In old Korea, one's status determined the number of dishes that were served at a meal. Although rice and soup are the starting point for a meal, the more side dishes indicated a higher status. We went to a restaurant today that had a cutesy traditional look, but was planted in the middle of a busy shopping center. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was a solid meal -- I'd give it to a king. Rice in a stone pot, kimchi jjigae and doenjang (think Korean miso) jjigae were surrounded by vegetables, seafood, and meat dishes.
I couldn't be bothered standing up to get the whole table in the picture.
One of my favorites "gae jang" (crabs in soy sauce) is a simple but delicious way of serving whole raw crabs. After sucking the meat out of the shell, the left over sauce and roe is perfect when soaked up with rice. Another seafood dish, jellyfish, was also well-prepared. It was mixed with a wasabi-ish sauce and served with fresh pear, cucumber, crab and tomato slices. The land meats included bulgogi and bo-ssam (steamed pork eaten wrapped in lettuce and topped with spicy kimchi.) The vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, and green tomatoes were nice to eat in between the other heavier foods.
Gae-jang -- note the yummy orange roe. MMMMMmm...
Jellyfish
Steamed pork
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