Korean food wasn’t really on my radar until my early thirties when a friend dragged me to a KBBQ place in Koreatown. I ordered badly, had no idea what I was doing, and left completely obsessed. Now I eat Korean food probably once a week and have strong opinions about the major dishes.
Kimchi
Fermented cabbage sounds unappetizing in description but it’s genuinely addictive. I resisted for years because I thought I didn’t like “fermented things.” I was wrong.
Good kimchi is crunchy, spicy, tangy, funky. It goes with everything – rice, eggs, noodles, straight from the jar at 2am. I keep at least one jar in my fridge at all times now.
The best kimchi I’ve had was at my friend’s mom’s house. She’d made it herself months earlier and it was deeply fermented, almost fizzy. Store-bought is fine but homemade is another level.
Korean BBQ
The premise is simple: grill meat at your table, wrap it in lettuce with rice and sides, eat. The execution is chaos in the best way.
Bulgogi (thin marinated beef) is the entry point for most people. Sweet, garlicky, forgiving if slightly overcooked. Galbi (short ribs) is richer and more impressive. Samgyeopsal (pork belly) is straight-up indulgent.
The sides – banchan – are half the experience. Little dishes of pickled this and seasoned that appear without you ordering them. I’ve gotten full on banchan before even touching the main meat.
Pro tip: wait for the edges to caramelize before flipping. I was way too impatient at first.
Bibimbap
Rice bowl with vegetables, egg, meat (optional), and gochujang (spicy red paste). Mix it all together – that’s what bibimbap means, “mixed rice.”
The dolsot version comes in a screaming hot stone bowl that crisps the rice at the bottom. That crispy rice is the best part. I’ve been known to scrape the bowl.
Bibimbap is my “healthy” Korean food option. Lots of vegetables, reasonable portion of protein, satisfying without being heavy. It’s what I order when I’ve had too much pork belly lately.
Tteokbokki
Chewy rice cakes in spicy red sauce. This is street food, snack food, drunk food. It shouldn’t be as good as it is.
The texture is weird at first if you’re not used to it. Soft and chewy simultaneously. Some people don’t like it. I’m obsessed with it.
Fair warning: the spice level is real. I have a decent heat tolerance and some versions still destroy me. Start mild if you’re uncertain.
Sundubu-jjigae
Soft tofu stew that comes to your table still boiling. The restaurant cracks a raw egg into it which cooks from the heat. Sounds simple, tastes profoundly comforting.
This is my cold weather order. Warming from the inside out, gently spicy, silky tofu texture. With a bowl of rice on the side, it’s a complete meal.
The Wine Question
Honestly? Korean food with wine is tricky. The fermented flavors, the spice, the bold seasoning – it fights with most wines.
If I’m drinking wine with Korean: sparkling (cuts through richness), off-dry Riesling (handles spice), or light chilled red like Beaujolais.
But really, this is beer and soju territory. Cold beer with KBBQ is perfection. Fighting that tradition with wine feels like missing the point. Some cuisines pair best with their native beverages.
Korean food has become a genuine comfort cuisine for me. There’s something about the combination of heat, fermentation, and richness that my palate craves now. If you haven’t explored beyond basic kimchi, there’s a whole world waiting.
