If there is one food that is all over the world, it’s Chinese food. For most people, it’s not hard to believe that the food they eat at a Chinese buffet is not exactly what Chinese people eat every day at home, but what people don’t always realize is that Chinese food is not the same in every country. There were Chinese foods in Canada that I have never seen in the US and I have heard of differences in other countries as well.
However, nowhere (in my experience) is Chinese food as different as in Korea. I have heard that what is considered Chinese food in Korea comes from the northeast of China, but it is quite unique (except for fried rice: everywhere has fried rice). Here are the main dishes you see at Korean Chinese restaurants.
Jajangmyeon (자장면): Jajangmyeon is kind of the go-to Korean Chinese food. It is noodles in a black soybean-based gravy. It doesn’t have a strong flavor, but it’s very good. There is also jajangbap, which is the same, but with rice instead of noodles.
Jjambbong (짬뽕): This is the other main Chinese food here. Jjambbong means something like “hodge podge” so it’s a mixture of many things. As you can see by the color, it is very spicy. Jjambbong consists of noodles and various types of seafood such as squid, mussels, sea cucumber, and if you get the expensive stuff, a lot more. It also has a lot of onions in it.
Tangsooyook (탕수육): This is fried pork (or beef, if you want the really expensive stuff) served with a sweet and sour sauce. In some ways it is similar to sweet and sour pork in North America, although (in my opinion) it’s a ton better and also is a lot more expensive. A small serving is about $15 and a large is $20 or more. Of course, a small serving is enough for 2-3 people. This is one of those dishes that only comes in group sizes. Koreans almost always eat out together and so a lot of their food is geared towards groups (I have been turned away from restaurants for being alone, since they had nothing on the menu for only one person). This is one of my favorite Korean Chinese foods.
Japchae (잡채): This is the final mainstay of Korean Chinese food: japchae. This is perhaps a little more familiar looking. It is rice noodles mixed with meat and vegetables. It’s usually pretty mild, although some places make it really spicy.
Here’s what it looks like when you get it delivered:
This is a meal that my wife and I ordered last November when we wanted to splurge. She got the fried rice and I got the jjambbong (lower right). The three-section dish in the lower center is a constant with Korean Chinese food: yellow pickled radishes (which are Korean, originally from Japan), black soybean paste, and raw onion pieces (not pictured, because my wife eats them immediately).
The tansooyook is in the middle, with a big bowl of its sauce. And as if that’s not enough food, they also threw in an order of mandoo, or dumplings, (upper right) for free. Because Korea is all about the free stuff.
They give you wooden chopsticks, but real spoons and real dishes. You eat and when you’re finished, you put them outside your door and the delivery boy comes and gets them later. I’m very glad this system works here, since using real dishes is so much nicer than styrofoam or paper.
I have grown very fond of Korean Chinese food but the problem is, that once I leave Korea, it will be very hard to find. It’s not Korean food, so you can’t find it in most Korean restaurants outside of Korea. And it’s not normal Chinese food, so Chinese restaurants don’t have any of it. There are restaurants in Korean districts, such as in New York or LA that have it, so I’ll have to make a trip to a city every now and then to get it. If you’re near a Korean district, I’d recommend seeking it out.
The Green-Walled Tower 
May 22nd, 2013 at 1:02 am
I notice a big difference in the Chinese food between the California and Texas. In short, not nearly as good in Texas. I haven’t tried east coast Chinese but I expect to someday. That’s some great looking food there. Now I’m hungry. Thanks.
May 22nd, 2013 at 4:06 pm
Come to think of it, I’ve only had east coast Chinese food in the States. I’m sure it’s better in California, since there are so many Chinese living there. It seems this post made everyone hungry. It made me hungry writing it, which was bad, since it was late at night. 🙂
May 22nd, 2013 at 11:48 pm
If you can, visit San Francisco for Chinese food. The Chinatown there has the largest Chinese population of any single location outside of China. And those folks need to eat, so of course there’s lots of great Chinese food available.
June 28th, 2013 at 2:56 pm
I second this suggestion. SF Chinatown.
June 28th, 2013 at 5:42 pm
I’d love to, if I ever get the chance to visit that area.
May 22nd, 2013 at 1:35 am
Wow, your pictures look amazing. I’m hungry.
I really like the system with the dishes. I wonder how they make it work so well. Don’t they ever get the dishes confused with other restaurants? Or is it just the one restaurant that has that system?
May 22nd, 2013 at 4:05 pm
I think they must get them confused sometimes, although I guess they know their own pretty well. All restaurants that deliver use reusable dishes and you can get almost any kind of food delivered. Even barbecue and soup, I think, where they’ll bring a small burner to your house. I’ll have to do a post sometime about all the different kinds of food you can get delivered here.
