A dish of seafood soup, a staple menu option in Korean restaurants. Photo by Emily Shapiro

A side of kimchi (pickled cabbage) – the national dish of Korea. Photo by Emily Shapiro

A bottle of soju, a popular rice wine in Korea. Photo by Emily Shapiro

By Emily Shapiro

Cabbage, spices, mussels, leaves, and octopus … Sounds delicious, right? If you live in Korea these are many of the choices that are available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Did I say breakfast? Of course I did. Breakfast here consists of what can be considered lunch and dinner options at home. This is part of the uniqueness of Korea, and something that takes some getting used to.

I am an adventurous person. (I moved from Bakersfield to South Korea to teach English, afterall.) When it comes to food, I have no limitations. I will try everything at least once. I am not squeamish, which is apparent in many of my food choices. So far, in my short 25 years of life, I have eaten everything from the normal and semi-normal (cow, duck, deer) to the rare and abhorrent (snake, moose, and alligator … which all taste like chicken).

When I arrived, I looked forward to the delicious cuisine that I would find in my new abode. After weeks of subsisting on Spam, tuna, peppers, mushrooms, and corn I was looking forward to something different, and I was not disappointed.

Most Korean meals consist of fresh vegetables and a meat dish, which they eat in small proportions. Their meat options include pork (which is fried), chicken and beef. Rice is also served, but only in certain restaurants. This was surprising as I had assumed that like the Japanese, Koreans would eat rice with every meal.

However, one must never make assumptions. I had also assumed that meals in Korea would entail very quick service with little interaction, on the part of the servers and the patrons alike. However, I was completely surprised.

It turns out, mealtimes are seen as a time for talk and entertainment, and it is not uncommon to have a dinner last for two to three hours, depending upon the number of people in the party, and the amount of Soju and beer that is consumed.

Soju is Korea’s rice wine. Slightly more potent than most wines, it has a lower alcohol content than liquor, at about 20 percent, and is clear in color. It can be sweet or tart. The beer that is served is Cass, which is brewed from rice.

The real star of any Korean meal is kimchi. Kimchi is a side dish of cooked cabbage. It can be as hot as you want or as mild depending upon where you go, and what it is flavored with. It comes in as many varieties as BBQ back home. The basic ingredients are the same: cabbage, spices, and sometimes a vegetable. But the preparation and cooking time are well kept secrets. In fact you could say that, just as Americans pride themselves on their BBQ, Koreans pride themselves on their kimchi.

Kimchi is Korea’s national, and most famous, dish. As pretty as kimchi looks, and as spicy or unspicy as it may taste, there is one small fault with it. According to one of my students, the cooking process makes it stink.

If kimchi does not tempt your palette, there are many other dishes, such as cold soup and seafood soup. Seafood soup is a spicy red soup, cooked with mussels, clams, shrimp, lobster, crawdads, squid, octopus, potatoes, spices, and lettuce leaves. Cold soup is a clear soup with bean sprouts, and, as is evident in the name, is served chilled. This dish is meant as a kind of summertime dessert dish.

Whether you want spicy or sweet, tasty or tart, Korea has something for everyone. If you’d like to taste Korean food in Bakersfield, try Korean BBQ Restaurant at 6401 White Lane, Suite 101, near Ashe Road. Let me know what you think.

Emily Shapiro is a 2009 CSUB alumna who majored in communications with emphases in journalism and public relations. She is working as an English teacher in Seoul, South Korea.