Learn all about the top five dishes you just have to try while traveling in South Korea
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| Tim: Hi, everyone! Tim here! I am joined in the studio by… |
| Debbie: Hello everyone! Debbie here! Welcome to our “All About” series. This is All About Lesson 7. |
| Tim: That’s right. This series deals with everything you ever wanted to know about Korea. |
| Debbie: Okay, what’s today’s topic, Tim? |
| Tim: Debbie, are you hungry? |
| Debbie: Yes, I am…why? |
| Tim: Then, I'm sorry, because... today’s topic is “All About” Korean Food! |
| Debbie: Oh~ Korean food is so~~ good! Tim, before we talk about Korean food any further, why don’t we talk about the basics of Korean food first? |
| Tim: Okay, sure! First, Koreans have a rich food culture but, generally, the Korean diet is rice-based. |
| Debbie: Yes, each person is given an individual bowl of rice, and a variety of small dishes of veggies, meats and fish are placed in the middle of the table for everyone to share. |
| Tim: And also, Korean food uses a wide variety of ingredients, so it is good for your health. |
| Debbie: Yes! That’s exactly why I love Korean food so much. It’s the perfect package – it’s healthy, nutritious, varied, it’s low in calories, and relatively cheap when compared to a Western diet. Okay, then what’s next? |
| Tim: Now let’s move onto “Regional dishes”. |
| Debbie: Oh! That’s right! There are famous dishes that are unique to each region in Korea. |
| Tim: Yes. There are certain regions that are famous for one dish. |
| Debbie: Like… the city of 전주 is very famous for 비빔밥 “Korean mixed rice” |
| Tim: Yes! We call that, “전주 비빔밥!” Hmm…Yummy! |
| Debbie: And the city of 춘천 is very famous for 닭갈비 “Korean spicy stir-fried chicken with vegetables”. |
| Tim: Yes, we call that, “춘천 닭갈비!” My mouth is watering! |
| Debbie: Wow~mine is too! At least, it makes traveling to the different regions in Korea more interesting! By the way, if you can'T catch the names of these dishes, make sure to check out the PDF - they are all written in there! |
| By the way Tim, what about 김치? I'm sure many of our listeners already know 김치... |
| Tim: That will be mentioned in our next topic – “Popular Korean Dishes”. |
| Debbie: Oh…So what are some popular dishes throughout Korea? |
| Tim: The simple answer for that is 김치 and 불고기. What is 김치, Debbie? |
| Debbie: 김치 is a traditional fermented Korean dish, made of vegetables with varied seasonings. |
| Tim: I must say that 김치 is very unique. |
| Debbie: Unique? In what way? |
| Tim: 김치 is the #1 popular dish in Korea…hands down…but, not amongst non-Koreans. I found that many foreigners don’t like the smell and taste…Even for me, when I was little, I didn’t like 김치 at all. |
| Debbie: Ahh, I've heard that too. It has a very strong smell, so that's part of the reason. So then, what would be a popular Korean dish for non-Koreans? |
| Tim: I guess… 불고기. |
| Debbie: Ah~~ 불고기! 불고기 is “roasted beef with seasoning”. I love 불고기 as well. Listeners, regardless of which dishes are good or popular, just about anything you can get in a decent restaurant in Korea is very good and moderate in price. |
| Tim: So, we recommend that you try as many dishes as possible. |
| Debbie: Yes, I agree! Okay. So now that we’ve covered the popular dishes, what’s next? |
| Tim: We’re moving onto “seasonal dishes”! |
| Debbie: “Seasonal dishes?” What do you mean by that? |
| Tim: Seasonal dishes for special events or a certain period of time. |
| Debbie: Ah~~ got it. For example, on 설날, “New Years Day”, Korean people eat 떡국, ""rice-cake soup"", to celebrate their becoming a year older. |
| Tim: Yes, everybody in Korea gets one year older on 설날, New Year’s Day, and we eat 떡국 together. Don’t ask me why… |
| Debbie: I know. I know. It’s just the tradition and culture, right? |
| Tim: That’s right. |
| Debbie: I also heard that there is a very popular dish to cool you down during those hot summer days. |
| Tim: Ah~~ yes! The staple summer food…냉면 ! |
| Debbie: Yes, 냉면is basically ""a bowl of cold noodles served in an iced broth with sliced beef and half of a hard-boiled egg"". |
| Tim: That’s right. 냉면 is what many Korean people crave during the hot and humid summers, including myself and my mom. |
| Debbie: 하하~~ Like mother, like son. Okay, so what do we have next? |
| Tim: Well, let’s see what I have here… |
| (sound of paper unfolding) |
| Debbie: Is it a list of the “top 5 favorite Korean dishes” recommended by you? |
| Tim: Actually. Yes! I made a list for you and our listeners. |
| Debbie: Okay. Awesome! Why don’t you start with number 5? |
| Tim: # 5 – 김밥. |
| Debbie: 김밥 is made with steamed rice and various vegetables and meat. |
| Tim: and 김밥 is rolled in 김, which is dried seaweed. |
| Debbie: That was a good choice. What’s number 4 on your list? |
| Tim: 김치찌개 – Kimchi hot pot. |
| Debbie: Yes, 김치찌개 is a stew made with kimchi and other ingredients like pork, tofu and green onions. It is usually served boiling hot in a pot right, Tim? |
| Tim: Yes, it is one of the most commonly cooked dishes both at home and in restaurants. I can even cook 김치찌개 by myself 하하~~~! |
| Debbie: Yeah~ that’s right! Last time when I visited your apartment, you cooked 김치찌개. And… |
| Tim: AND!??? |
| Debbie: Never mind...What's number three? |
| Tim: 아~~ It was “so good, you were at a loss for words.” “Thank you Debbie!” |
| Debbie: 어~~ Sure. It was definitely your own version of김치찌개, but enough about김치찌개…let’s move onto number three. |
| Tim: Number 3 is 불고기. |
| Debbie: As we explained earlier, 불고기 is roasted beef with seasoning. |
| Tim: 불고기 is usually served for house guests in Korea. |
| Debbie: Okay, number two? |
| Tim: 삼겹살 |
| Debbie: 삼겹살 is a dish that consists of think, fatty sliced of pork belly meat. You eat 삼겹살 with a special dipping paste, which is made with chili paste and soybean paste. |
| Tim: The way I eat 삼겹살 is by wrapping it with lettuce and adding a piece of grilled onion or garlic. |
| Debbie: And finally what’s number one? |
| Tim: 비빔밥. |
| Debbie: 비빔밥 is “mixed rice” with various veggies and some meat. It’s a very healthy and nutritious dish! |
| Tim: Yes, and it’s very tasty! |
| Debbie: Oh, my goodness… I am so hungry now! |
| Tim: Oh yeah~!? Should I make you my 김치찌개 again? I know you want my 김치찌개~!!! |
| Debbie: Uhh..sure…But I think the listeners want to try some, too. Right, guys? Be sure to send Tim a personal request! Well, that wraps up today’s All About Korea. Thanks everyone for listening and see you again next time. |
| Tim: 감사합니다 여러분, 다음 시간에 또 만나요~~ |
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