Kimchi
Kimchi is probably more ubiquitous on the Korean table than rice, and it is included in breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is a spicy fermented cabbage. Typically, it has seafood brine or fish sauce added to it, but it can also be done completely vegan at home.
Dubu Jorim
Tofu is an excellent meat substitute and many Korean restaurants have tofu dishes on their menu. Dubu jorim, braised tofu, is a good option for spicy food enthusiasts. Slices of tofu are fried in oil until they are crisp and then braised in a mixture of soya sauce, garlic, onion, green onion, salt, hot pepper flakes, sugar and sesame seeds. The braised tofu is served with a number of banchan, just as with the aforementioned dishes.
Doenjang Chiggae
Doenjang Chiggae is a soup with a soybean paste as its base. It typically has clams, but I learned to ask for it without them, which left me with a wonderful assortment of tofu, mushrooms, onion, potato and zucchini. Served spiced with red pepper flakes and with a side of rice, kind of like gumbo, it was a fantastically filling soup. At the supermarket or online, simply look for doenjang, the soybean paste.
Bibimbap
Bibim means “mixed,” warranting a mixed steamed rice dish. You will get a bowl with colorfully displayed vegetables and mushrooms topped with a fried egg and a stainless steel bowl with hot rice and a side dish with gochujang, a thick, deep-red chili paste.
On the table you will find an additional array of side dishes, most of them vegetables and mushrooms. Tofu, meat or fish dishes may be part of them as well. You mix the rice with the contents of your bowl, adding as much spicy sauce as you like, and eat it with your spoon, while nibbling from the side dishes with your chop sticks.
Kimbap
Kimbap was introduced to me as Korean sushi, but in actuality, it is not. While raw fish is quite a big thing there, in fact, kimbap is a seaweed (kim) and rice (bap) roll stuffed with virtually anything from ham and eggs to American cheese slices. For me, it was crunchy pickled radishes, cucumber and carrot. Sometimes there would also be marinated mushrooms.
Hobak juk
Hobak juk is a popular dish in South Korea in the cold winter months. A thick, sweet and hearty porridge, it is made from pumpkin, sweet glutinous rice flour and brown sugar. It can also include red beans and pine nuts.