korean soups in that it has no spicy ingredients. The main ingredient is miyeok, also known as sea mustard. It is typically prepared from dried product, and is in appearance brown tangled strands. To prepare, the seaweed is rehydrated, drained, chopped, sauteed with garlic and sesame oil, then simmered in beef or fish stock. Women traditionally eat the soup for several months after giving birth. The practice of eating seaweed soup after giving birth is believed to date to the Goguryeo period and started because people noticed whales eating seaweed after giving birth. Traditionally the soup symbolizes and honors Samsin Halmoni, a goddess who helps women through pregnancy and childbirth. People consuming the soup on their birthdays are honoring their mothers for giving birth to them.

Mul naengmyeon

Mul naengmyeon

Cold noodles in a clear beef broth and/or dongchimi (radish water kimchi) broth

Naengmyeon

Naengmyeon

Naengmyeon or raengmyŏn (랭면, in North Korea) is a noodle dish of northern Korean origin which consists of long and thin handmade noodles made from the flour and starch of various ingredients, including most commonly buckwheat (메밀, memil) but also potatoes, sweet potatoes, arrowroot starch (darker color and chewier than buckwheat noodles), and kudzu (칡, chik). Other varieties of naengmyeon are made from ingredients such as seaweed and green tea. In modern times, the mul naengmyeon (물 냉면) variant is commonly associated with and popularly consumed during the summer; however, it was historically a dish enjoyed during winter.

Pansangi

Pansangi

A meal with many different dishes served in bronze bowls, typically served with soju (rice wine), rice and soup

Pyeonsu

Pyeonsu

Pyeonsu is a square-shaped mandu (dumpling) in Korean cuisine. It is a food typically served in summer, served chilled, and dipped in soy sauce and vinegar. The city of Gaeseong in North Hwanghae Province is famous for its pyeonsu. The origin of the word pyeonsu (편수) is obscure. Some claim that it was derived from byeonsi (변시), which appears in the 1527 book Collection of Characters for Training the Unenlightened as a borrowing from the Old Mandarin Chinese biǎnshí (匾食, lit. 'convenient food') that meant "dumplings" at the time. In Korean royal court cuisine during the Joseon era (1392–1897), wheat-skin dumplings boiled in water were called byeongsi (Korean: 병시; Hanja: 餠匙), with the letters byeong (병; 餠; meaning any flour dough food) and si (시; 匙; meaning "spoon") which, combined, could refer to dumplings that are eaten with a spoon. It is also said that the name is Sino-Korean pyeonsu (편수; 片水; lit. 'piece in water'), as the dumplings are served floating on water. Another claim is that the word was derived from Byeon-ssi mandu (변씨만두; 邉氏饅頭), which means "Byeon's dumplings", because it was first made by a person whose family name was Byeon (변; 邉). Although Korean mandu are believed to have first been brought to Korea by Yuan Mongolians in the 14th century during the Goryeo, the variety pyeonsu is thought to be derived from Ming Chinese dumplings brought into the Korean peninsula by the Joseon merchants based in Gaeseong.

Samgyeopsal

Samgyeopsal

Samgyeopsal , samgyeopsal-gui (삼겹살구이 lit. 'grilled three-layer meat'), or grilled pork belly is a type of gui (grilled dish) in Korean cuisine. Directly translated from Korean, samgyeop-sal (삼겹살) means "three layer flesh", referring to striations of lean meat and fat in the pork belly that appear as three layers when cut.

Seafood

Seafood

Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs , crustaceans (e.g. shrimp, crabs, and lobster), and echinoderms (e.g. sea cucumbers and sea urchins). Historically, marine mammals such as cetaceans (whales and dolphins) as well as seals have been eaten as food, though that happens to a lesser extent in modern times. Edible sea plants such as some seaweeds and microalgae are widely eaten as sea vegetables around the world, especially in Asia. Seafood is an important source of (animal) protein in many diets around the world, especially in coastal areas. Semi-vegetarians who consume seafood as the only source of meat are said to adhere to pescetarianism.

