Reading Korean menu names

Gui means grilled or roasted, over fire or in a pan. It follows the main ingredient, as in samgyeopsal-gui, saengseon-gui for grilled fish or jangeo-gui for grilled eel, and at barbecue restaurants you may grill it yourself. Sogeum-gui is grilled with just salt, while yangnyeom-gui is marinated first.

Bokkeum means stir-fried, as in jeyuk-bokkeum (spicy pork), ojingeo-bokkeum (squid) or nakji-bokkeum (small octopus). Many bokkeum dishes use gochujang and are spicy, so check the heat level. When it comes first, as in bokkeumbap or bokkeum-myeon, it means fried rice or fried noodles.

Jorim means braised and reduced, simmered in soy or spicy sauce until the liquid cooks down, as in godeungeo-jorim (mackerel) or gamja-jorim (potatoes). Jjim means steamed or slow-cooked in a little liquid, as in galbi-jjim (braised short ribs), gyeran-jjim (steamed egg) or agu-jjim (spicy monkfish). Both are deeply seasoned.

Muchim means a dish of raw or lightly blanched ingredients tossed in seasoning. Examples include oi-muchim (cucumber), golbaengi-muchim (sea snails) and doraji-muchim (bellflower root). They are often tangy, sweet or spicy and are served as side dishes or bar snacks. Muchim dishes are usually served cold or at room temperature.

Twigim means deep-fried in batter, as in ojingeo-twigim (squid), saeu-twigim (shrimp) or yachae-twigim (vegetables). Jeon means coated in flour and egg and pan-fried in a little oil, such as donggeurangttaeng (meat patties) or hobak-jeon (zucchini). Twigim is crisp, while jeon is softer.

Deopbap means rice topped with a cooked dish, such as jeyuk-deopbap (spicy pork) or ojingeo-deopbap (squid). Bibim means mixed, so bibimbap and bibim-guksu are meant to be stirred together with their sauce before eating. You can eat deopbap as it comes or mix it, whichever you prefer.

Jeongsik means a set meal, where the main dish comes with rice, soup and side dishes all together. You will see items like saengseon-gui jeongsik (grilled fish set) or bulgogi jeongsik. It is an easy way to get a complete meal, but what is included varies, so check the photo or description.

Gopbaegi means an extra-large portion, used mostly for noodle dishes like jjajangmyeon or jjamppong. The word comes from the idea of doubling, but the actual amount varies by restaurant. It usually costs extra, so check the menu before ordering. Order it by adding the word after the dish name, as in jjajangmyeon gopbaegi.

No. Hanu refers to Korea's native cattle breed, while domestic, or guknaesan, can describe cattle of other breeds raised in Korea for a certain period. Imported cattle raised in Korea for more than six months may be labeled domestic. Reading the origin label carefully shows which you are getting.

By law, Korean restaurants must display the origin of key ingredients such as beef, pork, chicken, rice and napa cabbage kimchi on the menu or a posted board. Labels like guknaesan (domestic), hojusan (Australian) or migguksan (American) tell you where the ingredients came from.

Menus often label heat as sunhan-mat (mild), botong-mat (regular) and maeun-mat (spicy), or use a number of chili icons. The hottest levels can be intense even for many Koreans. If it is your first time, order one level lower than you think you can handle.

Teuk means special, usually a bigger portion or a version with better or extra ingredients, as in teuk-galbitang or teuk-jeongsik. It costs more than the regular dish. What exactly is different depends on the restaurant, so ask the staff if you are curious. Botong means the regular version.

Saeng means fresh, raw or unprocessed. Saeng-samgyeop is pork belly that has never been frozen, and saeng-maekju is draft beer poured from a keg rather than a bottle or can. If you see naengdong on a menu, it means the meat was frozen.

Suje means handmade, as in suje donkkaseu (handmade pork cutlet), suje burgers or suje maekju (craft beer). It emphasizes that the item is made in house rather than factory-produced. Do not confuse it with sujebi, which is the name of a soup with hand-torn dough flakes.

Modum means an assorted platter with several kinds of food on one plate. You will see modum-jeon (assorted pancakes), modum-hoe (assorted raw fish), modum-twigim or modum-gui. It is a good choice for a group that wants to try a little of everything. Some menus spell it modeum, but it means the same thing.

Dwaeji is pork, so is beef, dak is chicken, haemul is seafood, ojingeo is squid, saeu is shrimp, jogae is clams, yachae is vegetables and dubu is tofu. For example, haemul-pajeon is a seafood and green onion pancake, and dwaeji-gukbap is pork and rice soup. Knowing these lets you guess the main ingredient of most dishes.

Mul in a menu name means the dish comes in a cold broth, while bibim means it is mixed with a spicy sauce. Mul-naengmyeon is refreshing and tangy, and bibim-naengmyeon is spicy and sweet. The same pattern applies elsewhere, as with mulhoe (raw fish in cold broth) and bibim-guksu (spicy mixed noodles).

Eolkeunhan means hot and spicy in a warming, soothing way, kalkalhan is a sharp tingling heat, dambaekhan is light and clean rather than greasy, gosohan is nutty like sesame, and siwonhan means refreshing. For hot soups, siwonhan usually describes a satisfying, clearing taste rather than a cold temperature.

Jeomsim teukseon means a lunch special, a dish or set served only during lunch hours, often in a simpler form than the dinner menu. It is sold only within set hours, so you may not be able to order it later in the day. Check the menu or signs in the restaurant for the times.

Point a translation app's camera at the menu to get a rough idea of each dish. Food names sometimes translate literally and come out oddly, so combine the app with cooking words like gui, bokkeum and jjim to make sense of it. For anything unclear, point at the item and ask the staff.