Rabokki, Samgyupsal, Kimbap, etc. ~ MY KOREAN FOOD FAVORITES!~

Just like most people, I did not like Korean food the first time I ate it because of the spices that I was not used to eating. But the more I eat Korean Food, the more I get used to it and the more I came to love it. As the Korean expression say, "한국 음식이 입에 맞아요 (Korean Food suits my taste)". But really, before, "한국 음식이 입에 안 맞았어요 (Korean food did not suit my taste)"

I have tried eating authentic Korean Food in Korea when I have been there every year since 2016. So I have come up a list of the cuisine or food that made me want to visit Korea again to eat their deliciously made Korean food. Though some of these food are also available in Korean Restaurants here in the Philippines.

1.)Rabokki

The first time I tried eating rabokki was last 2016. Our teacher in Korean Language class prepared rabokki dish for us. Since I love spicy food, I loved it immediately. The taste of the spicy sauce, soft rice cake and fish cake really suit my taste. The added noodle and cheese make up the bonus to enjoy it more. Rabokki or Tteokbokki is usually seen in kdramas wherein students enjoy as street food or snack.

2.) Kimbap

Kimbap is what they call as the Korean version of maki. But for me, I have much familiarity with kimbap. Since it is hand made, I felt like I could feel the warmth and feeling of the maker which make it even more delicious. Two years ago, when my husband and I had our honeymoon in Korea, this was one of the food that we definitely ate! It is a snack that we can eat anytime. Since I am a rice lover, I love it a lot! Together with the ingredients in it. Ajumma gave my husband and I a free kimbap that she just made in front of us. And we loved it! 

3.) Japchae

Japchae is similar with Filipino dish Chinese inspired Pansit, which has stir fried meat, vegetables and noodles. But instead of the ordinary pansit which is soy sauce and kind of salty, japchae is made up of glass noodles which is sesame oil base with a sweet kind of twist. The first japchae that I tasted was made by our Korean Language teacher. So far, it was the best japchae that I have ever tasted!

4.) Haemul Pajeon

Haemul Pajeon or Pajeon is what they refer as the Korean pizza. The first time I tried this was in the Korean restaurant near our company. It was during 회식 (hweshik, which means 'dinner out'). It was one of our constant favorites when eating out in a Korean restaurant. My colleagues really love it! It is best tasted when dipped in soysauce.

5.) Yangnyeom Chicken

I really have loved fried chicken since I was a child. And I even love it even now. But when I first tried yang nyeom chicken (Spicy Korean Fried Chicken), my idea about fried chicken kind of changed, in a good way. The Korean Fried Chicken has a taste of sweetness in it but aside from that, there is also extreme spiciness included. Since in Korea, chicken and beer (which is also known as 치맥 'chimaek' [chicken - chi, maekju is korean for beer - maek]) is a popular pair, my friends and I tried it when we were there in 2016. It was absolutely perfect~ Except that the chicken was really really spicy that even if I drank a lot of beer already, I could still feel its spiciness. I even tried ordering rice as well because I wanted to reduce its spiciness yet I failed on that part. All in all, it is one of my Korean food favorites! I think you could control the level of spiciness when you order it in Korean restaurants in Korea so no need to worry if you are bothered about the level of its spiciness.

6.) Buldakbokkeumyun

The first time I tried eating buldakbokkeumyun (불닭볶음면) was year 2017. I actually bought a pack from a Korean mart in Los Baños, Laguna. I really did not know anything about it. I just bought it because my hubby (then boyfriend) wanted to try new Korean noodles. It looked spicy so I bought it immediately since we both like spicy food. The one we bought back then was blue in packaging which later on I realized that it was a limited edition and should be served cold due to '쿨 / cool' indicated in the package but also stated that it was 10% more spicy. We loved it immediately despite the extreme spicy flavor that it had. After that, we tried searching for it again but there was none. A year after, it became so popular in the Philippines and it became popular as 'Samyang', the brand of buldakbokkeumyun. Then the Samyang Challenge became so popular! Though my hubby and I loved it even before that. Even now that the Samyang Challenge has already faded out, we still love eating it. We usually eat it with 'Kim (seaweed)', the one on the picture and cheese.

7.) Kamjatang

Kamjatang, which is known as the Pork Bone Stew with Potatoes, was the first authentic Korean food that I ever tasted when I went to Korea. It was my classmate's recommendation so we immediately ate it since it was her favorite as well. And I am glad we followed her recommendation because it was really delicious! The taste of the soft pork ribs plus the potatoes and vegetables really was so flavorful! I could really intake the savoring taste of the pork up to the bones! The stew as well was fantastic! I could recommend this as well to others~ Best served hot and at cold season.

8.) Samgyupsal

I had a really funny experience with Samgyupsal. The first time I tasted this was when I was a new Engineer in our company. I was really not into Korean food before I started working so I just went with the flow with my colleagues. And I noticed that Samgyupsal was the constants (along with pajeon) every time we had company dinner out. It was the time when samgyupsal was not popular in the Philippines yet (way back 2014) so it was not familiar to me. I saw my colleagues wrapping the lettuce on the pork so I tried it that way as well. I did not like it the first time~ I noticed that the pork has no taste at all so I just combined it with rice and ate it.

Later on (around 2 years after that), when my Korean Language teacher taught us how to eat samgyupsal properly, was the time I really appreciated it so much. I came to realize that the pork has no seasonings because you should dip it with salt with sesame oil then dip it to ' 쌈장' ssam jang (a special sauce for samgyupsal) to give it flavor, then let the lettuce cover the pork. Aside from the pork, you could also put a lot of '반찬' banchan (side dish) as well to create more distinct and delicious taste. Usually, I put kimchi as well. By this way, I have enjoyed eating samgyupsal up to this day. Like others, it is one of my favorites!

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Korean Food has really been one of my favorites being I am a Korean Enthusiasts~ not just the food, but also the language, culture, music and place! Because of the food, I kind of learn about their culture as well. Aside from the above mentioned, there are also other Korean food to be tried but maybe I will share them on a separate post. For now, these are my favorites. You could comment as well if you have other favorites aside from them. I could try them as well then share to you my experience.

Have a good day~ and let's eat Korean Food! ^^

맛있게 드세요! (Masshitge deuseyo!) - Enjoy your meal!

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