Sikhae

Sikhae

Sikhae is a salted fermented food in Korean cuisine prepared with fish and grains. Sikhae is made in the east coast regions of Korea, namely Gwanbuk, Gwandong, and Yeongnam. Righteye flounders are typically used for sikhae. Other commonly used fish include Alaska pollock, chub mackerel, sailfin sandfish, and Japanese anchovy. Sometimes, dried fish such as bugeo (dried Alaska pollock) may also be used to make sikhae. Grain-wise, cooked foxtail millet is used in the Gwanbuk region, while cooked rice is used in other regions. Sometimes, millet, quinoa, or other grains may also be used.

Sinseollo

Sinseollo

Sinseollo or royal hot pot is an elaborate dish consisting of meatballs, small and round jeonyueo (전유어), mushrooms, and vegetables cooked in a rich broth in Korean royal court cuisine. The dish is a form of jeongol (elaborate chowder-like stew). It is served in a large bundt pan-shaped vessel with a hole in the center, in which hot embers are placed to keep the dish hot throughout the meal. Sinseollo is the proper name for the cooking vessel in which this dish is served, which has come to mean the actual dish as well. Sinseollo is a composite word of sinseon (신선; 神仙), "Taoist immortal spirit" and ro (로; 爐), brazier. Jeong Hee-ryang (정희량), a scholar in the court of Joseon Dynasty's King Yeonsan, turned to a hermit-like life in the mountains after being exiled and disillusioned from politics. He made a small brazier to cook his meals, a portable cooking vessel that would cook various vegetables in a single pot. He disappeared in the mountains and legend says he became a sinseon, so the cooking vessel was named "brazier for a sinseon". Sinseollo is also called yeolguja tang, which literally means "a tang (soup) that makes a mouth happy".

Tangpyeongchae

Tangpyeongchae

Tangpyeong-chae or mung bean jelly salad is a Korean dish that was part of the Korean royal court cuisine. It is made by mixing julienned nokdumuk, mung bean sprouts, water dropwort, stir-fried shredded beef, thinly shredded red pepper and lightly broiled gim. Tangpyeongchae is seasoned with a sauce made with ganjang, vinegar, sugar, sesame seeds and sesame oil. The dish is most often eaten in late spring and summer. According to Dongguksesigi (동국세시기; 東國歲時記), a book written in 1849, tangpyeongchae derived from a political situation. King Yeongjo of the Joseon period was concerned about severe conflicts between political parties. Therefore, he tried to resolve the strife between major four parties by frequently holding feasts to make the mood friendly. The Tangpyeong policy (탕평책; 蕩平策) which literally means the policy for "harmony" and "meditation" is regarded as his greatest achievement. He selected people regardless of their party affiliation. At the beginning of the feast, the king presented tangpyeongchae before the government officers and other politicians, and then said, "As you see, there are four different ingredients (nokdumuk, gim, beef and dropwort) that have four distinguishable colors and flavors. But they are harmonized so well that they taste beautiful together." His speech was a great lesson to all those who participated in that party.

Baechu kimchi

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Baechu kimchi

Baechu-kimchi , translated as napa cabbage kimchi or simply kimchi is a quintessential banchan (side dish) in Korean cuisine, made with salted, seasoned, and fermented napa cabbages. Baechu-kimchi is made by fermenting salted napa cabbages with Korean radish, aromatic vegetables, jeotgal (salted seafood), gochugaru (chili powder) and various seasonings. Northern varieties are milder and soupier. Southern varieties are saltier and more pungent.

Baek kimchi

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Baek kimchi

Baek-kimchi or white kimchi is a variety of kimchi made without the chili pepper powder commonly used for fermenting kimchi in Korean cuisine. Baek kimchi has a mild and clean flavor, which appeals to children and the elderly, to whom the regular kimchi might be too spicy. Baek kimchi consists of salted napa cabbage, radish, minari, spring onions, Korean pear, chestnuts, jujube, ginger, garlic, salt, sugar, and a little bit of chili threads as garnish. Baek kimchi's mild flavor and crunchy texture makes it a good appetizer when people order main dishes consisting of beef such as galbi or bulgogi at Korean restaurants. It is also used as a wrap for baek kimchi bossam.

