The basic game plan for any night out among Koreans is to last five rounds which cover five different locations. These rounds often include multiple alcoholic beverages and food across a spectrum of delicacies. It may sound like a basic bar hop from the college days of yore, but for many, they’re no longer in college and still, the need to “hop” from place to place persists. For anyone new to Korea, if you don’t know what the expectations are, you could go hard and fast and end up home in bed before the night has even began according to Korean standards. The rounds can be flexible in order, but do not doubt that there will be multiple rounds with lots of food and drink. Here are the basics before you head out for the first time or for the next time.

Bibimbap

Bibimbap is a large bowl of rice topped with a colorful array of individually prepared vegetables and beef, and served with a gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste) sauce. Bibim means mixing, and bap means rice. The mixing typically happens at the table right before eating. Sometimes, bibimbap is served in a sizzling hot stone bowl (dolsot), which gives the bottom layer of rice a nice golden crust. This bibimbap recipe looks long, but it is actually a collection of several easy-to-make side dishes (banchan) using common vegetables such as spinach, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, bean sprouts, etc. This recipe uses 7 toppings, but any 3 or 4 of these will make a delightful bibimbap dish. Simply omit the beef for a vegetarian dish.