Experiencing Korea - Korean Ramen

Jin Ramen, the first Korean food that I bought. I bought this at our supermarket and it is worth 45 pesos. I’m so excited to go home when I bought this. I chose this brand of noodles because Micky Yoochun is advertising it, he only advertised the Gis Myeon Ramen not the Jin Ramen. I also want to buy the Gis Myeon Ramen but it is not available in the supermarket.

When I arrived at our house, I immediately boiled some water over the stove. I read the instructions on how to prepare the noodles; I also read some Korean characters on the cup. I can read Korean but I could not understand it. I opened the cup noodles, and then smelled its spicy aroma. After the water has boiled, I poured it to the cup noodles and waited for a few minutes.

Minutes have passed and I opened the cup, its aroma filled our house. I was so very excited to eat it, especially because I will use chopsticks to eat. Before eating it, I prepared my room (I usually eat my snacks at my room) and also myself. With the excitement to eat, I accidentally burned my tongue (hehe…so careless). I have attempted to imitate Park Ha’s way of eating the ramen (Drama: Rooftop Prince) but I think the taste of the ramen is not complete with that kind of eating. I want to eat the ramen noodles along with the soup. I tried to use the chopsticks but not so long, I have decided to use a spoon.

At the beginning, the taste of the ramen was not so spicy, but after a few minutes of eating it, the ramen was so spicy that I have to drink water every time I swallow it.  Overall, the ramen tastes good even though it’s spicy. I have tasted the Philippine made Korean noodle named Jjampong, manufactured by Lucky me. They have the same spiciness but the Jin Ramen of Ottogi satisfies me the most. 

PSY's Wiki Korea - YASIK

PSY's Wiki Korea asks, what are the most popular type of Yasik in Korea?

Here's my answer:

Have you ever heard the word “Yasik”? Well, Yasik is a Korean term for late-night meals. If you stay awake late at night, you need something to energize yourself and that is the time when you will give a call to a restaurant for some “Yasik”. There are many restaurants in Korea that offers Yasik, just give them a call and they will deliver your yasik at your doorstep. This Yasik culture in Korea still continues because many people stay awake late at night, for example, students studying, workers having overtime, others just stay awake because they’re having fun. Yasik also becomes popular during major sporting events like the world cup.

With this Yasik culture of Korea, the foods for Yasik have become popular. There are many foods that you can have as a Yasik, but there are popular ones that you can try. The most popular types of Yasik in Korea are the following:

RAMYEON

Bought a Ramyeon

Ramyeon, a food with curly noodles in a hot bowl of soup. This meal/snack is very popular in Korea, not only as a Yasik but also a food that you can eat anytime. It is a popular Yasik because it is easy to prepare, you, yourself can prepare this meal. With just little time, you can cook this meal. Ramyeon is available in restaurants and grocery stores. In grocery stores, they’re available in cups and pouches. This type of food is very popular, as what I have read in Korea Tourism Organization’s website, this food is hailed as the food of the people. If you’re health conscious, you can add vegetables, and mushrooms in this kind of meal.

TTEOKBOKKI

Tteokbokki, a popular Korean snack food made of cylindrical shapes of rice cakes, spices, and hot sauce. This snack is also a popular type of Yasik because it is affordable and you can purchase it everywhere, like in street food stalls and pojang machas. Because of its spiciness, Tteokbokki can be great for the cold atmosphere at night. Also if you eat tteokbokki while you’re studying, this food can take off your drowsiness.

CHICKEN

Chicken is also a very popular yasik in Korea, especially fried chicken. From what I have read in Korea Tourism Organization’s website, in every small town in Korea, there are at least two or three fried chicken franchises that offer delivery services. The chicken is best when accompanied with beer. Today, there are many varieties of chicken in Korea; you can choose what kind of cooked chicken you will buy. The chicken in Korea ranges from the light-tasting rice bake to the traditional Korean chicken covered in hot and spicy sauce.

HOPPANG

Steamed white buns with beans or vegetables as filling, a really good snack to eat especially during winter.

KIMBAP

I made my Kimbap.

Kimbap or Korea sushi is a popular Korean dish made from steamed white rice (bap) and various other ingredients, rolled in gim (sheets of dried laver seaweed) and served in bite-size slices. If you want a healthy type of Yasik, then Kimbap would be good for you. You can order Kimbap or you can make your own. It is good to make your own because you can decide on what ingredients you would like to put in. I think Kimbap is also popular as a yasik because based on what I have seen in some Korean dramas, they eat Kimbap also late at night. Although Kimbap can be classified as a Yasik, you can also eat Kimbap at anytime, day or night.

Sources:

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/AK/AK_EN_1_4_9_4.jsp

Korean Cuisine by Korea Tourism Organization