Bagged snacks

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Bagged snacks

Puffy Snack, Fruit Cookies, Banana cotton candy, Gangjeong (chewy sesame snack)

Dongchimi

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Dongchimi

Dongchimi is a variety of kimchi consisting of Korean radish, napa cabbage, scallions, pickled green chilli, ginger, Korean pear and watery brine in Korean cuisine. As the name dong and chimi (hangul: 치미, an ancient term for kimchi), suggests, this kimchi is traditionally consumed during the winter season. Dongchimi is fermented like other varieties of kimchi, but its maturing period is relatively short (2–3 days). Although it can be made at any time of the year, it is usually made during the gimjang season. The northern regions consisting of Hamgyeong-do and Pyeongan-do in North Korea are particularly famous for their dongchimi.

Dotori muk

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Dotori muk

Dotori-muk or acorn jelly is a Korean dish. It is a jelly made from acorn starch. Although "muk" means "jelly", when used without qualifiers, it usually refers to dotori-muk. The practice of making dotori-muk originated in mountainous areas of ancient Korea, when abundant oak trees produced enough acorns each autumn to become a viable source of food. Dotori-muk does not spoil easily, so it was used as a lunch food when traveling a long way. Despite being a rich source of starch and proteins, acorns contain large amounts of tannins and other polyphenols, which prevent the human body from digesting them properly. Harvested acorns must be properly leached of the tannins prior to consumption. Acorns are either collected directly from the ground or knocked off the tree branches. The acorns are opened and the nutmeat ground into a fine orange-brown paste. The paste is then stirred into vats of water and the acorns' fiber is separated from the starch through sieving and settling. The starch-water mixture is collected and allowed to sit so that the tannins in the starch diffuse into the water, which is changed several times. The overall soaking time depends on the amount of tannin in the paste.

Dububab

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Dububab

Tofu skins shaped into cones are stuffed with rice and topped with chili sauce

Eggs

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Eggs

Humans and their hominid relatives have consumed eggs for millions of years. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especially chickens. People in Southeast Asia began harvesting chicken eggs for food by 1500 BCE. Eggs of other birds, such as ducks and ostriches, are eaten regularly but much less commonly than those of chickens. People may also eat the eggs of reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Fish eggs consumed as food are known as roe or caviar. Hens and other egg-laying creatures are raised throughout the world, and mass production of chicken eggs is a global industry. In 2009, an estimated 62.1 million metric tons of eggs were produced worldwide from a total laying flock of approximately 6.4 billion hens. There are issues of regional variation in demand and expectation, as well as current debates concerning methods of mass production. In 2012, the European Union banned battery husbandry of chickens.

Finger snacks

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Finger snacks

Made with flour, yeast, sugar and grape glucose, similar to bread

Gochujang

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Gochujang

Gochujang[a] or red chili paste is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking. It is made from gochu-garu , glutinous rice, meju (fermented soybean) powder, yeotgireum (barley malt powder), and salt. The sweetness comes from the starch of cooked glutinous rice, cultured with saccharifying enzymes during the fermentation process. Traditionally, it would be naturally fermented over years in jangdok (earthenware) on an elevated stone platform called jangdokdae in the backyard. Shiyi xinjian (食醫心鑑), a mid-9th century Chinese document, recorded the Korean pepper paste as 苦椒醬 (lit. 'pepper paste'). The second-oldest documentation of pepper paste is found in the 1433 Korean book Collected Prescriptions of Native Korean Medicines. Pepper paste is again mentioned in a 1445 medical encyclopedia named Compendia of Medical Prescriptions. However, all these sources are from the time before the actual chilli peppers were introduced to Korea.

