The Best Korean Food

Bulgogi Was Your Favorite, Wasn’t It…?

Major spoilers, beef bulgogi is no where to be found in this blog post! That’s right, the almighty meaty dish of South Korea was not one of my favorite foods while traveling South Korea. Going into South Korea I was sure that beef bulgogi would be my favorite meal, because especially as a non vegetarian Texan, how could I not love a BBQ beef dish the most? Turns out I didn’t love it enough. A Korean BBQ house is more about the fun of cooking or watching it be cooked in front of you, and less about an overwhelmingly delicious taste like you get from a classic Texas BBQ joint. Other foods that hit our tables packed a much better flavor punch, many of which I had never heard of before seeing them on the menu!

Before diving into traditional Korean food, let’s cover a few food surprises we ate along the way.

The Best NON Korean Food

I’m sure everyone has food cravings pushing you to buy that frozen pizza or greasy burger from the local drive thru. At least I hope I’m not the only one giving in to my caloric urges. Those food cravings don’t disappear when traveling, not even when visiting a culinary giant like South Korea. However, it is very hard to satisfy hankerings when the foods you want simply don’t exist! Lookin’ at you, tacos. That said, here are the best meals we had in South Korea that are most certainly NOT Korean.

The bread from Artist Bakery in Seoul is easily some of the best bread we’ve ever had! It very much looks like a croissant but lacks the layering and flaky textures. This bread is soft as a cloud making a plain one

the perfect side roll to any meal.

The real magic of the bread was in the versatility.

The bakers create all sorts of fillings, sauces, and toppings making it perfect as a snack or as a side. The photo really doesn’t do it any flavor justice. Our favorites were the lemon bread (the best lemon bread we’ve ever had) and the butter garlic bread (as good as anything in Italy). Even the very heavy chocolate bread (filled with chocolate cream and topped with a chocolate shell) could act as a dessert to any meal. The bread was far more expensive than we expected, but it was worth every won. We never found a similar bread during our three weeks in Korea making Artist Bakery especially missed once we left Seoul.

If I saw a burger joint named Very Very Tasty Burger I’d snicker at the marketing simplicity and keep walking. That’s almost exactly what I did in the town of Gyeongju when I saw Very Very Tasty Burger (VVT), but instead of walking past, I went in and had the best burger I’ve had outside the United States!

Remember how bulgogi isn’t in this blog post? The best beef I had in Korea was the burger patties served here. Seemingly owned and operated by one guy, VVT creates the most perfect balance of spicy, salty, and greasy into one essentially perfect burger. It was so good I went back the next day only to be blown away again by a different burger on their menu. Gyeongju is worth visiting simply to enjoy a meal at VVT.

Chandni or I craved pizza about every couple of weeks while traveling South Korea. The major problem with that is the cheese being fairly rare and expensive in East Asia making pizza a mostly tomato bread with mediocre “cheese”. However, SOL Taproom in Busan found a way to create a pizza so satisfying that Chandni went back for it three times!

SOL Taproom brews their own beer to mixed success, but fires their own New York style pies to major success. Every topping was slightly burnt in exactly the right caramelized way, and the crust was crispy in just the right amount. Add on their great red sauce in between all that goodness and you have a pizza that could stand proud anywhere. The killer ocean view from their fourth floor location and the fun playlist created were nice perks, too.

The Best Traditional Korean Food

I wish I could eat everything in this blog post all over again, but these top five plus one drink favorites are the ones I want back the most. Not only do they taste fantastic, most are also fairly uncommon around the US.

Number 6: Sikhye

Sikhye is a sweet rice drink made by fermenting rice with malt. That might lead you to believe this is an alcoholic drink, but it’s actually not thanks to a negligible alcohol content. I was lucky enough to have it served both chilled and alone (delicious) and in a cocktail (delicious++) from one of the world’s 50 Best Bars named Zest. It’s a wonderful alternative if you’re not into tea or coffee as a beverage to end your meal.

Sikyhe can also be found in drink sections of stores around Korea, but admittedly I never purchased this drink outside a restaurant or bar.

