South Korean meals: 10 issues we love
Gochujang
Every province has its personal model of umami-rich gochujang. Mountainous Sunchang is understood to provide the perfect resulting from its clear air and water, and high-quality chillies. The fiery paste is made utilizing fermented soybeans, floor sticky rice, dried chillies, barley syrup and sea salt. We use it to make traditional dishes akin to rice cake consolation meals tteok-bokki, jjigae soup and galbijjim braised quick ribs.
Mandu (Korean dumplings)
There are various completely different flavours and types of dumplings, together with pork, kimchi, pumpkin and candy potato, usually steamed but in addition fried. Korean New 12 months is well known on 21 January over 4 days, once we eat tteokguk rice cake and dumpling soup. Throughout this era, we greet one another with the phrase, “Have you ever eaten your rice cake and dumpling soup?”. This can be a means of marking the completion of one other 12 months. Uncover recipes for dumplings from around the globe right here.
Korean road meals
South Korea’s markets are vibrant locations to purchase contemporary produce, dried items and seafood. Within the evenings coated bars are arrange on the encompassing streets for locals to take pleasure in road meals dishes akin to mung bean pancakes, comforting tteok-bokki and candy hotteok pancakes paired with soju (a clean, clear Korean spirit).
Hanjeongsik banquets
On particular events akin to Christmas Eve, we go to conventional eating places to take pleasure in a banquet. We sit on the ground spherical a low desk laid out with particular person bowls of rice and soup plus a choice of small dishes to share. These can embody crab, skate in spring onion sauce, mung bean jelly, kimchi and loads of pickles – mushrooms, lotus flower and seaweed to call a couple of.
Korean BBQ and bulgogi
There’s a huge number of KBBQ but it surely’s most historically centred round meat, whether or not that’s galbi shortribs, thinly sliced bulgogi or dwaeji pork bulgogi. The meat is marinated and cooked by diners on grills set into the desk. We wrap the crisp, charred meat in lettuce or perilla leaves, together with garnishes and banchan facet dishes together with dried omelette, kimchi and crunchy cabbage.
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Temple meals
There are millions of Buddhist temples in South Korea, with many providing keep experiences. Spiritual practices encourage a easy vegan food regimen utilizing mountain herbs and homegrown or native veg. Examples of dishes ready by the monks embody spiced aubergine, mushroom and tofu soup, chilli pickled cucumber and sesame-laced spinach.
Kimchi
Kimchi is a part of our tradition and one thing we will’t dwell with out. After we journey we take our personal kimchi with us, and there’s all the time a range on the desk at a restaurant. There are greater than 200 varieties, together with white radish cubes (chonggak) and crunchy mountain cabbage with various ranges of candy and spiciness. The standard sauce is made utilizing ginger, spring onion, garlic, onions and dried chillies, with sticky rice to thicken, plus fish or shrimp sauce and sesame seeds. Making kimchi can also be about household reunions, the place, annually, often in autumn, we get collectively to make a big batch, then maintain in a separate kimchi fridge to keep up the style for the entire 12 months.
Korean fried rooster
Korean fried rooster is a ritual – we eat it with mates after work, to remedy a damaged coronary heart, whereas watching soccer, on many events, usually paired with Cass Recent lager to refresh our mouths. It’s further crunchy with a succulent centre, and flavoured with varied seasonings together with spicy gochujang, honey glaze and garlic and soy.
Persimmons
Throughout autumn, the entire nation comes alive with the candy perfume of persimmons. Many people have our personal persimmon bushes. Round November time the fruit turns into gentle and nearly jelly-like (we name this ‘hongsi’). We freeze to eat like an ice cream or dry for winter and wrap round walnuts to make a conventional dessert, gotgamssam.
Seafood and haenyeo divers
Jagalchi market in Busan is the biggest fish market in South Korea. Right here, girls promote contemporary and dried seafood from lengthy, delicate cutlass fish to dried salty anchovies and octopus. Feminine haenyeo divers use particular respiratory methods to reap seaweed, sea cucumbers and prized abalone off the shores of volcanic Jeju Island to promote on the mainland.
Images by Alex Crossley
