Anju (food)

Anju
Anju
Korean name
Hangul	안주
Hanja	按酒
Revised Romanization
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	anju
McCune–Reischauer	anju

Anju
	Bulgogi and nakji bokkeum being served as anju along with soju
Main ingredients	various
	Media: Anju;

Anju (Korean: 안주; Hanja: 按酒 [an.dʑu]) is a Korean term for food consumed with alcohol. It consists of a variety of foods, including both main dishes and side dishes. Consuming food with alcohol is a widespread practice in Korea, especially when the alcoholic beverage soju is involved.[1][2]

Jokbal, boiled pig's feet in soy sauce, similar to eisbein in German cuisine.

Certain types of foods consumed primarily as anju include golbaengi muchim, nogari with peanuts, and jokbal.

History

Until the Joseon Dynasty, alcohol was mainly served in jumaks (a type of inn or tavern), where soups with rice, along with traditional alcohol such as makgeolli, were served to guests. Since the introduction of beer and Western foods into Korea, mainly from Japan in the nineteenth century, bars and pubs have enjoyed a newfound popularity, and many types of Western foods have been consumed as anju. [3]

By types of beverage

Some foods are considered to be best complemented by certain types of alcohol. For example, samgyeopsal, grilled pork belly, is considered to go best with soju, while fried chicken or Korean seasoned chicken goes well with beer. Pajeon and makkeoli (or dongdongju) is a popular combination for rainy days.[4]

	Dry	Soupy or spicy	Other
Beer	dried nogari, dried shredded squid, jwipo, seasoned nuts, semi-dried squid, yukpo	Tteokbokki	corn cheese, fried chicken, pizza, twigim, Sausage
Cheongju	bugak, dasik, jeonggwa		bulgogi, hanu-gui, namul, jeon, jeongol, saengseon-hoe, sanjeok, yukhoe
Makgeolli		dubu-kimchi, golbaengi-muchim, kimchi, Dak-galbi	bindae-tteok, bossam, buchimgae, dotori-muk-muchim, hongeo-samhap, jeoneo-hoe, kimchi-buchimgae, mak-guksu, pajeon, raw oyster
Soju		agwi-jjim, budae-jjigae, dakbal, eomuk-tang, gamja-tang, jogae-tang, jukkumi-bokkeum, kimchi-jjigae, maeun-tang, fish cake-tang	gopchang, makchang, samgyeopsal-gui, jokbal
Wine	cheese platter		steak

By the place where alcohol is served

There are a number of different types of bars in South Korea, and each category sells different kinds of food and alcoholic beverages.

Jumak: this does not refer to the traditional Korean inns of the Chosun Dynasty mentioned above, but instead refers to a conceptual bar based on Korean culture. These bars are represented by traditional anju such as pa-jun, dubu-kimchi, or dotori-muk.
Hof house (Korean pronunciation: [ho.pʰɯ ha.u.sɯ]):[5] Hof houses (a German loan word) sell a number of relatively inexpensive alcoholic beverages. Various international dishes are served here as well.
Pojangmacha: It is a place where tents are placed on the side of the road and snacks and alcohol are sold. Mainly simple side dishes are sold.

Sample images

Nogari (young Alaska pollock) with peanuts
Nakji bokkeum with somyeon (fried octopus in gochujang with fine noodles)
Dubu kimchi

References

Pettid, Michael J. (2008). Korean cuisine: an illustrated history. China: Reaktion Books Ltd. pp. 110–123. ISBN 978-1-86189-348-2.
"Food and drinks the Korean way". Los Angeles Times. 2011-05-26. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
Kang, Dong wan (2015-06-04). "왕맥의 안주 마케팅/'Wang-mec's anju marketing".
"비 오는 날 '파전·막걸리'를 찾게 되는 진짜 이유" [Why we are looking for Pajeon in cloudy day]. 인사이트 (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-05-31.
"Follies of Konglish". koreatimes. 2014-06-04. Retrieved 2021-05-11.