Gosari

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Gosari

Fiddleheads or fiddlehead greens are the furled fronds from a fledgling fern, harvested for use as a vegetable. Left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond . As fiddleheads are harvested early in the season, before the frond has opened and reached its full height, they are cut fairly close to the ground. Fiddleheads from brackens contain ptaquiloside, a compound associated with bracken toxicity, and thiaminase. Not all species contain ptaquiloside, such as Diplazium esculentum, a fern with fiddleheads regularly consumed in parts of East Asia, which differs from bracken (Pteridium aquilinum).

Gosari namul

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Gosari namul

Sauteed or stir fried bracken fiddlehead ferns (gosari)

Gyeojaman

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Gyeojaman

Korean 겨자소스, or mustard sauce, is a condiment that often accompanies various Korean dishes to add a sharp, spicy flavor. 겨자, or mustard, in Korean cuisine, refers to the mustard seed or powder used to make this sauce, which can range from mild to intensely hot depending on preparation.

Hwangtae

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Hwangtae

Wind-dried pollack fish, used in a variety of ways, for example, soup, grilled

Kimchi

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Kimchi

Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish (banchan) consisting of salted and fermented vegetables, most often napa cabbage or Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including gochugaru (Korean chili powder), spring onions, garlic, ginger, and jeotgal (a salted seafood). Kimchi is also used in a variety of soups and stews. Kimchi is a staple food in Korean cuisine and is eaten as a side dish with almost every Korean meal.

Kkakdugi

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Kkakdugi

Kkakdugi or diced radish kimchi is a variety of kimchi in Korean cuisine. Usually, Korean radish (called mu 무 in Korean) is used, but other vegetables or fruits can also be used. Kkakduk-kkakduk is an ideophone related to dicing/cubing. Kimchi made with radish that are not diced into cubes are not called kkakdugi. Kkakdugi is a popular banchan (side dish) enjoyed by Koreans and others. The origin of kkakdugi is mentioned in a cookbook named Joseon yorihak (조선요리학 朝鮮料理學, literally "Korean Gastronomy") written by Hong Seon-pyo (홍선표) in 1940. According to the book, kkakdugi was created by Princess Sukseon (숙선옹주, 淑善翁主), a daughter of King Jeongjo (r. 1776–1800) and the wife of Hong Hyeon-ju (홍현주, 洪顯周), a high-ranking government officer titled as Yeongmyeongwi (영명위, 永明慰). When a matter for congratulation happened to the royal court, members of the royal family gathered to have a feast, and the princess presented a new dish made with diced radish to the king. He highly praised it and asked her about the dish's name. She replied that the dish did not have a name because she had accidentally made it, but found that it tasted good, so she brought in the new dish to the court. The king replied that the dish would be named kkakdugi because cutting food into cubes is called kkakduk sseolgi (깍둑썰기) in Korean. At that time, kkakdugi was called gakdokgi (각독기 刻毒氣, literally "removing the harshness"), from 각(刻) (gak, "to harm, damage") + 독(毒) (dok, "substance harmful to health or life") + 기(氣) (-gi, "energy, feeling, element"), and then became spread among the common people.

Nabak kimchi

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Nabak kimchi

A watery, soup-like kimchi made with radish and vegetables

Nokdu-muk

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Nokdu-muk

Nokdu-muk is a Korean muk, or jelly, made from mung bean starch. In its most commonly encountered form, it is also called cheongpo-muk (청포묵, 淸泡-), which literally means "clear froth jelly," owing to its clear white color. If it is colored with gardenia, the nokdu-muk is called hwangpo-muk, which literally means "yellow froth jelly." Nokdu-muk is usually served cold, usually as the banchan (side dish) nokdu-muk-muchim (녹두묵무침). As it has little flavor of its own, nokdu-muk is typically seasoned with soy sauce and vinegar.

Ojingeochae muchim

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Ojingeochae muchim

Spicy dried squid strips

Potato salad

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Potato salad

Potato salad is a salad dish made from boiled potatoes, usually containing a dressing and a variety of other ingredients such as boiled eggs and raw vegetables. It is usually served as a side. Potato salad is found in several countries in Europe. The German Kartoffelsalat is one of the most famous that spread largely throughout Europe, North America, and later Asia. American potato salad most likely originated from recipes brought to the U.S. by way of German and other European immigrants during the nineteenth century.

