What is Korean Food ?
Korean foods offer a wide array of tastes that are distinct from the cuisine of its close neighbors. While Chinese food can be characterized by a strong and colorful taste, and Japanese flavors tend to be clean and light, Korean foods are based on natural tastes, both strong and light, fresh and spicy. To understand Korean food is to enjoy it more, so it is worthwhile to look at some of the traits of Korean Cuisine
1.An art of spices
One of the main ingredients in Korea cooking is various seasonings or spices, including garlic, green onions, red chili pepper powder, soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, vinegar, ginger and sesame seeds
The actual ingredients, method of mixing, and proportions differ from region to region and from cook to cook, but all over the country these are the building blocks for creating the diverse tastes of Korean dishes. In many Korean dishes, the spices used are more important than the main ingredients, whether it be fish, meat or vegetable. For any kind ofmuchim (seasoned or spiced dishes), jjim(steamed or braised dishes), bokkeum(stir fries) and jjigae(stews), the mix of spices is what defines the dish.
Garlic and chili peppers are the most popular spices used by Korean cook and Korean generally enjoy foods that bring out the strong flavor of garlic and the spicy hot taste of chili peppers. A classic example of spicy Korean food which heavily uses these ingredients is the definitive Korean dish, kimchi.
2. A feast of vegetables
Koreans love vegetables. Kimchiis served at every meal, and vegetables are incorporated into all dishes. Almost all the oils spices and sauces used in Korean cuisine are also made from vegetable.
Korean cuisine employs an impressive range of cooking methods for vegetables. They are eaten fresh, dried, parboiled, streamed, sauteed, stir fried, pan fried, deep fried, simmered, braised, and pickled. The most popular way to enjoy vegetables in Korea is to prepare them as a namul by blanching them and then sautéing them with seasonings and spices. To keep vegetables from spoiling during Korea’s long winter, Koreans have long dried them and pickled them as kimchi
3. The wisdom of fermentation
the heart of Korean cuisine is pickled and fermented foods: kimchi, the national dish, soy sauce and soybean past (doenjang), which add flavor to many Korean dishes, and the pickled fish sauces that often accompany a bowl of rice. These pickled and cuisine and are what give it its unique tastes and aromas. Fermentation adds a rich flavor to foods.
Fermentation foods also boost the body’s enzymes and promote good digestion. Scientists have recently discovered that kimchi may help fight cancer. Some people may take a little while to get used to these unique taste, but they are the key to authentic Korean food. And once you appreciate them, you’ll never want to put your chopsticks down.
4. Korean food is healthy
Koreans often say that food is like medicine and that the body and earth are one. In other words, good food offers more than just flavor, and the ingredients that come from the earth are best for one’s health. Koreans often use ingredients that are known to be beneficial to health, such as ginseng, wild plants from the mountains, tea, and medicinal herbs. When asking about a certain dish, you are likely to hear about the health benefits of the ingredients. And if you have an upset stomach or o cold, the first remedy a Korean person will recommend comes out of the kitchen.
also firKorean cooks mly believe that each ingredient should be used enjoyed in season to guarantee full flavor and a healthy meal. By eating delicious Korean food, you can also become healthier!
5. Soup: hear, there and everywhere
Koreans insist on having soup at every meal: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The flavors of the soup complement the other dishes at the table so that a variety of flavors fuse together with a clean aftertaste.
Soup is often served in a big bowl in middle of he table, so everyone can eat together by dipping their spoons in the soup. Koreans believe that the perfect meal matches a solid food with a liquid food, so rice is always served with soup at a meal, and rice cake is always served with drink like persimmon punch for dessert. This is the fundamental harmony of yin(음陰) and yan(양 陽).
6. Serving if the right temperature
Koreans serve rice, soups and stews that are cooked just before being served. In many cases of grilled dishes and hot pots are cooked on the table itself. This is because the right temperature is key to delivering the right taste, and these dishes need to be served extremely hot.
On the other hand, some dishes are meant to be ice-cold, such as naengmyeon (chilled buckwheat noodle soup),kongguksu(noodles in chilled white bean soup), anddongchimi(radish kimchi in water). While it may seem strange, Koreans tend to like very hot soups and half-frozon water kimchi in the winter.
It is quite common to see people sitting outside and perspiring over their streaming hot soup in the humid summer and dipping their heated floor at home in the winter. This is the philosophy of fighting heat with heat and cold with cold. As you can see, Korean food comes with the full range of flavors, cooking methods, and temperatures too.
The Pilosophy of Korean Cuisine
Koreans talk about their mouths watering over delicious food. This is something everyone can understand. Korean food is not just tasty, however, it is rooted in a certain philosophy. Understanding this philosophy will clarify Korean culinary practices, enriching the experience of eating Korean food. There are three basic concepts in the cooking of mouthwatering Korean foods.
The‘fingertip taste’
Korean food is an art of spicing. For most Koreans, the best seasoning is ‘Tender Loving care,’ which comes from mixing spices by hand. When someone makes food with their own hands, a special taste is added. This is called the fingertip taste.
Therefore, the taste of a dish is often already decided even before taking the first bite, based purely on whose hands and fingers created the dish.
In Korean cookbooks, you’ll often encounter somewhat vague measurements for seasonings or spices such as appropriate amounts or a little. This clearly demonstrates the Korean attitude that it is an individual’s experience and instinct that decides the taste of food, not a mindless following of instructions. The cook’s instinct is the decisive element.
The philosophy of mixing and sharing
In both cooking and eating, Korean culinary culture is all about harmony. This is expressed in the philosophy of mixing and sharing that you can see in both the preparation and enjoyment of the meal. Definitive Korean dishes like kimchi, bulgogi, japche, and bibimbapall consist of ingredients seasonings that are mixed together just before eating to create a harmony of tastes. The secret to good cooking lies in this successful balance of flavors. Bibimbap is a good example of this approach, mixing together many vegetables with rice and red chili pepper paste or soy sauce in big bowl to create a symphony of tastes in every bite.
Another instance of mixing in Korean food culture is mixing of foods in the mouth.
Unlike western meals, which are divided into course, Korean meals are served with all the dishes put on the table at once. Rice is eaten simultaneously with soup and various side dishes, so that one mouthful and contain five or six different foods!
Finally Koreans believe that sharing food with others is a way to experience love and togetherness. The only thing served individual at a Korean table is the bowl of rice. Everything else is shared, from the numerous side dishes to the big bowl of stew in the middle of the table. Sharing the dining experience with others is also an important facet of Koran food culture.
When Koreans want to get to know someone, the first thing they say is, “Let’s have lunch or dinner!”
Living in harmony with nature
Lee o-young, a renowned Korean literary critic, has noted that the act of going out to the fields in the spring to gather herbs and plants for namul dishes is actually a ritual of creating harmony with nature and establishing empathy with universal life forces. Thus, the seem0ingly simple act of preparing food is an important cultural characteristics. Koreans enjoy vegetables and believe that fruits and vegetables are at their best when they are in season. This rule also applies to food that are in season. This rule also applies to foods that are meats to be preserved over a long period. For example, there are many variations of kimchi all depending on the ingredients that are in season. The climate in Korea varies with distinct seasons, and Koreans enjoy special traditional meals to celebrate eat season. Five grain rice and a variety of vegetablenamul dishes are traditionally served on the first full moon of the lunar calendar. Red bean porridge cerebrates the winter solstice. Even in today’s fast-paced world of technology, this respect and appreciation for natural cycles can still be found in the Korean philosophy of food
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