vegging in chungju

COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO VEGETARIAN KOREAN FOOD

      After being a vegetarian in Korea for 2 years, there are some 

things I've noticed. Basically, Koreans don't really seem to understand 

vegetarianism, or can't usually comprehend exactly what that means 

and think vegetarians just can't eat anything. So I've decided to make a 

list of foods that are vegetarian, can easily be made vegetarian, 

or can easily have meat removed.

      WARNING: soups/broth are animal based 99% of the time and Koreans

really like to sneak in little bits of ground up animals into almost 

everything. 

      ALSO, ham and odeng (fishcakes) are not really considered meat 

here... 

I've also made note of whether or not things are spicy, or have  

고추장 gochujang/red pepper paste. But generally, along with bits 

of meat, Koreans, more often then not, also like to generously 

add in spicy red pepper flakes or paste. 

It varies restaurant by restaurant.

It's easy to ask for things without meat, and sometimes without 

gochujang...

But Koreans don't always understand why you wouldn't want meat...

Easy way to ask: ______ 없이/oep shi (without.) 
Example: 고기 없이 = without meat. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

rice:
비빔밥 bibimbap - mixed vegetables, fried egg on top
 comes with meat - occasionally, but often without at the fast 

                   food places.
 spicy - yes, comes with gochujang.

돌솥비빔밥 - dolsot bibimbap - bibimbap served in a burning hot bowl 

                             with a raw egg on top, as you mix it, 

                             the egg cooks.

        spicy - yes, comes with gochujang.

        comes with meat - occasionally, but often without at the 

                          fast food places.

보리밥 - boribap - rice and barley mixed with vegetables. Usually the rice 

                  comes separate and you add what you want from the 

                  selection.

        spicy - gochujang is on the side, so you don't have to add it.

        comes with meat - usually no 

볶음밥 - fried rice, I've only gotten this a couple of times, so I'm

        not sure how much it varies. 

        spicy - no, unless it has kimchi

        comes with meat - yes, usually bits of ham or something 

                          like that.  

오므라이스 - omurice - omelete served over rice

        spicy - no

        comes with meat - yes, bits of meat are usually in the rice, 

                          sometimes served with gravy. 

김밥 - kimbap - like sushi, seaweed, rice, filling.

      comes with meat - yes, usually ham, egg and odeng.

      spicy - no. 

유부초밥 - tofu pockets (tents) filled with rice
       comes with meat - sometimes there's a little bit of seafood 

                         mixed in the rice, but usually no.

       spicy - no.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

noodles:
칼국수 - kalguksu - hot cut noodle soup, comes in anchovy broth

       comes with meat - sometimes seafood 해물.

       spicy - no. 

비빔국수 - bibimguksu - cold noodles served with gochujang (red pepper 

                      paste), vegetables and half a boiled egg

       comes with meat - no, unless it's at a fancy/expensive place.

       spicy - yes.

공국수 - kong guksu - cold noodles in soymilk with cucumbers

       comes with meat - no.

       spicy - no. 

잔치국수 - janchi guksu - hot noodles with vegetables on top

       meat - not usually.

       spicy - no. 

 막국수 - makguksu - cold buckwheat noodles in broth with 

                       gochujang, vegetables and half a boiled egg. 

        meat - sometimes sliced on top. 

        spicy - yes. 

열무국수 - yeolmuguksu - yeolmu is young radish. Cold noodles with young radish 

                         kimchi and half a boiled egg on top, tastes a bit sour. 

        meat - sometimes sliced on top, not usually.  

        spicy - yes. 

수제비 - sujaebi - hand torn noodle soup, sometimes with seafood, yeolmuguksu

                  and can be spicy. Sometimes it's combined with

                  kalguksu. 

       meat - sometimes.

       spicy - sometimes. 

비빔냉면 - bibim naengmyun - cold chewy buckwheat noodles with gochujang 

                            and half of a boiled egg. 

       meat - no, not usually.

       spicy - yes. 

물냉면 - mul naengmyun - cold chewy noodles in some kind of (usually)animal broth

       meat - usually no.

       spicy - no. 

쫄면 - jjolmyun - similar to bibimguksu, slightly different noodles. Cold noodles

                 with hot pepper paste, vegetables and usually half a boiled egg.

          meat - usually no. 

          spicy - yes.

자장면 - jajangmyun - noodles in black soybean sauce with onions, potatoes, 

                     meat and cucumbers.

       meat - cut up cubes of meat. 

       spicy - no.

잡채 - japchae - sweet potato/glass noodles with vegetables 

       meat - sometimes cut up bits.

       spicy - no. 

라면 - ramyun - instant noodles. There are a lot of different brands.

               There is one brand that states "no meat" on it in English. 

       meat - depends on type.

       spicy - depends on type.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

soup:
된장찌개 - dwaenjang jjigae - fermented soybean soup.

        meat - often some seafood, sometimes pork.

        spicy - yes.

청국장 - chung gook jang - fermented soybean soup. Intense version of dwaenjang.

      meat - not usually.

      spicy - sometimes a little spice is added.

순두부 - soondubu - spicy soft tofu soup. Usually has some kind of seafood and 

                   comes with an egg in it or on the side. 

공비지찌개 - kongbiji jjigae - ground soybean soup, sometimes has a bit of ground

                             meat added. Not overly spicy usually. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

sides/banchan/반찬 - there are a lot of these, so I'll only add a few.
가지나물 - eggplant (sometimes has red pepper flakes added) 

김치 - kimchi - spicy fermented cabbage, has fish oil

 공나물 - beansprouts (sometimes spicy)

 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
pancakes (전), anju (안주) snacks:
파전 - pajeon - green onion pancake. Sometimes has egg cooked in, sometimes doesn't.

      (other types: 김치(kimchi, spicy), 야채 (vegetable, sometimes has hot peppers), 

       고구마 (sweet potato), 호박 (pumpkin), 감자 (potato)...) 

찐빵 - jjin bbang - sweet red bean filled bun. 

만두 - mandu - dumplings, served fried, steamed. Ok, these pretty much always come

              with meat. But I've found some "웰빙 well being" ones that just have

              peppers and japchae. 

 But make sure you check with the restaurant, I've come across some kimchi mandu that 

didn't have meat, just tofu instead.

두부김치 - tofu kimchi - just a bunch of tofu served with fried kimchi.

                      spicy - yes.

                      meat - rarely, once in my case, with the kimchi. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

porridge juk 죽 (not spicy/no meat):
팥죽 - patjuk - red bean porridge 

 호박죽 - hobakjuk - pumpkin porridge

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
desserts (Korea doesn't really do desserts):
마탕 - matang - candied sweet potatoes 

떡 - deok - rice cakes - these come in all different types. Sometimes they're

            just rice, or have beans, seeds, fruit, etc. added. 

 팥빙수 - patbingsu - sweet red beans, fruit, shaved ice

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
drinks:
식헤 - shik hae - rice drink
소주 - soju - 20% liquor
막걸리 - makkeolli - rice wine
동동주 - dongdongju - rice wine with floating rice bits