Tag Archives: Lynnwood Korean BBQ

Major Differences Between Korean and Western Food

Westerners have learned to love Korean food, but do not have much knowledge on the cuisine apart from kimchi and BBQ. A few tidbits might clear up certain aspects of this unique Asian cooking style.

Firstly, do you know that they treat food as medicine? Food is essential to one’s physical and emotional well-being. They keep the yin-yang balance in their foods by harmonizing the different ingredients. Korean cuisine is one of the world’s healthiest because of the wide use of natural and seasonal components of their food sources, like tofu, beans, garlic, and their all-natural kimchi.

Rice is a precious staple in the Korean diet, preferring the starchier short grain rice with its stickier texture. No Korean meal is complete without a bowl of steamed rice, and to waste even a single grain is anathema to their beliefs. Ever wondered why you are always served with almost an endless array of banchan (side dishes) when you eat at Korean restaurants? This is to make sure you do not waste your rice, or have rice leftovers. It means you didn’t like their food so that you left your rice unfinished.

Koreans go for the “all-in-one” meal, not the separate, multiple courses favored by Westerners. All their different dishes are served at once. You will have your own bowl of rice and soup. And for families, it’s customary to have 5 to 12 dishes of banchan with the main dishes served all together.

Another unique feature is that Korean food does not have any gravy component. They do serve soups and stews; they also serve porridge which is smooth and thick; even their stews have very little liquid in them. No gravy. Just lots of banchan.

Dessert? Ii’s alien to Koreans. There is no sweet conclusion to dining Korean. It is customary to finish with green tea or refreshing beverages such as sikhye (rice punch), hwachae (honeyed fruit punch) and ohmija (a mildly tangy five-flavor raspberry tea with pine nuts).

Korean Classics in a Western Setting in Lynnwood

Now you have a little more background on Korean food. The next best thing, of course, is to enjoy. When craving Korean, come to Arirang, your Lynnwood Korean BBQ restaurant.

How the All-You-Can-Eat Started

Two countries were the first to formalize the buffet concept – Sweden and France. The Swedish food spread came about in the 16th century, just plain bread and butter, intended to feed hungry out-of-towners who show up unexpectedly. Later in the 18th century, now called smörgåsbord, it expanded to include salted fish, eggs and boiled vegetables. And much later, the display grew to include cold cuts, warm entrees, salads, and finishing with dessert and coffee. The star of the food spread was, however, vodka. The Swedes brought the smorgasbord to America at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, later inspiring buffet-style restaurants in the 1950s. The French, though, were slightly refined, offering lavish buffet tables as a manner of entertaining rather than cooking.

In America, in the 1940s, the guy who started it all was an El Rancho hotel Las Vegas employee named Herb McDonald, who decided that eating a meal takes too much time away from gambling. So he decided to lay out a spread – a Swedish smörgåsbord open for 24 hours for the hungry gambler- patrons, keeping them inside and gambling as long as possible. The entire eating frenzy just cost a dollar then. It was an instant hit, but the hotel soon lost money over it. Nonetheless, the concept grew all over Vegas and later the whole US. Now all over the world, you’d find many chain and franchised restaurants, even independent and specialty eateries, serving buffet-style where patrons pay, serve themselves and eat inside the restaurant.

You will also find many Asian restaurants in the US that have set aside an Eat-All-You-Can segment service for diners; some restaurants are totally devoted to the concept. Korean eateries are popular with the American dining public, especially loving Korean barbecue and seafoods.

The Unlimited Love Affair with Lynnwood Korean BBQ

When in Lynnwood, look no further than Arirang BBQ and their perfectly marinated meats. Eat all the BBQ you can and their other hearty classics anytime in Lynnwood.

Barbecue Styles across Asia

In China, chuanr are small pieces of meat on skewers roasted over charcoal and a popular street food especially in the north. Traditionally, lamb is the preferred meat but other meats are used, and in tourist areas include bugs and birds.

