food trip in korea

Have warm, soupy dishes with soju!

A feast of Sausage Jjigae and Bean Curd Hot Pot

Enjoy drinks with meals, a culinary culture of Korea, with sausage jjigae and bean curd hot pot that are made of a variety of ingredients. These two stew dishes are some of the most popular stew dishes in Korea and are all-time favorite foods to be paired with soju.

East Meets West, Sausage Jjigae

Sausage jjigae is a tasty dish, but it tells a product of a sorrowful part of Korean history as a dish born of the Korean War. The first sausage jjigae was said to be made near the US army base in the middle of the Korean War. People took sausages, ham, and baked beans from the army base and added kimchi for a bit of Korean flavor. Often cooked with instant ramyeon noodles, it is a hearty meal with diverse ingredients, as well as a perfect match with a glass of casual drink.
Kimchi and red chili paste supplement the greasy taste of sausages and the added vegetables make it a wholesome meal that doesn’t need any other side dishes. Drink a shot of soju with this, and there you have a perfect meal.

The ultimate nuttiness, Bean Curd Hot Pot!

When the breeze turns chilly in the morning and night, Koreans begin to crave hot pot. In particular, bean curds made from fresh beans harvested in autumn in Korea have soft and nutty flavors like cheese. You can find hot pot dishes with spicy yet great flavors made with common Korean ingredients such as bean curds, meat, mushrooms, water parsleys, crown daisies, radishes, carrots, and red chili pepper powder.

Hot Versus Hearty!
Know the taste, know Korea

Koreans often say “Siwonhada!”, which literally means “It’s so refreshing!” when they drink hot soup, but it’s often perplexing to many foreign visitors. This expression shows a unique culinary culture of Korea. Sipping hot soup gives the thrilling sensation of the hot liquid traveling down the throat, a feeling akin to washing something down to your guts. So, Koreans express this sensation as “refreshing.”
Foreign visitors will be initially surprised at the spiciness of these hot soupy dishes. But a sip after a sip, you will find yourself getting the same “refreshing” sensation. Have soju at the moment of this amazing revelation, and you will find yourself in love with soupy Korean dishes.

No more strong soju!
Sweet fruit-flavored soju and skewers!

Soju’s transformation is truly remarkable. Unlike in the 1990s when strong soju liquors were in fashion, nowadays soju liquors with mild alcohol content, clear tastes, and fruity flavors are in trend.
There are diverse types of fruit-flavored soju in the market and there is a wide range of options with low alcohol content and rich flavors and aroma. Grapefruits, green grapes, blueberries, and peaches are some of the flavors and their sweet taste and mild alcohol content make them perfect matches for skewers. Let’s find out what kinds of skewers go well with fruit-flavored soju.

Beef and Vegetable Skewers and Fruit Soju

“Beef and vegetable skewers” (hwayangjeok or hawangnureumi in Korean) is a Korean traditional food that offers great taste, high nutritional values, and visual satisfaction with marinated boiled bellflower roots, beef, mushrooms, carrots, and cucumbers. It is often made for festive days or holidays, presenting unique experiences for diners with diverse flavors and textures. Match refreshing fruit soju with it for a perfect pairing.

Make your own Vegan Skewers

Skewers can be made to suit your taste. If you are a vegan, you can choose vegan ingredients for healthy skewers and pair them with fruit soju. Try replacing meat with king oyster mushrooms or use soy meat. Put your favorite ingredients such as veggies, rice cake stick, bell pepper, green onion, etc. on a skewer and grill them on charcoal to make your very own, simple, yet tasty skewers!

Fruit Soju for Korean Skewers!

From traditional beef and vegetable skewers to vegan skewers and soju with various fruit flavors, there are so many foods in Korea for you to taste. Which fruit soju would you like to try? Feeling tipsy already from the sweet and fruity aroma? It’s too early to call it a night! There are so many more Korean flavors and vibes for you to try!

