Aka Aurora's Tales

Hey, I am a Korean freak. Not only the music, drama, or the culture, I love Korean foods too. In  Indonesia, many Indonesians are interesting about Korean foods. Korean restaurants or just small Korean food stall, they are available. Some of Korean ramyeon brands are available too in the supermarket or hypermarket. Let's check, what are Korean foods which become Indonesian favourites ?

1. Shin Ramyeon - Nongshim
Nongshim is popular in Indonesian. Many hypermarkets sell it. Usually there are just several flavours. I found them out in the hypermarket.

Nongshim spicy mushroom

Nongshim Spicy Mushroom Bowl

Nongshim Jjajangmyeon

Nongshim Spicy Seafood Flavour

Nongshim Spicy Seafood Neoguri Udon 

I have tried them, except Jjajangmyeon one. Oh ya, when I read an article in Korea.com , I found Nongshim Hearty Rice Noodle Soup. It's an ordinary ramyeon, but it's made from 100 % rice, no msg, and low fat ! I hope it will come to Indonesia quickly :)


2. Kimbab

Kimbap or kimbap is a popular Korean dish made from steamed white rice (bab) and various other ingredients, rolled in gim (sheets of dried laver seaweed) and served in bite-size slices. Kimbab is often eaten during picnics or outdoor events, or as a light lunch, served with danmuji or kimchi. It is similar to the better-known Japanese makizushi.

The basic components of kimbap are rice, meat or other protein-rich ingredients, and a large variety of vegetables, pickled, roasted, or fresh. Traditionally, the rice is lightly seasoned with salt and sesame oil/perilla oil. Popular protein ingredients are fish cakes, imitation crab stick, egg, spam-like meat, or seasoned beef rib-eye. Vegetables usually include cucumbers, spinach, carrots, and danmuji (pickled radish). After the gimbap has been rolled and sliced, it is typically served with danmuji.

In Indonesia, we know Kimbab twaegim too. Twaegim means fried. So Kimbab twaegim is a regular kimbab which is fried by an egg. It's one of my favourite. When I go to the Korean restaurant at my campus, I always order Kimbab twaegim.




3. Bulgogi

If Indonesians go to Korean restaurant, they always order for this food. Bulgogi is a Korean dish that usually consists of marinated barbecued beef, although chicken or pork may also be used. But in Indonesia, it's seldom to serve bulgogi using pork. Bulgogi is made from thin slices of sirloin or other prime cuts of beef. Before cooking the meat is marinated, marinated to enhance its flavour and tenderness, with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and other ingredients such as scallions, or mushrooms, especially white button mushrooms or shiitake. Sometimes, cellophane noodles are added to the dish, which varies by region and specific recipe.

Bulgogi is traditionally grilled, but pan-cooking is common as well. Whole cloves of garlic, sliced onions, and chopped green peppers are often grilled or fried with the meat.This dish is sometimes served with a side of lettuce or other leafy vegetable, which is used to wrap a slice of cooked meat, often along with a dab of ssamjang, or other side dishes, and then eaten as a whole.
Bulgogi is served in barbecue restaurants in South Korea and there are bulgogi flavoured fast-food hamburgers sold at many Korean fast-food restaurants. The hamburger patty is marinated in bulgogi sauce and served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and sometimes cheese. It is similar to a teriyaki burger in flavour.

So, bulgogi is almost same like teriyaki. and Indonesians love it ^^

4. Bibimbab

Have you ever watched a Korean drama " Full House " ? If yes, you must know this food. Lee Young Jae ( Rain ) and Han Ji Eun ( Song Hye Gyo ) ate it.



Bibimbap is a popular Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed meal." Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot.


Vegetables commonly used in bibimbap include julienned cucumber, zucchini, mu (daikon), mushrooms, doraji (bellflower root), and gim, as well as spinach, soybean sprouts, and gosari (bracken fern stems). Dubu (tofu), either plain or sautéed, or a leaf of lettuce may be added, or chicken or seafood may be substituted for beef. For visual appeal, the vegetables are often placed so that adjacent colors complement each other.

A variation of this dish, dolsot bibimbap (돌솥 비빔밥, "dolsot" meaning "stone pot"), is served in a very hot stone bowl in which a raw egg is cooked against the sides of the bowl. The bowl is so hot that anything that touches it sizzles for minutes. Before the rice is placed in the bowl, the bottom of the bowl is coated with sesame oil, making the layer of the rice touching the bowl golden brown and crispy.

5. Kimchi Bokkeumbab ( Kimchi Fried Rice )



Along with kimchi and rice, kimchi bokkeumbap can contain many kinds of ingredients. Pork is preferred, however, beef, chicken, bacon, ham, or spam can be used. Instead of meat, canned tuna, shrimp, or mushrooms can be used as a replacement, in the case the ingredient's name may be prefixed to the dish's name such as "beoseot kimchi bokkeumbap" (hangul: 버섯김치볶음밥, literally "mushroom kimchi bokkeumbap"). Meat ingredients are chopped into the dish together with vegetables such as onion, carrot or zucchini. However, ingredients depend on personal preference and occasion. A small amount of minced garlic and sliced green pepper can be used as seasoning. These ingredients are fried in a pan with a little vegetable or sesame oil.

After the cooked dish is put on a plate or in a bowl, a fried egg is sometimes served on top. Thinly shredded gim, chopped scallions or sesame are spread over it to enhance the flavor and to garnish.

But don't worry, not all of Korean restaurant in Indonesia use pork for their kimchi bokkeumbab. So you must ask for the ingredient to the waiter.

6. Kimchi

Of course you have heard about Kimchi. Kimchi is the popular Korean food in the world. Some of Indonesian loves it too. I think the taste is like 'Asinan Bogor' ( fruit, vegetable, and peanut are mixed with a sweet sour soup. It's served cold. - a traditional food from Bogor, West Java, Indonesia ). The difference is Asinan Bogor doesn't fermentated like Kimchi.




Kimchi (김치), also spelled gimchi, kimchee, or kim chee, is a traditional fermented Korean dish, made of vegetables with varied seasonings. I went to Lotte Mart in Jakarta, Indonesia. They serve 2 various of kimchi. Altari Kimchi ( kimchi which is made by white radish ) and Baekchu Kimchi ( kimchi which is made by cabbage ). For your information, Kimchi is in the Top 5 Healthiest Food in The World. So I suggest you to consume Kimchi.

7. Jeon ( Buchimgae )

Buchimgae is like a pancake, but salty. There is squid, meat, vegetables, chilli, or even kimchi. Okay let us say that buchimgae is a snack, but it can fulfill your stomach and you'll full of it. Hahaha. Buchimgae is also called as Korean Pizza. It's same with okonomiyaki too. No sauce for eat it. You can ask for salt soysauce to accompany you to eat buchimgae.




Hmmm ... I will post some Korean foods which I recommend for you again. Hope you get a new information about Korean foods and you can search it on your country. Happy Eating ! ^^