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1.
Kimchi
No Korean meal would be complete without kimchi. Kimchi is a kind
of fermented vegetable. It is preserved in a mixture of salt and
other ingredients. Kimchi is made from different vegetables throughout
the year. Chinese cabbage kimchi is most common, but radishes, cucumbers,
green onions, chives, zucchini and other vegetables are also used.
In many regions, salted shrimp, anchovies or other seafoods are
added for richness. The combination of spices and salt promotes
the fermentation process.
2.
Rice
Koreans began planting rice some time around 1500-2000 B.C. It became
an important part of the Korean diet during the Three Kingdoms period.
The kingdoms of Koguryo (37 B.C.-668), Paekche (18 B.C.-660) and
Shilla (57 B.C.-935) all had government policies aimed at improved
rice production. That means they must have liked rice.
At
first, grain was steamed in earthenware steamers. Later, earthenware
pots were used to boil rice and rice porridge. Beans, millet, and
other grains are often added to rice for nutrition, taste and color.
3.
Soup
Soup is part of almost every Korean meal. There are many different
kinds of soup. Some are cooked with meat, others fish, clams or
other seafoods. Soups are seasoned with salt or soy sauce. Thick
beef soup is sometimes eaten as a main dish. Cold soups made of
cucumber or other vegetables are favorites in the summer.
4.
Seasonings
In Korean food, each seasoning has many uses. Sugar and soy sauce often
flavor meats and vegetables but also are found in many sweets enjoyed
by children and adults. Green onions, garlic, ginger, red pepper,
sesame oil, black pepper, vinegar and sugar are staples in every
Korean kitchen, as are soy sauce, red pepper paste and bean paste.
5.
Royal Meals
Traditional Korean society had many different levels. The names for
different table settings show this. For example, a children's table
is simply called papsang, literally "rice table," an adult's
meal chinjisang, or "honorable rice table," and the king's
table is called surasang, the "table offered to the king."
The
surasang is actually three tables. A large round table holds many
fancy side dishes, a bowl of white rice and a bowl of rice mixed
with red beans, two kinds of soup, small bowls of seasonings, at
least three kinds of kimchi and 12 other side dishes of different
styles and flavors. On a smaller round table are extra dishes and
serving utensils, extra rice and water. A small rectangular table
holds the ingredients for the chon'gol casserole which is made right
next to the tables.
6.
New Year's Meal
Koreans ring in the New Year with a big bowl of rice cake soup, or
ttokkuk. On New Year's morning (usually the lunar new year, although
some families observe the new year by the Gregorian calendar), families
gather to perform ceremonies honoring ancestors in the home of the
eldest son or parents. Then they sit down to a bowl of ttokkuk,
made of thinly sliced plain white rice cake boiled in a thick beef
broth with green onions.
7.
Foods for Ceremonies Honoring Ancestors
Ancestral memorial rites are an
important part of Korea's Confucian heritage. Four generations of
ancestors are honored on the day before the anniversary of their
death. Food is served in dishes with feet or special stands so the
plates don't touch the table. All food is served in large pieces,
and little seasoning or color is used.
The
combination and arrangement of foods is strictly set according to
old customs. Wine, rice, soup, skewered meat or seafood, dried fish
or meat, cooked vegetables in at least three colors, rice cakes,
at least three types of fresh fruit, dried fruit and hard cookies
are always served if the family has the money to prepare them. The
table arrangement is also set by custom: red fruits and fish to
the east, white fruits and meat to the west, etc. It's very complicated
but all has special meaning.
8.
Favorite Sweets
Koreans enjoy rice cakes and sweets made of rice flour and honey, wheat
gluten, sesame oil or sugar. Some are kneaded, then shaped with
the hands or pressed into molds, and cooked, in hot oil or boiling
water.
Rice
cakes, or ttok, have been a Korean favorite ever since rice was
introduced centuries ago. Rice cakes are an important part of all
holiday meals and are part of all ceremonies honoring ancestors.
There are many different kinds of ttok. Some are mixed with green
herbs that smell good and others are flavored with red beans, sesame
seeds, even flowers! Crescent-shaped rice cakes filled with sesame
seeds or chestnut paste are eaten at the Harvest Moon Festival in
the fall. Long sticks of plain white rice cake are sliced for the
special rice cake soup eaten at the New Year.
Yumilgwa are cookies flavored with sesame oil and honey Yakkwa is
the most popular type of yumilgwa. They are made of flour kneaded
with sesame oil, honey, and a touch of wine and ginger juice, and
pressed into flower-shaped molds. Tashik are made from powdered
grain, herbs, pollen or honey. They are also shaped by molds, but
are drier and often extremely expensive because they contain large
quantities of pollen powder.
9.
Kujolpan
Kujolpan is a pretty dish served at special occasions. Nine different
kinds of brightly colored meats and vegetables are arranged in a
nine-compartment dish. People wrap these foods in thin pancakes
and eat them at the table.
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About Korean Dishes