The no. 1 stress relief, soju paired with Grilled Pork Belly&Grilled Pork Galbi!

The ordinary yet special feast of the common people!

Pair a glass of soju with the sizzling grilled pork belly pieces and grilled pork galbi! Sprinkle delicious talks on top of it, and there goes the stress of the day. Grilled pork belly and grilled pork galbi are the most popular dinner menu for Korean workers. Have a bite of well-cooked pork and drink up a glass of soju. You will surely shake off the stress you got from work.

The ultimate taste of pork, Grilled Pork Belly!

Pork belly is known for its layers of fat and meat that give off the ultimate flavors of oily yet savory harmony, and you won’t be served with the meat alone. Seasoned green onions that cut through the oiliness, perilla leaves, and lettuce, which are the Korean herbs, garlic, chili peppers, ssamjang (mixed paste), and savory soybean paste jjigae will be served together to complete an ordinary yet very special feast.

Grilled Pork Galbi for you to bite on

If you have started your meal with grilled pork belly, we recommend the sweet and savory grilled pork galbi next. Enjoy the umami and deep nutty flavors of meat with grilled pork belly and the unique Korean flavor with grilled pork galbi. Enjoy the subtle sweetness of Korean soy sauce and sweet fruit juices. Meat marinade that adds garlic, ginger, and green onions to that enhances grilled pork galbi’s chewy texture and nutty aroma.

There is never a wrong leaf wrap!

Place seasoned green onions on lettuce and layer it with garlic, mixed paste, and a well-cooked piece of meat and wrap them up. It’s time to raise the glasses. Making “ssam,” a Korean-style role, is as simple as packing it with your favorite ingredients. Enjoy a burst of diverse flavors in your mouth and sip a glass of soju! Grilled pork belly and grilled pork galbi can be easily found across Korea and are best enjoyed wrapped in lettuce leaves.
From old alleyway eateries to trendy Korean barbeque
Meet grilled pork belly and grilled pork galbi eateries nestled in Korean alleyways and explore Majang Meat Market, the mecca of meat products! This ordinary scenery of Korea will present unique vibes and experiences that you can find only in Korea.

Soju, the comforter of Korean souls!

The single most drunken and sold liquor in Korea is, of course, soju. Statistics show that Koreans consume about seven bottles of soju per month on average. It tells us how soju is the liquor of choice for Koreans’ joys and sorrows and a drink that comforts the troubled minds of Koreans. Most soju sold in Korea is a diluted spirit made of sweet potato, molasses, tapioca, etc.

Same names, different liquors of Korean and Japanese Soju

They share the same name of soju, but Korean and Japanese soju are quite different. Unlike Korea where almost 99% of the soju market is dominated by diluted soju, most soju found in the Japanese market is distilled soju that are made of sweet potato, barley, etc. Korean soju liquors are added with a minute volume of condiments in their manufacturing process, and this adds sweetness to the flavor. As for the Japanese soju liquors, the distillation method yields high alcohol content in them, so it became a tradition to add water or ice to make the liquor milder and enhance the flavors of the ingredients. Korean and Japanese soju liquors might share the same name, but they have evolved differently according to their culture.

Soju, going milder and more diverse!

Korean soju had 25% alcohol content until the 1990s, but now they have 16.9% alcohol. This was aimed to target young female customers and transform the image of soju from hard liquor to an easy-to-enjoy drink. These changes in the drinking culture provided opportunities for the development of soft and sweet flavored soju liquors. Having started with the launch of lemon-flavored soju, we now have various fruit-flavored soju, and even soju with carbonated water, ice cream, or sweets that broadened our choices.
Soju is a liquor that has been around us for about 800 years. Thanks to this ceaseless development and efforts, perhaps, it will continue to be the favorite liquor of Koreans. We introduce various dishes that can be enjoyed with soju and recommend you give a try to this representative alcoholic drink of Korea.