Seokdujeon

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Seokdujeon

Small cornmeal cakes made with cornmeal powder and water, cooking is not necessary

Sesame oil

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Sesame oil

Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. Oil made from raw seeds, which may or may not be cold-pressed, is used as a cooking oil. Oil made from toasted seeds is used for its distinctive nutty aroma and taste, although it may be unsuitable for frying, which makes it taste burnt and bitter. Sesame seeds are protected by a capsule which bursts only when the seeds are completely ripe, a process called dehiscence. The dehiscence time tends to vary, so farmers cut plants by hand and place them together in an upright position to continue ripening, until all the capsules have opened.

Soboro-ppang

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Soboro-ppang

Soboro-ppang , or gombo-ppang (곰보빵; standard language), often translated as soboro bread, soboro pastry, or soboro bun, and also known as Korean streusel bread, is a sweet bun with a streusel-like upper crust popular in Korea. The bun is made of flour, sugar, eggs, and dough and baked with a crisp, bumpy surface on top. The word "soboro" is a Japanese word which refers to the streusel topping of the bun, which is often made with peanut butter as a key ingredient. Soboro refers to fried and minced meat or fish in Japanese, which resembles the streusel on top of the bread.

Soondae

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Soondae

Sundae is a type of blood sausage in Korean cuisine. It is a popular street food in both North and South Korea, generally made by steaming cow or pig's intestines stuffed with various ingredients. The sundae sausage dates back to the Goryeo period (918–1392), when wild boars, prominent across the Korean Peninsula, were used in the dish. Recipes for sundae are found in nineteenth century cookbooks including Gyuhap chongseo and Siuijeonseo.

Tianmian sauce

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Tianmian sauce

Tianmian sauce , also known as sweet bean sauce, sweet flour sauce or sweet wheat paste, is a thick, smooth, dark brown or black paste with either a mild, savory or sweet flavor. It is commonly used in Northern Chinese cuisine, Northeastern Chinese cuisine, as well as Korean-Chinese cuisine. Peking duck and jajangmyeon are two popular dishes that feature the sauce. The Chinese word tiánmiànjiàng (甜麵醬) consists of characters meaning "sweet" (甜), "flour" (麵), and "sauce" (醬). It is also called tiánjiàng (甜醬), which means "sweet sauce". The origin of the Korean word chunjang (춘장) is unknown. One theory is that it derived from the word cheomjang (첨장), which is the Korean reading of the Chinese characters 甛醬. Although terms such as "sweet bean sauce" and "sweet bean paste" are used to describe the sauce, it is primarily made from fermented wheat flour. A mixture of approximately 19 portions of wheat flour to one portion of soybean is used.[clarification needed] The fermentation starter is made from dried or stale mantou (a steamed bread), wrapped in a variety of true melon known as miangua and then bound and hung in a cool, dark place until completely dried. During the fermentation process, the glucose and maltose give the paste its distinctive sweet taste.

Tofu

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Tofu

Soybean curd, used in a variety of ways, for example, deep-fried, stir fry, soups, salads

Tteok

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Tteok

Tteok is a general term for Korean rice cakes. They are made with steamed flour of various grains, especially glutinous and non-glutinous rice. Steamed flour can also be pounded, shaped, or pan-fried to make tteok. In some cases, tteok is pounded from cooked grains. Tteok is eaten not only as a dessert or seasonal delicacy, but also as a meal. It can range from elaborate versions made of various colors, fragrances, and shapes using nuts, fruits, flowers, and namul (herbs/wild greens), to plain white rice tteok used in home cooking. Some common ingredients for many kinds of tteok are red bean, soybean, mung bean, mugwort, pumpkin, chestnut, pine nut, jujube, dried fruits, sesame seeds and oil, and honey.

Vegetables

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Vegetables

Corn, been sprouts, water radishes