The wonderful world of korean food

About Korean Food
Korean Food is casually represented by bulgogi and kimchi. In fact, however, Koreans are proud of their diet, quite varied and full of nutrition. It is richly endowed with fermented foods, vegetables and grains, soups, teas, liquors, confectionery and soft drinks. Kimchi and doenjang paste made of soybeans are the best-known examples of Korean fermented foods, and these have recently become highly valued for their disease-prevention effects. Korea boasts hundreds of vegetable and wild green dishes. The Korean meal is almost always accompanied by a big bowl of hot soup or stew, and the classic meal contains a variety of vegetables. Korean foods are seldom deep-fried like Chinese food; they are usually boiled or blanched, broiled, stir-fried, steamed, or pan-fried with vegetable oil.
Korean Etiquette
Korean families usually eat rice, soup, and three to four side dishes including the sine qua non, kimchi. From each person's left are arranged rice, soup, spoon, and chopsticks, while stews and side dishes are placed in the center to be shared by all members. Koreans use a spoon to eat rice, soup, and stews and chopsticks for rather dry side dishes, but spoon and chopsticks are not used simultaneously. Koreans also do not hold their bowls and plates while eating. When the meal is over, the spoon and chopsticks are placed back where they were. Koreans generally believe that sharing food from one bowl makes a relationship closer. Still, one who does not wish to share the one-for-all dish can courteously ask the host for an individual bowl or plate. Today most Korean restaurants offer individual bowls and plates. In the olden days, talking was not allowed at the dinner table, but today, eating etiquette has become more liberal. Chopsticks may be used to eat rice.

Korean Seasonings
In the past, every Korean household would make soy sauce, doenjang soybean paste and gochujang red pepper paste. These three are the most important seasonings in the Korean diet, so preparing them well is another important annual task along with making kimchi. Each Korean household would keep a series of large and small crocks or earthenware jars in their backyards to contain soy sauce, soybean paste, red pepper paste, salt and various types of kimchi. Today ready-made traditional seasonings are available to buy, yet many households particularly in the countryside still keep the old practice. Sunchang, Jeollabuk-do is famous for making some of the best gochujang.

Types of Korean Food Jeon(pan-fried dishes)Mushroom, zucchini, fish fillet, oyster, or green pepper with ground meat filling are thinly coated with flour, dipped in a beaten egg, and then pan-fried. There are also pancake-type jeon: mung bean powder, wheat flour or grated potato is used to make batter, and green onion, kimchi, or chopped pork are stirred in, then fried. Jjim and Jorim(simmered meat or fish)Jjim and jorim are similar. Meat or fish are simmered over low heat in soy sauce flavored with other seasonings until tender and tasty. Jjim also refers to a steamed fish. Gui(broiled or barbecued dishes)Bulgogi (thin-sliced marinated beef) and galbi (marinated beef ribs) are well-known examples of gui. Fish are often broiled, too. Jjigae and Jeongol(stew and casserole)Less watery and containing more substance to chew than soup, these dishes can be the main part of a meal. Soybean paste stew is a very popular jjigae. Jeongol is usually cooked in a casserole dish on a fire at the dining table. Noodles, pine mushroom, octopus, tripe, and vegetables are favored substances to make jeongol. Bap(boiled rice)Staple of the Korean diet. Barley, beans, chestnut, millet, or other grains are often added for special taste and further nutritional value. Guk and Tang(soup)The Korean table is never complete without soup. Vegetables, meat, fish and shellfish, seaweed, and even boiled cow bones are used to make guk and tang. Juk(porridge)Sometimes a delicacy, sometimes a restorative. Pine nuts, red beans, pumpkin, abalone, ginseng, chicken, vegetables, mushrooms and bean sprouts are the most popular ingredients. Jeotgal(seafood fermented in salt)Fish, clams, shrimp, oysters, fish roe, or selected fish organs are popular for making jeotgal. Very salty. A pungent side dish in itself with boiled rice, it is sometimes added in making kimchi or used to season other foods. Namul(vegetable or wild green dishes)The Korean diet includes hundreds of vegetable and wild green dishes called namul, and a visit to a Korean marketplace shows a huge variety of unusual greens. Namul is usually parboiled or stir-fried and seasoned with combinations of salt, soy sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oil, garlic and green onion. Hoe(raw fish)Sliced raw fish is becoming popular around the world. Tuna, croaker, flatfish, oysters, skate, sea cucumber, abalone, sea urchin, and squid are popular in Korea -- and sometimes raw beef. Sesame leaves or lettuces are common garnishes, and choices of thin-sliced ginger, mustard or red pepper paste sauce provide pungency. Hoe is pronounced "hwey."
Kimchi
Kimchi is a fermented vegetable dish allowing long storage. In the past, Koreans used to prepare it as a substitute for fresh vegetables during the winter months. Today, housewives still prepare a large amount of winter kimchi, somewhere from late November through early December. This nationwide annual event is called gimjang. The introduction of red pepper from Europe, through Japan, in the 17th century brought a major innovation to kimchi and to the Korean diet in general. There are now more than 160 kimchi varieties differentiated by region and ingredients. Kimchi is the basic side dish at every Korean meal; it is also an ingredient in other popular dishes such as kimchi stew, kimchi pancakes, kimchi fried rice and kimchi ramyeon (ramen noodles). Kimchi is being widely tried in various ways in an effort to create new tastes and flavors. These days kimchi is gaining popularity worldwide for its nutritional value and disease-prevention effect. 1. Tongbaechu Kimchi(whole cabbage kimchi)The classic Korean kimchi made with Chinese cabbage, served at almost every Korean meal. 2. Oisobaegi(stuffed cucumber kimchi)Suitable for the summer months when people lose their appetite. Slit-cut cucumbers are stuffed with a mixture of vegetables and seasonings, and fermented a day or two.3. Yeolmu Kimchi(young radish water kimchi)A popular kimchi in summer. Not spicy. 4. Kkakdugi(diced radish kimchi)Made with big white radishes. 5. Dongchimi(radish water kimchi)Without using red pepper powder, radishes are marinated in brine seasoned with garlic and ginger until fermented. 6. Chonggak Kimchi(bachelor radish kimchi)Nice and crunchy. Unmarried Koreans traditionally wore their long hair in a braid. Radish with tops resembles the head and ponytail of a traditional bachelor. 7. Nabak Kimchi(sliced radish & cabbage kimchi)The tangy juice is refreshing and fragrant.

