Korean food

**Korean food** came from very old traditions in Korea. It has developed through many environmental, political, and cultural changes. There are special rules for eating meals in Korea.

Korean food is mostly made up of rice, noodles, vegetables, and meats. Most Korean meals have many side dishes (called _banchan_) along with their steam-cooked rice. Kimchi is usually eaten at every meal. Sesame oil, _doenjang_, soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper and _gochujang_ are ingredients that are often used in the food.

In different provinces of Korea, its ingredients and dishes are different, too. The Korean royal court cuisine used to serve all the best dishes from each province for the royal family. People follow special rules when they eat meals in Korea.

## Sweets

Traditional rice cakes like _tteok_ are eaten as treats during holidays and festivals. _Tteok_ means all rice cakes made from pounded rice (메떡, _metteok_), pounded glutinous rice (찰떡, _chaltteok_), or glutinous rice that has not been pounded. It is usually filled or covered with sweet mung bean paste, red bean paste, raisins, or a sweet, creamy filling made with sesame seeds, pumpkin, beans, pine nuts, and honey. _Tteok_ is usually eaten for dessert or as a snack. Sikhye is a traditional Korean beverage. Usually, people drink it during the Korean festive holidays (For example, New Year’s Day or Korean Harvest Festival). It is made with simple water ingredients, malted barley flour, sugar, and cooked rice. Yakgwa is a traditional Korean sweet pastry or cookie. Yakgwa is a type of yumil-gwa, which is a deep-fried, wheat-based hangwa made with powdered grains, honey, malt, and sugar. This food is enjoyed on festive days such as chuseok.

## Dining manners

The oldest people are usually served first, and it is thought rude to pick up chopsticks or eat before the oldest people do so. In Korea, unlike in China and Japan, the rice bowl is not lifted up from the table. Spoons should not hit bowls while eating. You must not talk about dirty things. Some rules are now not important. For instance, talking used to be discouraged, but today people usually talk together at meals. Also, men usually ate at a different table than women, but now they eat all together. In Korea, they have both spoons and chopsticks, and together they are called _sujeou_ (pronounced soo-juh - 수저). Usually, before they eat, people say, "Jalmukgessemnidah (잘 먹겠습니다)", and after they are finished, they say, "Jalmuggussemnidah (잘 먹었습니다)." Soups and stews must be set on the right side of the person who is eating.

### Meat dishes

- Bulgogi (불고기): a popular dish of beef cooked on a grill.
- Galbi (갈비): pork or beef ribs, thicker than bulgogi. It is often called "Korean BBQ."
- Samgyeopsal (삼겹살): Bacon, served like Galbi. It is often cooked with onions and garlic, and is eaten wrapped in lettuce. When it is wrapped in lettuce it is called _ssam_. The sauce spread on samgyeopsal when it is wrapped in lettuce is called _ssamjang_.

### Fish dishes

- Hoe (pronounced 'hweh' - 회): raw seafood dish dipped in sauce and eaten wrapped up in lettuce or sesame leaves.
- Sannakji (산낙지): Raw octopus. It is usually served alive.

### Soups and stews

- Guk (국): soup
- Tang (탕): stew
- Jjigae (찌개): stew

### Grain dishes

These dishes are usually made with rice.
- Bibimbap (비빔밥): rice with vegetables (나물)
- Boribap (보리밥)
- Ogokbap (오곡밥): five-grain rice

### Snacks or simple foods

These simple foods can be bought at shops on the street and are usually thought of as snacks rather than meals.
- Bindaetteok (빈대떡): Meaning _mung-bean pancake_
- Bungeoppang (붕어빵): A popular fish-shaped cake, pastry.
- Kimbap (김밥)

### Bibliography

- Baek Un-hwa (백운화). Inje Food Science Forum (인제식품과학 FORUM), "Part 3 Status quo and prospect about the industrialization of Korean traditional beverages (제 3 주제 전통 음청류의 산업화 현황과 전망)" taken from http://www.dbpia.co.kr/view/ar_view.asp?arid=499897 on 2008-06-15. pp. 75~95.
- Coultrip-Davis, Deborah, Young Sook Ramsay, and Deborah Davis (1998). _Flavors of Korea: Delicious Vegetarian Cuisine_. Tennessee: Book Publishing Company. .
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- Crawford, Gary W. (2006) East Asian Plant Domestication. In _Archaeology of East Asia_, edited by Miriam Stark. Wiley-Blackwell, 2006

- Food in Korea, "Jontongjoo - Kinds of Traditional Liquors" taken from http://www.foodinkorea.org/eng_food/korfood/korfood10_3.jsp
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- Korea Tourism Organization. "Experience Royal Cuisine" taken from http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=256873  on 2008-06-13.
- _Koryǒsa_, _The History of the Koryǒ Dynasty_, Seoul, 1990.
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- Sohn Gyeong-hee (손경희). Inje Food Science Forum (인제식품과학 FORUM), "Part 1 HIstorical overview of Korean traditional eumcheongryu (제 1 주제 한국 전통 음청류의 역사적 고찰)" taken from http://www.dbpia.co.kr/view/ar_view.asp?arid=499897 on 2008-06-16.
- The Academy of Korean Studies. "농사직설(農事直說), Nongsa jikseol" taken from http://www.aks.ac.kr/glossary/glossary_detail.asp?g_code=1498&page=19&c_code=&search_field=&keyword=&order=g_korean&kanada=1  on 2008-06-10.
- The Chosun Ilbo. "Hanjeongsik, a full-course Korean meal" taken from http://english.chosun.com/english/contents/magazine/2001/Cuisine200111_1.html  on 2008-06-11.
- The Korea Economic Daily, "Brew master.. the only beer in the world" (브루 마스터 .. 세계 유일의 맥주) taken from http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2006120107501<ype=1&nid=101&sid=011612&page=1
- Yi Kyubo, Tongmyǒng-wang p'yǒn' (The lay of King Tongmyǒng) in _Tongguk Yi Sangguk chip_ (_The Collected Works of Minister Yi of the Eastern Country_), Seoul, 1982.
- Yi Yang-Cha, and Armin E. Möller (1999). _Koreanisch vegetarisch: Die kaum bekannte, fettarme, phantasievolle und küchenfreundliche Art asiatisch zu kochen_ (Korean Vegetarian: Almost Unknown, Low Fat, Creative and Kitchen-friendly Way of Asian Cooking). .
- Yi Tǒngmu, _Sasojǒl_ (_Elementary Etiquette for Scholar Families_), quaoted in Sources of Korean Tradition, Volume Two: From the Twentieth Centuries, ed. Yǒongho Ch'oe, Peter H. Lee and W. Theodore de Bary. New York, 2000.
- Yu Jisang (유지상). "How about today? _Pojangmacha_, outing at night" (오늘 어때? 포장마차 ‘밤마실’) taken from http://article.joins.com/article/article.asp?ctg=20&Total_ID=3147231  on 2008-06-13.

## Other websites

https://mykoreankitchen.com/sikhye/<nowiki/>https://kimchimari.com/yakgwa-or-yakwa/
- Korea National Tourism list of Korean food

## Infobox (korean name)

- **img**: Korean.food-Hanjungsik-01.jpg
- **caption**: _Hanjeongsik_, a full-course Korean meal with a varied array of _banchan_ (side dishes)
- **hangul**: 한국요리 or 한식
- **hanja**: 韓國料理 or 韓食
- **rr**: Hanguk yori or Hansik
- **mr**: Hankuk yori or Hansik