The
Essence of......Korea
An exploration of the world through food and drink
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr
Essence -ial Information
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UK Tourist Office |
3rd Floor New Zealand House 80 Haymarket, London SW1 |
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Currency |
South Korean Won/North Korean Won KPW |
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Capital |
North Pyongyang |
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Language |
Korean (Hangugeo, Chosoneo) |
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Main Airlines |
Korean Air, Asiana (South) |
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Flying Time from UK |
9 Hrs (8 in Summertime) |
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Visa |
South - No |
PROFILE
Korean cuisine provides unique tastes for the visitor. It is nutritious, well-balanced and low in calories. They say that you can eat as much Korean food as you like and never gain weight!!
The consumption of pork and beef increased vastly in Korea in the 1970s. The per-capita consumption of meat was 3.6 kilograms in 1961, which increased to 11 kilograms per person in 1979. The result of this increased meat consumption brought about the increase of bulgogi restaurants which gave the middle class of South Korea the ability to enjoy meat regularly. The consumption of meat rose to 40 kilograms in 1997, while fish consumption was 49.5 kilograms in 1998. Rice consumption had continually decreased through the years with 128.1 kg consumed per person in 1985 to 106.5 kg in 1995 and 83.2 kg in 2003. The decrease in rice consumption has been accompanied by an increase in consumption of bread and noodles
Korean food is chiefly made of a wide variety of vegetables. Seasonings include garlic, red peppers, spring onions, soy sauce, fermented bean paste, ginger and sesame oil.
Kimch'i is the most famous Korean food. A fermented vegetable dish highly seasoned with red pepper and garlic. Served at virtually all meals, it has become the best known of Korea's dishes abroad. Kimchi is made of cabbage (sometimes other types of vegetables are used, such as cucumber, radish or bean sprouts, but cabbage is the most common) fermented with chilly, garlic and other spices. Kimchi is supposed to be very good for health because it is rich in vitamins and in Lactobacilli (with a higher content than in yoghurt).
Bulgogi is the one of the most popular dishes in Korea and one which Westerners find very pleasing. Bulgogi literally means "fire beef," but it is generally translated as "Korean barbecue." Thin, tender slices of beef are marinated in a sauce made with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and other seasonings, and then cooked over a hot charcoal grill at your table.
Hanjongshik literally means "full course Korean meal," and it is just that. When you order hanjongshik, you are usually served pulgogi, steamed short ribs, grilled fish, and a host of side dishes. These side dishes may vary from restaurant to restaurant, but the servings are always ample.
Naengmyon means "cold noodles" and this summer favourite is truly refreshing. Very thin, chewy buckwheat noodles are served in a cold beef broth with chopped scallions, shredded radishes and cucumbers, sesame seeds, and slices of lean beef, Appropriate condiments are hot mustard and vinegar. There are many restaurants that specialize only in naengmyon. Be sure to try the mild mul-naengmyon before sampling the spicier pibim-naengmyon.
Desserts: The Koreans don't go in for desserts. A chilled sweetened drink is served at the end of a meal. Patpingsu is popular during the summer months. It is a fruit salad on ice with red beans and ice cream. Dok, or rice cakes are a sticky traditional sweet.
Korean cuisine involves the use a lot of garlic (a lot more than in Thai, Italian, Spanish or Greek cuisine), a lot of red chillies, spices such as ginger, doenjang (fermented soy paste), soy sauce and gochujang (red chilli paste). The cooking oil normally used by Koreans is sesame oil. Korean cuisine includes recipes with meat, fish, vegetables, noodles and tofu. Altogether Korean cuisine is very healthy.
RESTAURANTS
There are two main reasons why Korean cuisine is not as prominent in UK as it might be. Firstly there is no mass tourism from UK to Korea to give people a clear insight into the food and culture and, secondly, there are relatively few Korean restaurants in UK. What restaurants there are tend to be mainly in London and the suburbs and the greatest concentration is in the Surrey town of New Malden. Don't let this put you off. Dining Korean is certainly a culinary experience not to be missed and worth the journey whether to restaurant or country.
Etiquette
The Korean style is to eat quickly and conversation is usually limited to comments of how delicious the food is. Unlike Western restaurants, everybody eats the same food and the communal side dishes are placed in the middle.
At first, taste soup or kimchi juice, and then try rice or other dishes. Use spoon for rice and liquid foods, such as stews or soups; use chopsticks for other foods.
Do not make noises with spoon or chopsticks hitting the rice bowl or other food containers.
Do not hold the rice bowl or soup bowl in your hand during the meal.
Do not poke around the rice or side dishes with the spoon.
Do not pick out what you don't like or shake off seasonings.
Do not leave any trace of food on the spoon while eating.
During the meal, uneatable parts such as bones or fish bones are quietly discarded by wrapping them in a paper so that others won't see them. Do not put them on the table or floor.
When coughing or sneezing during a meal, face the other way from table and cover your mouth with your hand or napkin.
Eat the rice and side dishes from one side.
Do not use your hands to pick at the food.
Chew food with your mouth closed and do not make noises while chewing.
Do not leave the table while eating.
Do not read a book or newspaper or watch TV while eating. Do not reach across the table for distant food - ask a nearby person to pass it to you.
Use an individual plate for foods served for a group, and also for sauces such as soy & vinegar sauce or sweet & sour hot pepper soybean paste.
Try to keep pace with others by eating not too fast or too slow. When having a meal with the elderly, wait for them to put the spoon and chopsticks on the table at the end of the meal.
At the end of the meal, pour sungnyung (boiled water in the rice cooker or scorched-rice tea) into the rice bowl and drink.
After a meal, put the spoon and chopsticks on the spot where they were placed first and put used napkins on the table after folding it little bit if they are big.
When using a toothpick, cover your mouth with one hand and discard it the toothpick afterwards so others won't see it. Hot and watery foods are placed on the right side and cold and dry foods are placed on the left side.
The rice bowl is on the left, and soup bowl is on the right, with other bowls placed in the middle.
The spoon is on the right side and chop sticks are behind the spoon and placed a little towards the outside of the table.
Place kimchi dishes in the back row, stew dishes on the right, sauces in the middle of the front row, meat dishes on the right side, and vegetables on the left side.
Remember all that and you haven't got a problem!
The Korean respect for elders dictates that everybody waits until the oldest person starts to eat. It is considered rude to smoke in front of someone older or to leave the table earlier than the oldest.
And watch out - the oldest person usually pays for the meal!!!.