Traditional Liquors & Wines
Traditional Korean drink is made chiefly from rice, other grains, sweet potatoes, etc., usually with kneaded wheat malt. They are classified according to purity, percentage of alcohol contained, whether or not distilled, and materials used. There are largely five types: yakju (refined pure liquor fermented from rice), soju (distilled liquor), takju (thick, unrefined liquor fermented from grains), fruit wines, and medicinal wines from various seeds and roots. Each type has dozens of varieties. Famous cheongju is a yakju and popular makgeolli is a takju. Acacia, maesil plum, Chinese quince, cherry, pine fruits, and pomegranate are some of popular materials to make fruit wines. Insamju is a representative example of medicinal wine, made from ginseng. CheongjuWell-known examples of cheongju are beopju, sogokju and baekhaju. Makgeolli and DongdongjuA milky liquor with low alcohol content, the traditional commoner's beverage enjoyed by farmers and laborers, but by business people as well. They are served at drinking houses around universities, at festivals, picnic areas, or anywhere people might enjoy a mild drink with a fermented flavor. SojuComparable to vodka but less potent, soju is the most popular traditional Korean liquor among the general public. Soju was originally brewed from grains; today is mass-produced mainly from sweet potatoes. MunbaejuA distilled liquor brewed from wheat, millet and Indian millet. It is given the scent and flavor of the crab apple, which is called munbae. Its brewing skill is designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property by the Korean government along with that of dugyeonju (azalea wine) from Myeoncheon, Dangjin-gun, Chungcheongnam-do and Gyodong Beopju from Gyeongju.
Traditional Drinking Etiquette
Koreans offer glasses of liquor to each other as a gesture of camaraderie. When someone offers you an empty liquor glass, you are expected to hold it and receive a fill-up, drink it empty, and in likewise fashion return it to the person who offered it to you. This drinking tradition helps promote close ties around a drinking table. It is a rule of courtesy for juniors to pour liquor for their seniors. The juniors have to keep paying attention not to leave a senior's glass empty. When a senior offers a junior a glass, the junior should receive it with two hands and drink with head turned aside, not facing the senior. It is also the custom to cup the right sleeve with the left hand when pouring drink for a senior. In the past, Korean drinking houses used to prepare special soup to cure the hangovers of customers who had drunk the night before. This beef-bone broth fortified with dried outer cabbage leaves and clotted ox blood, called baejangguk, is still a morning-after favorite.