My parents are Korean, and they are receiving some 10-12 foreign guests from the US who want to serve some Korean cuisine. However, they are clueless about what kind of Korean sauce/seasonings they may be familiar with and what food must be avoided when serving Americans (probably) not used to Korean food. What kind of sauce is most popular among non-Koreans abroad in other countries? What kind of food should people likely be most familiar with? TY in advance!
by infiNite_HyPE_343
7 Comments
Pajeon, japchae, bibimbap, and mandu are all popular for “beginners”. Serve anything extra spicy on the side. I would absolutely include plenty of banchan so they can try “omg what is that” new foods without having to really commit.
Bulgogi….
Korean bbq, bulgogi galbi spicy pork
I have been addicted to watching different shows and videos where foreigners eat Korean food, and I feel like ~95+% of people love ssamjang.
It’s possible that some people they host might have horrible spice tolerance (like, “black pepper is spicy for me”), so if they ever serve a spicy dish or spicy banchan, it might be a good idea to make sure there’s an option that has no spice at all?
I think that texture is something important to think about. I feel like generally speaking, a lot of cuisines don’t value different textures as much and don’t have as much variety in texture of foods, so I feel like texture is a common complaint among people who don’t like certain Asian foods. For example, I had a friend who didn’t like the texture of the sauce for jjajangmyeon. I was shocked! They said it was “too sticky”. I feel like this area is something that would be hard to predict, but maybe it’s something to at least think about?
Anything soya sauce based will be familiar to Americans.
Just make sure it’s authentic, which it is, and have both spicy and non spicy options.
If they are not blown away, then they are cereal and tuna fish eating humans!
I had never heard of makgeolli until I was hosted a dinner in Seoul and I am OBSESSED.