Korean food is known for its spiciness but there are non-spicy dishes which are equally delicious.
If you feel like eating Korean cuisine but could not handle the heat, try these dishes instead.
1. Jajangmyeon
The main component of this Korean noodle dish is its sauce, made of chunjang or black bean sauce, ground pork and vegetables.
The sauce is thick and served hot over thick noodles made from white wheat flour.
For those who prefer rice instead of noodles, the rice variation of this dish is jajangbap made with the same sauce but served with rice.
Imagine a heavier taste of soy sauce with a thicker texture – that is what jajang sauce tastes like.
If you are not a fan of soy sauce however, you might not like jajangmyeon either.
2. Sujebi
Sujebi or hand-pulled dough soup is one of my personal favourite Korean dishes.
It has a refreshing broth with noodles roughly torn by hand served with vegetables.
Malaysians can compare sujebi to local pan mian with kelp instead of mani chai.
Once you’ve tried it, you might start craving for sujebi especially during the rainy season.
3. Kimbap
This rice-roll wrapped in seaweed is so irresistible and perfect for light lunches.
There are varieties of fillings of kimbap including cheese, egg strips, carrot, cucumber, kimchi, ham, tuna, stir-fried beef and spicy cooked squid.
4. Bibimbap
This dish was listed at number 40 on the World’s 50 most delicious foods reads’ poll compiled by CNN Travel.
Bibimbap literally translates to “mixed rice”. It is usually a bowl of rice topped with sauteed and seasoned vegetables and gochujang (chilli pepper paste).
To make the non-spicy version of this dish – just replace gochujang with doenjang (soybean paste).
Vegetables commonly used are cucumber, radish, mushroom, soybean sprouts and seaweed.
Historically, bibimbap was served to the king for lunch or a between-meals snack. However, nowadays it is a perfect dish for any time of the day.
5.Doenjang jjigae or doenjang guk
Doenjang or soybean paste is used by Koreans as a seasoning or as a dipping condiment.
This paste can be used to make doenjang jjigae (soybean stew) and doenjang guk (soybean soup).
Other ingredients usually added to both these dishes are mushrooms, tofu, potatoes, radishes, seafood and meat.
The difference is that doenjang jjigae is heartier, thicker compared to doenjang guk.
6.Bulgogi
If you love meat, this is the dish for you.
To make bulgogi, one can either grill thinly cut slices of meat (pork or beef) or stir-fry them.
What makes the meat flavourful is all thanks to its seasoning which is a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil, black pepper, onions and interestingly enough, pureed pears.
7. Japchae
If the Thais have their pad thai, the Koreans have their japchae to brag about.
The star of this dish is dangmyeon, a type of cellophane noodle made from sweet potato starch.
It is cooked with various ingredients such as carrots, spinach, and onions.
Every ingredient is stir fried separately before being mixed together and season with soy sauce and sesame oil.
8.Galbitang
This non-spicy dish is usually served at wedding receptions.
Galbitang literally means “short ribs soup”. It is a clear dish made by slowly simmering galbi for hours.
It is fits for the royals as there were records of galbitang to be served in Korean royal banquets in the 1890s.
9. Kalguksu
Similar to sujebe, this dish is made of handmade, knife-cut wheat flour noodles served in a hearty broth.
The broth is commonly made with dried anchovies and kelp or chicken.
There are various types of kalguksu including snail kalguksu, perilla seed kalguksu and millet kalguksu.
10. Naengmyeon
The Japanese are not the only who are known for its cold noodle.
In South Korea, naengmyeon is long, thin noodle served with iced broth, cucumbers, pears and radish.
Because its served cold, the dish is a famous dish during the summer season.
Sometimes the dish is served with gochujang but the non-spicy version of this is made with beef and radish broth.
