Anju

Koreans don't drink alcohol without eating. Doesn't matter what you are having: beer, soju, whiskey, wine, whatever. You've gotta have something to snack on while you eat.

It's a basic food category, with it's own Korean word: anju 안주 按酒 'food to accompany alcohol'. It doesn't really translate well into English, as you can see on this bilingual sign at the supermarket:

The item after the slash is anju: see the "안주"? "Nuts" is pretty much the best they could do in English.

A lot of restaurants have a special anju section on their menu. Here are two of them from places we've been to for lunch; in the evenings they become drinking joints.

The entire right side is anju (except for the three kinds of drinks listed inside the oval). One of the items listed is right-eyed flounder sashimi.

There are three anju on this menu, at the lower left (seasoned snails, bulgogi, and seafood scallion pancake). The alcohol is on the lower right.

It's no accident that the dried fish and seasoned dried fish are in the same aisle as anju in the supermarket shown above. Dried fish and squid are among the most popular anju. I mentioned in this earlier post that dried anchovies make a good anju.

Here is a photo from a blog entry I posted in 2008.

It's a bit hard to see, but there is a little wooden rod running through the fish heads. I think that traditionally these fish would have been hung from the rod to dry in the wind. Note too the little round packet of hot pepper paste, for dipping.

Other good anju are fried foods, kimchi and tofu, and nuts.

Always setting out a little snack when you have a drink, whether out or at home, is a Korean cultural practice I heartily endorse.