A Journey Into Korean Cuisine

I've always had a love for Korean cuisine since I live in Strathfield which is heavily densed with Korean restaurants. I also have many friends that are Korean and I guess friends like to take friends out and let their other friends try their dishes from home. This is definately one of the perks of living in such a beautiful and multicultural country!

I feel that Korean cuisine is a slow and untapped market in regards to dining in Australia, however I do believe that it is slowly on the rise and that we will see many other Korean restaurants open up all over Sydney and of course Australia.

Koreans are famous for one thing in their cuisine. Yup, that's right - kimchi! I can guarantee you that every Korean dish will have kimchi on the side and that NO Korean will not have kimchi in their diet at least a few times a week. So, what is kimchi? It's pretty much just chopped up vegetables (mostly cabbage) and it also usually includes fermented peppers and chilli, onions, garlic, ginger, chives and salted fish sauce. Apparently, it's one of the most healthy food combinations in the world. How would I describe the taste of kimchi? Well at first, you get a big punch of that chilli followed by the saltiness and then some sweetness and then all this water just follows through after - which I'm guessing is from the cabbage.

Koreans also love to serve their soup dishes otherwise known as hot pots. Some of the most common soup dish or hot pots also contain, funnily enough, kimchi as the base for the soup. It is then followed by what's thrown in with random vegetables and any type of meat you like. I personally like frankfurts/sausages, spam, and pork belly and of course if you are little fancy - put some instant noodles and cheese in it as well.

And last but certainly not least, barbeque. I'll just say BBQ for now. Koreans love to cook their own meat on a hot grill with charcoal underneath. And I definitely love it too. I love watching my meat grilled to perfection and see it sizzle and spit out its juices. What I really like about Korean BBQ is that the restaurant would always have on hand, marinated meats. This makes the meat so much more tastier. Some of the marinates would include a chilli, soy or sesame sauce OR, if you're not into the marinated meats, they allow you to have the meat grilled on its own and then sauce on the side. The main meat parts include ribs, fillet, belly and cheek. Check out the eagerness on my face with the photo below. Of course, being an Asian cuisine, you would eat all of the above with rice. 

Most Korean restaurants can be found in Strathfield and Eastwood as well as the Sydney CBD. I don't normally go to Eastwood so there isn't any I would recommend but in Strathfield, WONJO for soup base dishes and hotpots and Jang Ta Bal which specialises ONLY in BBQ. In the Sydney CBD, I would recommend Seoul-Ria. 

By Jason