In Hongkong, pork barbecue, known as char siu, is made with a marinade of honey and soy sauce, and cooked in long, narrow strips using long, hand-held forks. Corn and sweet potato are also cooked on hot coals and eaten after the barbecue. Outdoor barbecues are popular here and if sold in restaurants and night markets, they use skewers.

Japanese barbecue is also an outdoor activity, using more vegetables and seafood than their western counterpart, while soy sauce or soy-based sauces are preferred. Japanese-style fried noodle Yakisoba can be cooked as well. If you’re familiar with shish kebab, the Japanese equivalent is the yakitori. For barbecued spare ribs, chicken and steak, they use teriyaki sauce.

Taiwan also enjoys barbecue. They barbecue slices of marinated meat, which includes toast, by charcoal or logs. Before grilling vegetables and seafoods, they are seasoned and wrapped in foil first.

In Southeast Asia – Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines – satay is very popular. It consists of pieces of meat skewered on bamboo sticks marinated in a mixture of spices. While in India and Pakistan, tandoor is a form of barbecue, focused on baking. Their barbecue sauces are local spices with curry blends.

And in Korea, Bulgogi is common. It is thinly sliced beef, pork or chicken marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and chili pepper, and cooked on a grill at the table. A main course, it’s served with rice and side dishes like Kimchi. The Galbi is also a popular Korean BBQ, which are marinated ribs.

Arirang brings Korean BBQ to Lynnwood

Experience classic bulgogi and galbi and other popular Korean dishes at Arirang. At your own table, we let you cook your barbecue with your choice accompaniments and sauces and enjoy the thrill of the grill.

A Brief Evolution of the Barbecue

Barbecue is both food and a style of cooking food. Either way, it is as old as the Stone Age; must have began when man domesticated fire some half a million years ago. However, grilling food in your backyard happened only fairly recently. Like, well into the 1940s barbecuing can be found in campsites and picnics. But after World War II, it became the rage as the suburbs filled up.

Barbecuing is extremely popular in many cultures, relatively inexpensive, and easy-as-pie to do. Barbeque varies by region in the world and yet it simply involves meat heated indirectly over open flame. A variety of meats can be used – pork, beef, lamb, or chicken, ranging from thin slices to chunks to blocks of meat, and in some places, a whole animal. By itself, the meat is without much flavor, hence, overtime an assortment of sauces, rubs, and other flavorings were added to enhance the taste.

Modern times saw how much more enjoyable barbecue can be in terms of taste depending on the point when the flavorings were added to the meat, the role smoke plays as enhancer, the cooking temperature and cooking time, and even what equipment and fuel are used. The meat may be ground or processed into sausage or kebabs, may be marinated or rubbed with spices before cooking. Sauce or oil is applied before, during or after cooking, or any combination of these.

Korean BBQ in Lynnwood

Americans are born to love barbecue and many flock to our Korean BBQ restaurant in Lynnwood for the adventure. If you are in Lynnwood and craving Asian barbecue for a change, a visit to Arirang Korean BBQ might just be the adventure you’re looking for.

As is the case with many culinary traditions throughout the Asian continent, pork is a big part of Korean food. At our Lynnwood Korean BBQ restaurant, you can find the world’s favorite “other white meat” in many of our delicious Korean-style dishes. But when did pork emerge as a source of food, and how did it make its way to the Korean peninsula?

Humans have been enjoying pork since distant ancient times. Bones discovered in the area of south-eastern Turkey have shown us the earliest known evidence of pigs being cultivated for food, which dates all the way back to 8,000 BC. The practice evidently made its way to China at some point around 4,900 BC. The cultivation of pigs for pork spread to Korea and throughout the rest of Asia from there, and has remained a prominent part of many culinary traditions to this day.

At Arirang, you can enjoy pork in the form of our oh sam bulgogi, our sam gyup sal, our kalbi, and more. Come and get your fix today!