Number 5: KFC, Korean Fried Chicken

Classic American fried chicken is already very good, but Korean fried chicken is next level. Popularized in the 1960s and ‘70s after the Korean War, Korean fried chicken has a coating thinner and far more crispy than most American coatings. You’ll smell it coming to your table and hear your bite before tasting anything - and that’s a very, very good thing. Kkanbu Chicken made the delicious dish shown on the left. Notice the lack of sauce smears or drips on the paper? The frying and plating is so much cleaner than anything found in the US.

There is no better sauce for fried chicken than the world class gochujang spice. My favorite sauce remains a sweet and spicy gochujang battered chicken topped with garlic pieces added after the frying and basting.

Number 4: Bibimbap

Bibimbap might be the best known Korean dish other than bulgogi. It’s a big bowl featuring veggies, a protein, and rice that’s meant to be mixed (bibimbap literally translates to “mixed rice”). Fresh meat and veggies benefit Bibimbap tremendously since you can’t hide cheaper ingredients and weaker flavors by pre-mixing. The bibimbap from 비비재 (Bibijae) in Busan shown on the right was by far the best, and as good as any Korean food we ate.

This dish highlights a Korean chef’s creativity since no two bibimbaps are alike. You could travel Korea for weeks eating only bibimbap and not repeat flavors. However, that means you’ll get excellent versions and pretty regrettable ones, too. That said, the best bibimbap is as good as the best version of any other Korean dish.

Number 3: Jeyuk Bokkeum (Spicy Pork Bulgogi)

Jeyuk bokkeum, or spicy pork bulgogi, is far and above my favorite meat dish in South Korea. It was one of my favorite Korean dishes going into South Korea, and remains one of my favorite going out! The brilliance is in the marinade of sugar, spice, and everything nice. Gochujang forms the base which is sweetened with sugar, balanced by soy sauce, and then added to extremely thin cuts of pork. The marinated pork is hit with a quick pan fry leaving caramelized burnt tips and savory centers on each strip.

The side dishes, also known as banchan, are a standard addition to any bulgogi order and take an already delicious dish to the next level. I could seriously eat this dish for any meal, and it’s a favorite of mine to make at home.

Number 2: Mandu (Dumplings)

Mandu, better known as dumplings, are the great equalizer of street food and restaurants. Street dumplings are almost always as good as those in restaurants while always being cheaper. The best way to find the great street dumplings is by finding the largest crowd around a food stall. You can bet they’re waiting for dumplings.

Dumplings are also incredibly versatile! They’re good fried, steamed, vegetarian, and sauces only make them even tastier. This makes them peak finger food. My favorite fried ones were from 대화만두 (Daewha Mandu) in Gyeongju shown on the right, and the best steamed ones were from 명동교자 본점 (Myeongdong Kyoja) in Seoul.

Number 1: Kimchi

You almost can’t have a complete Korean dish without kimchi. You may have even noticed it making an appearance in a few of my previous photos. Kimchi is a side dish of fermented vegetables, most commonly cabbage or radish, but also cucumber, green onion, and many other veggies. It’s not vegetarian (much to Chandni’s dismay) by default thanks to a regular addition of fish sauce and dried shrimp. However, historically kimchi was vegetarian thanks to the spread of Buddhism and the need for a vegetarian lifestyle. Be sure to check as you order.

Dumplings are versatile, but kimchi is jack of all trades. We’ve enjoyed it mixed into soups, as a banchan with bulgogi, offered with bibimbap, or alone as an appetizer. There’s not a bad way to enjoy it when it’s prepared correctly.

Kimchi is so beloved by Koreans that there is an excellent museum dedicated to kimchi in the middle of Seoul. The Kimchikan Museum in the Insadong district celebrates the history, cultural impact, and flavors of kimchi. They provide free samples of many different types (including vegan versions!) and offer classes on making kimchi. If for whatever crazy reason you don’t like kimchi, you’ll at least appreciate kimchi after visiting.