May 22nd, 2013 at 2:42 am
That’s so interesting how everything is geared toward groups and that you were actually turned away for being alone. That’s a cultural difference, which I kind of like actually. Food looks delicious, although different! The dishes…we talked about that…would never work here! Highly unlikely. I bet people would keep them. Do any other countries do the real dishes that you know about?
May 22nd, 2013 at 4:03 pm
I’m not sure. I’ve never lived in any other countries besides here, Canada and the US and Canada is pretty much like the States in that regard. It would be interesting to find out.
May 22nd, 2013 at 7:07 am
I actually dated someone Chinese for two years. I always knew that what you get in Chinese restaurants is not real Chinese food, but never recognized a single vegetable I ate while at his house, apart from onions…
May 22nd, 2013 at 9:35 am
very informative and interesting. The first dish mentioned, Jajangmyeon, looks really tasty. Since it does not contain meat, it is perfect.. at least for me:) also like the idea of yellow pickled radish
May 22nd, 2013 at 4:01 pm
the jajangmyeon usually does have little pieces of pork in it, but it’s not essential so you could ask for it without that. I had a vegetarian friend who always got it that way. Are you near any Korean centers?
May 22nd, 2013 at 4:28 pm
Nope, no Korean centres around my place:) But, it is usually difficult to get veg food in many parts of the world. The choice is very limited
May 22nd, 2013 at 5:56 pm
In Korea you can, but they do like meat too. There aren’t very many Korean vegetarians and most of what they eat when they go out together is meat, so it can be hard on vegetarians. I guess in most places, the main dish is usually some sort of meat.
May 22nd, 2013 at 1:44 pm
Great post!
But It makes me long for the Chinese restaurant across from the hagwon I taught at.
My wife and I had a Korean-to-English menu for that restaurant, made by our thoughtful boss. We were down in Gyeongju, and we wandered into a Chinese restaurant.
After several minutes of failing to make an order–the fault of our terrible Korean and awful accents–I pulled out the menu I just happned to have in my bag. Same food. Same prices (probably). Score!
May 22nd, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Yeah, there isn’t much variety between Chinese restaurants. The quality might change, but you pretty much know what you’re getting from one to the other. Are you still in Korea now?
May 22nd, 2013 at 3:03 pm
they look rich, spicy and scary 🙂
are they good for tummy?
May 22nd, 2013 at 3:58 pm
pretty good, although I guess some of the fried stuff isn’t crazy healthy. I really like them. 🙂
May 24th, 2013 at 3:38 pm
then they are good! they look good and are good for tummy. in case of indian foods if they look yummy you can be sure that will create havoc on your tummy if you eat too much- you will have to eat frugally 🙂
May 24th, 2013 at 8:09 pm
Well, I guess anything you eat a lot will be a bit bad for you. 🙂 It is relatively healthy stuff. Actually, we had it tonight for supper.
May 25th, 2013 at 9:25 pm
It is interesting the way cuisine adapts to the country it’s in (Mexican food in the U.S. barely resembles Mexican food in Mexico). I saw a documentary a few years ago on the Chinese diaspora as told through Chinese restaurants. I haven’t found it on disc, but here’s a link:
http://www.linktv.org/programs/chinese
That black soybean gravy really does look good!
May 25th, 2013 at 9:36 pm
That’s very interesting. There’s a lot of culture in food. It’s strange, but Koreans have latched onto the idea that Mexican food = fried chicken. There is almost no real Mexican food in Korea, outside of Seoul, but Mexican Fried Chicken restaurants are really common.
That sounds like an interesting documentary. I’ll take a look.
May 29th, 2013 at 5:18 am
The Tangsooyook and the Japchaelook delicious……but I would not want pork, I’d prefer beef….:)
May 29th, 2013 at 1:05 pm
Beef is better, but here it is insanely expensive, so we don’t eat it much. We mostly eat chicken at home, in terms of meat.
May 29th, 2013 at 8:10 pm
Well since actually chicken healthier than beef and pork, I guess that’s good……..:)…..for that reason, in terms of meat, we eat mostly chicken at home too and a bit of turkey and fish…..:)
May 29th, 2013 at 8:13 pm
I really miss turkey. We can’t get it here.
May 29th, 2013 at 8:14 pm
Really?…..okay……well I guess that’s another thing to look forward to when you have a chance to visit your home…….:)
July 28th, 2013 at 4:16 pm
You can find japchae in any regular Korean restaurant in the states. There are some Korean/Chinese restaurants in San Francisco and Oakland though, including Zazang Korean Noodle in San Francisco and YuYu Za Zang Restaurant in Oakland.
July 28th, 2013 at 9:09 pm
I’m sure in California it would be easier to find Korean Chinese food, considering there are a lot of Koreans there. I know you can get it in New York City or Toronto. Interesting that they spell it as Zazang.