The staple food is white rice, or bap. There is also a mixed-grain bap that includes barley, sorghum, beans, adzuki beans and other grains with rice. Bap is made by boiling grains and fruits with rice, which absorb the water, and letting it rest for a sufficient amount of time. You can also create different kinds of bap for special dishes by mixing it with vegetables, seafood, or meat. Bibimbap is a dish where different kinds of herbs and meat are placed on top of bap. 주식은 주로 쌀로 지은 흰밥이고 보리, 조, 수수, 콩, 팥 등을 섞어 지은 잡곡밥이 있다. 밥은, 곡물과물을 함께 넣고 끓여서 수분을 흡수시켜 익힌 후에 충분히 뜸을 들여서 완전히 호화 시킨 것이다. 별식으로 채소류, 어패류, 육류 등을 넣어 짓기도 하며, 비빔밥은 밥 위에 나물과 고기를 얹어서 비벼 먹는 밥이다.

Juk, mieum, and ongyi are portable foods made from grains. Juk is made by placing or grinding the grains into boiling water and letting it rest. Mieum is different from juk, as the grain is put in a sieve to boil and is filtered. For ongyi, the grain is boiled in water and becomes thin enough to drink. You can also boil different vegetables, meat, and fish with grains when making juk. The different types of juk include jat juk (pine nut porridge), ggae juk (a gruel made of powdered sesame), hodu juk (walnut porridge), nokdu juk (mung bean gruel), and kong juk (a mixed gruel of rice and beans), which are all made by boiling grains. Juks that use vegetables include　nulgeunhobak juk (pumpkin porridge), aehobak juk (green pumpkin porridge), shiitake juk (mushroom porridge), and awook juk (curled mallow porridge). For juks made of seafood, there are: jeonbok juk (abalone porridge) uh juk (fish porridge), jogae juk (clam porridge), peemoonuh juk (octopus porridge), among others. There are also juks made with meat, which include　janggeuk juk (clear soup porridge), swegogi juk (beef porridge), dakgogi juk (chicken porridge) and others. 모두 곡물로 만드는 유동식 음식으로, 죽은 곡물을 알곡으로 또는 갈아서 물을 넣고 끓여 완전히 호화 시킨 것이고, 미음은 죽과는 달리 곡물을 알곡 째 푹 고아서 체에 거른 것이다. 응이는 곡물의 전분을 물에 풀어서 끓인 것으로 훌훌 마실 수 있을 정도로 묽다. 죽에다 곡물 이외에 채소류, 육류, 어패류 등을 넣고 끓이기도 한다. 곡물에 열매를 넣은 죽으로 잣죽, 깨죽, 호도죽, 녹두죽, 콩죽 등이 있고, 채소를 넣은 죽으로는 늙은호박죽, 애호박죽, 표고죽, 아욱죽 등이 있고, 어패류죽으로는 전복죽, 어죽, 조개죽, 피문어죽 등이 있으며, 육류죽으로는 장국죽, 쇠고기죽, 닭고기죽 등이 있다.

There are a variety of mandu skins depending on the ingredients and fillings. The skins are usually made with flattened dough, but some are made with flattened buckwheat flour dough, called memil mandu (buckwheat flour dumplings). During ancient times in the royal palace, mandu was formed into a half-moon shape, called byungsi, or a sea cucumber shape, called gyuasang. These two methods are different from the one commonly used, which is to close the skin around the shape of the fillings. Mandu is filled with pumpkin, bean sprouts, beef, and other ingredients. They are then covered with a rectangular piece of dough. In Pyeongan-do, a region in northern North Korea, people used to make fillings with cabbage kimchi, pork, and tofu. They also formed the mandu in big circular shapes and wrapped the skins in accordance with the fillings inside before boiling the mandu in meat broth. During Lunar New Year’s Day, families pay their respects to ancestors by conducting rites that include serving tteokguk to their ancestors, which the family eats as well. This tradition has been passed down in Korea. Tteokguk is made by boiling bar-shaped rice cakes, made of non-glutinous rice, in meat broth. The rice cakes are cut thin and shaped into ovals. In the north, people enjoy mandu on Lunar New Year’s Day, and in the south, people enjoy eating tteokguk. 만두는 껍질의 재료와 넣는 소에 따라 아주 다양하다. 대개는 밀가루를 반죽하여 밀어서 껍질을 만드는데, 메밀가루로 빚는 메밀만두도 있다. 궁중의 만두에는 소를 넣어 주름을 잡지 않고 반달형으로 빚은 병시와 해삼 모양으로 빚은 규아상이 있다. 편수는 네모진 껍질에 호박, 숙주, 쇠고기 등으로 만든 소를 넣고 네모지게 빚는다. 평안도를 비롯한 북쪽 지방에서는 배추김치, 돼지고기, 두부 등으로 소를 만들어 넣고, 둥근 껍질에 소를 넣어 주름을 잡거나 둥근 모양으로 크게 빚어서 육수에 넣어 끓인다. 예부터 우리나라에서는 어느 가정에서나 정월 초하루에는 떡국을 마련하여 조상께 차례를 지내고, 새해 아침의 첫 식사로 삼아 왔다. 떡국은 멥쌀로 흰 가래떡을 만들어 어슷한 타원형으로 얇게 썰어 육수에 넣어 끓인다. 북쪽 지방에서는 만두를 즐기고, 남쪽에서는 떡국을 즐겨 먹는다.

Guksu was not made for breakfast or supper, but rather was served to guests on special occasions. Guksu is a simple dish that can be enjoyed for lunch. There are different types of guksu, depending on the grain or starch used to make it. These include mil guksu (wheat flour noodles), memil guksu (buckwheat noodles), nokmal guksu (starch noodles), gangryang guksu (corn noodles), chilgk guksu (arrowroot noodles), and many other types. There are also different types of broth for guksu, and you can eat it in either hot or cold broth. Guksu in a hot soup makes the noodles warm, while you can enjoy meat broth. For cold broth there is naengmyeon (cold noodles) with dongchimi (water-based radish kimchi), and bibim guksu. One example of a warm noodle soup is guksujang guk (clear soup noodles) which in the past included pheasant, but now more commonly uses beef brisket or beef leg bones. Kalguksu, made with boiled chicken, is another example of a warm guksu soup. Naengmyeon is made by mixing dough or starch with buckwheat powder and pulling it through a noodle-maker. Kalguksu is made by slicing dough or buckwheat powder. In the summer, you can also enjoy kong guksu (bean noodles), a mixture of wheat flour noodles with bean soup. 국수는 조석의 식사 때보다는 잔치나 손님 접대할 때 주식으로 차리고, 평상시에는 간단한 점심 식사용으로 많이 먹는다. 국수에는 곡물이나 전분의 재료에 따라 밀국수, 메밀국수, 녹말국수, 강량국수, 칡국수 등이 있다. 또, 따뜻한 국물에 먹는 온면과 찬 육수나 동치미 국물에 먹는 냉면, 장국에 말지 않는 비빔국수로 나눌 수 있다. 온면의 하나인 국수장국은 예전에는 꿩고기를 쓰기도 하였으나 대개는 쇠고기 양지머리나 사골 등을 삶아 쓰고, 칼국수에는 닭 삶은 국물을 쓴다. 냉면은 메밀가루에 밀가루나 전분을 섞어 반죽하여 국수틀에 넣어 눌러 빼고, 칼국수는 밀가루나 메밀가루를 반죽하여 얇게 밀어 칼로 썬다. 여름철에는 콩국에 밀국수를 말아먹는 콩국수도 즐겨 먹는다.