Korean cuisine, made for common people, is based largely on rice, vegetables, fish, seaweed and tofu (dubu in Korean). Typical Korean meals are named for the number of side dishes (banchan) that accompany the ubiquitous rice, soup, and kimchi (pickled vegetables). Three dishes, five dishes, and up to twelve side-dish meals are served depending upon the circumstances. Korean food derives its pungent flavors from various combinations of sesame oil, soybean paste, soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger and, most importantly, chili pepper, which gives it its distinctive spiciness.
In constrast, Traditional Korean "Royal" cuisines, once only enjoyed by Royal Court Family Members and the "Yang-Ban" or upper-class of the Joseon dynasty, are served in luxury and took hours and days to prepare. They exhibit a unique blend of warm and cold, hot and mild ingredients that tantalize the tongue by harmonizing rough and soft bite textures with a range of solid and liquid foods, and are often served on hand-forged "bronze" plates.
Some of these traditional "royal" cusines, which can cost as much as US$250 per person without drinks, include serving by an exclusive waiter and can be found at high-end restaurants in select locations within the city of Seoul.
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2 Traditional Korean table manners 3 Traditional Korean foods & dishes 4 Controversies 5 See also 6 External Links |
At the Korean table, each person is served an individual serving of rice and soup (guk); while several side and main dishes are arranged for everyone to share. One kind of soup is called jjigae, which is thicker than guk; it is shared at the center of the table. Korean food custom is not traditionally individualistic, but this custom is changing.
Though people do not need to finish all the shared food that was provided, it is customary to finish one's individual portion of rice. When a person leaves uneaten rice, he or she may be regarded rude. If one is unable to eat all of one's rice, one should start with less rice. Accordingly, it is usually perfectly acceptable to ask for refills on any of the side dishes, since all traditional Korean restaurants are, in this sense, "all you can eat."
(Note that English spellings of Korean words may vary.)
The traditional Korean dish gaegogi, literally "dog meat", has been controversial in recent years. See the entry Gaegogi for more information.
Traditional Non-Royal Korean table settings
Koreans traditionally ate (and a large number still do eat) seated on cushions at low tables. The presentation of a Korean meal is almost as important as the taste. A typical table setting consists of:Traditional Korean table manners
Although there is no prescribed order for eating the many dishes served at a traditional Korean meal, many Koreans start with a small taste of soup before eating the other dishes in any order they wish. Unlike other chopstick nations, Koreans do not eat rice with chopsticks, instead using a spoon at formal or public meals. Koreans never pick up their rice or soup bowls but leave both on the table and eat from them with spoons. Side dishes, however, are eaten with chopsticks. Bad manners include blowing one's nose at the table (considered the rudest of acts), chewing with an open mouth, talking with food in one's mouth, making audible eating noises, sticking chopsticks straight up in a dish, mixing rice and soup, picking up food with one's hands, eating rice with chopsticks, and overeating. In informal situations, these rules are often broken.Traditional Korean foods & dishes
Korean food preparation is slightly different from that found in Japanese and Chinese cuisine. Koreans do not usually make one dish for each meal or for each day. Soup should be eaten in one meal or two, but people usually prepare dishes that will last for longer than one day. For example, during Kimjang season, Koreans would make a large amount of kimchi to last for the entire winter. Some people thus believe that the stong taste of Korean food originates from the its reliance on preservation techniques.
Fusion food is also rapidly becoming popular in South Korea, fusing the cuisine of two or more ethnicities into new creations. There are many "Japanese fusion" or "Chinese fusion" or "Western fusion" restaurants all over South Korea.Controversies
See also
External Links