By Honorary Reporter Minnath Azeez from Sri Lanka
Photos = Minnath Azeez

Summer in Korea can see the temperature ranging between 23 and 30 degrees Celsius. To cool off during this hot, rainy and humid time, Koreans like to eat certain dishes in the summer months. But Muslims face restrictions on what they can eat and how their food is prepared. The following are several halal-friendly Korean summer foods to try.

Kimchi bibim guksu

This cold noodle dish is slightly sweet and primarily made with kimchi, and can be eaten any time of the day. Thin wheat noodles are used to make kimchi bibim guksu. This variety comes in two textures: the thin somyeon and the thicker jungmyeon. The other ingredients include gochujang (spicy red pepper paste), sesame oil and seeds, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and corn syrup. The dish is garnished with a hard-boiled egg cut in half and thin cucumber slices or perilla leaves.

Kongguksu

With noodles made of thin wheat flour, this dish is served in a cold, creamy and nutty broth made from soybeans. The broth is made from scratch by cooking soybeans soaked overnight and pureeing and sieving them to separate the liquid. For a nuttier flavor, pine nuts, walnuts or sesame seeds are added to the mix when pureeing. Sometimes ice cubes are added to ensure the dish stays cool and refreshing until the last bite.

Samgyetang

A Korean custom is to eat hot stew to fight heat with heat. Thus samgyetang in summer is the go-to dish in Korea. The name literally means "ginseng chicken soup," and this nourishing dish is made with chicken stuffed with glutinous rice while the broth is flavored with ginseng, jujubes, ginger, garlic and onions.

Jjeolmyeon
This noodle dish gets its name from its chewy noodles. It is served cold with a sweet and tangy gochujang and the noodles made from wheat flour and starch are thick and bouncy. Jjeolmyeon is topped with many vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots and cucumbers. For a nutty flavor, add sesame seeds. The dish is garnished with half of a hard-boiled egg and even served at street food kiosks.

Patbingsu
This is a signature dessert for a hot summer day in Korea. Nowadays many people eat large dishes of shaved ice (bingsu) with a variety of toppings. Classic patbingsu, with pat- meaning sweet red bean paste, features the paste and condensed milk, but more recent editions of the dish feature a flurry of newer flavors like mango, strawberry and even mint chocolate.

enny0611@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.