Types of Korean Food

Gruel: Many types of porridge(chuk) have been developed since early times. Rich and other grains are boiled into gruel, which can be either a choice delicacy or a special medicinal dish for the sick. My mommy makes porridge for me when I'm not feeling well and I swear after one day of eating this and resting cures me of whatever illness I might had earlier on :) Since porridge tends to be a bit bland for my taste, I usually add little bit of salt.

Soup: Soup(kuk, also called t'ang)used to be served at any Korean meal. However, now that times have changed and all, it's not "must" part of Korean meal anymore. Materials commonly used for soup include meat, vegetables, fish, seaweed, clams, and even the bones and internal organs of cows and pigs. It tastes better than it sounds....I swear~

Stews and Casseroles: In Korean,these dishes would be called Tchigae and Jun-gol....they contain less water and more ingredients than soup Soy sauce, soybean paste, and red pepper paste are added depending on the main material. Jun-gol is a dish cooked at the table by placing layers of sliced, seasoned beef at the bottom of a pot, covering the beef with fish, clams, mushrooms and other vegetables, adding water and boiling. These dishes go well with boiled rice.

Smothered and Soy Sauce-glazed Dishes(tchim and jorim): To cook tchim, put whatever ingredients you want along with seasonings into an earthenware pot and steam them at a low heat for a long time, until they have softened. There are many varieties of tchim.   Glazing in soy sauce, or in red pepper paste, is a time-honored technique which preserves food for weeks.

Broiled and Fried Dishes(kui and Jhun): You can broil food on a spit or directly on a grill. Barbecues beef is the most representative broiled dish. One popular fried dish is Jhun, which is made by covering chopped, stuffed, or whole meat, fish or vegetables with flour, dipping in them in beaten egg, and pan-frying them.

Sliced Raw Fish(hoe): This is usually known as sushi in Western society. Many people enjoy fish either raw or parboiled. Both dishes go well with drinks. I never tried this with alcohol but I do enjoy eating hoe whenever I get a chance. There's this nice Japanese restaurant near where I live and I go there with friends to eat hoe :)

Salted Fish (Jhutkal): Koreans preserve fish, clams, fish eggs, or the internal organs of fish with salt until they are fermented. The results are salty but tasty side dishes and appetizers. They are also good as seasonings for kimchi and other foods.

Rice Cakes(Ttok): Steaming rice flour in a rice cake steamer if the usual way of making ttok. These traditional cakes are made for ancestor worship ceremonies and for holidays.

Vegetable Dishes(namul): Greens maybe be parboiled or fried and seasoned with various spices. They should be mixed, seasoned, and soaked by hand to improve the taste.

Korean Sweets and Cookies(han-gwa): Most of the light and crispy traditional sweets and cookies are made of rice flour mixed with honey. Like rice cakes, han-gwa was served at ancestor worship ceremonies and on other special days.

Drinks and Teas: Hwach'ae, served as refreshments with dessert, are traditional Korean fruit drinks. A sweet rice drink (sik-hae) and a cinnamon fruit punch are common. Green tea, Job's tears tea, citron tea, and ginger tea are all popular forms of tea. When drinking tea, people observe a special etiquette called Tado, the "Way of Tea"

Korean Seasonings

   Koreans are concerned about the harmony of the five tastes (hot, bitter, sweet, sour, and salty)according to the classical Oriental theory of the five elements. Combinations of seasonings produce complex tastes. Koreans use spices not only for their taste but also for health reasons.

   Many seasonings can contribute to balanced nutrition.?The Korean diet has lately come to be regarded as almost ideal from a health point of view, for which much of the credit must be given to its seasonings.

Kimchi

      The history of salted, pickled vegetables can be traced back a thousand years, and the history of spicy kimchi made with red pepper back to the 17th century. The introduction of red pepper into the pickling process was a major innovation in Korean food culture.?Using red pepper in combination with vegetables and fish resulted in a unique method of food preservation and led to the adoption of kimchi as a Korean staple.

   Today there are many types of kimchi with many different tastes. At least a hundred kinds of kimchi exist, using a variety of pickling methods. I will introduce the most representative types of kimchi in this page.

1. Whole Cabbage Kimchi(t'ongbaech'u Kimchi): Each cabbage is cute lengthwise into two sections and soaked in brine, the drained, seasoned between the leaves, and left to ferment. This is the most common way of pickling for preservation throughout the winter.
2. Wrapped Kimchi(possam kimchi): Seafood such as octopus, shrimp and oyster is seasoned, wrapped in cabbage leaves and pickled. These bundles are neat and convenient to serve.
3. White Cabbage Kimchi(paek kimchi): This kimchi made in the southern part of the country is less watery and contains more pickled fish and red pepper than that made in the northern part. People eat noodles with the juice of kimchi during the winter.
4. Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi(oisobagi): This one is my favorite :) Cucumbers are fermented after having been stuffed with a mixture of seasonings. The crunchiness and fragrance of well-fermented cucumbers make them a true delicacy.
5. Hot Radish Kimchi(kkaktugi): Korean white radishes are cut into small cubes, seasoned, and fermented. The name is an imitation of the sound of cutting radishes, "kkaktuk kkaktuk"
6. Whole Radish Kimchi(ch'onggak kimchi): This is made with small salted white radishes, salted anchovies and seasonings. It is pickled for early winter consumption. In Korean, ch'onggak means bachelor.....I don't know where the name is originated from...but if I find out, I'll let you know :)
7. Radish Water Kimchi(dongch'imi): White radishes are rolled in salt. After three days, salt water is poured into the crock and radish leaves are layered over the top and weighed down.
8. Water Kimchi(nabak kimchi): Small pieces of white radish or cabbage are pickled in seasoned brine. Whole green peppers or red peppers are used, giving it a mild taste. It is best served chilled.

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