Introduction to Korean Food

On this day associated with a lot of eating I will start to tackle the subject of Korean cuisine.  This is going to be a multiple post subject because there is a lot of stuff that does go along with food.  I have been here around seven months and so of course I have been eating Korean food for some time now.  I have waited in order to gather some pictures and to figure out how to describe the food.  For this post I will start with the very basics of Korean food.   

First thing to talk about regarding Korean food is the utensils used to eat Korean food.  Every meal you get a spoon and two sticks.  Of course these sticks you work together in order to form chopsticks and eat with them, but they essentially are sticks that are a tiny bit thinner on one side of the sticks.  This thinner side is where you pick up the food with and grip with the thicker side of the chopsticks.  When I first did get to Korea I wasn’t that good with chopsticks and essentially had to learn fresh.  By now though they are no issue and I can pick up anything even all the way down to a single grain of rice.  There is one dish that you do get a fork, but to my knowledge that is the only exception.   To cut stuff in Korea you do use the chopsticks or for some dishes you do get scissors. 

After the utensils the next biggest point in Korean cuisine is the side dishes.  Some people may have heard of Korea being the “land of the morning calm,” which is true.  Another accurate known thing about Korea is that it is the “land of the side dishes.”  Koreans pride themselves on their side dishes and it isn’t quite the same as back home.  So side dishes come with every single meal and they are endless.  Essentially meaning you can get as much as you want and there is no charge to these side dishes.  They usually come on little white plates and fill up the table.  There are multiple different side dishes but going from one restaurant to another you will have overlap of the side dishes.  Some side dishes range from: onions, garlic, bean sprouts, anchovies, seaweed, mushrooms, fish cake, pickles, corn, rice cake, radishes, spam, and the list goes on.  Some of these side dishes are by themselves or are mixed with a red sauce.

The main side dish of Korea is known as ‘kimchi.’  In fact it is known as their national dish.  When people think of Korean food usually kimchi is the first thing that comes to their mind.  There are many different types of kimchi but essentially it is: vegetables mixed with spices and a chili paste left to ferment for some time.  By the time you eat kimchi it can have a pickled kind of taste, along with a spicy, or sour taste.  The traditional way to prepare kimchi is to bury it in the ground for some time.  Of course it is in a container but it stays in the ground to ferment and turn into kimchi.  Some main ingredients for some different types of kimchi include: cabbage, radish, scallion, and cucumber.  Kimchi does come with every single meal.  At first I didn’t touch the kimchi because I didn’t like it at all.  Now slowly I can tolerate it a little bit.  It does help mixing it with some rice or other piece of food, but still not my first choice. 

Last thing for this post is the ‘button.’  The button is essentially a button that is at every table which is used to get a hold of a server.  After walking into a place and sitting down you simply take your time thinking of what to order and push the button.  This button does a ringing noise and then you know someone will be over shortly.  The button basically means you won’t be bothered unless you need something.  Now keep in mind, there is no tipping at all in Korea.  So before thinking you need this button in the United States the servers here don’t need to work extra for any type of tip.  So back home if your service is good don’t forget to tip your servers. 

This post has started to look at the food situation in Korea.  Start practicing with chopsticks, be aware of side dishes, and of course the button is important, or you will never be served.  A future post will look at some different types of food that is commonly eaten.  Then eventually work my way to the crazy food that can be eaten.  Some of this food might not be considered ‘normal,’ but who is to say what is ‘normal?’  Snow is officially here.  Monday night I did see a little bit falling, but last night there was a lot.  It is currently snowing right now!  Not white out conditions but enough to stick around for some time.  Pictures aren't cooperating and loading up.  Will write later.