While Asian cooking has become increasingly popular in Europe, people tend to stay safe with comparatively well-known Chinese and Thai recipes. Indeed, getting into a completely new type of cuisine is not an easy thing; Korean food is particularly hard to approach because Korean dining involves a range of new tastes, new techniques and new traditions. But here at Lala Swallow, we are confident that once you take your first steps into the deep domain of Korean Cuisine then you will not regret it. In this blog, we wish to help you fully embrace Korean cuisine with our various tips.

1. Be open to new tastes and surprises

Korean food has a reputation of spice, spice and spice!! Korean food can undeniably be very spicy. BUT there is such a wide variety of different tastes and flavours in Korean food, so much more than just spice. When you first try a Korean dish, it may taste like nothing you’ve every tried before, Korean tastes are certainly different to UK tastes, my British friends sometimes were regularly surprised by the unique tastes of my Korean School lunchbox. To many people, Korean flavours gradually grows on them, developing into an addictive and irresistible crave. One of the many dishes that peope find grow on them is Kimchi! The iconic banchan dish is often put aside by first time tryers for it’s spicy and uniquely fresh taste. However, Kimchi quickly becomes an addictive, mujst-have banchan for most people! Just remember to have an open mind when trying new Korean dishes, you never know you might just find you love the new dishes!

2. Have the right ingredients

Korean food uses a distinct set of ingredients, some that you can find in a normal supermarket. Some ingredients are Korea and can be purchased from Korean, Oriental or Asian shops or are also sometimes available from online platforms like Amazon. You can find various essential ingredients in our blog, where we summarize some must-have ingredients.

3. Start with familiar and popular dishes

Aforementioned, the world of Korean foods is not an easy thing to suddenly get into. That’s why we recommend you try (whether you are cooking or eating), the most popular and well-known dishes first! We recommend dishes like Bibimbap (see recipe here) which are acknowledged and enjoyed worldwide. Also, take advantage of the flexibility of ingredients in Korean food. Most Korean dishes do not have set ingredients but have a lenient range of different toppings or ingredients you can include in your dish. For example you can choose your Bibimbap[ topppings, or choose whether you want meat or just vegetables, an egg or no egg. This is a great feature of Korean cooking so make the most of it!

4. Know about Korean table etiquette and culture.

Korean cooking not only celebrates the various Korean dishes, but the traditions and culture of the country are also integrated in the dining. There are several cultural aspects in Korean dining that you should be aware of when you are eating in Korea, or with Korean people, or even if you are having your own Korean feast! Etiquettes, rules and cultural mannerisms are outlines in our blog here, so go check it our for more tips and information!