About Korean Food

The Choson Dynasty (1392-1910) marks the period when Korea's culinary culture was refined. In the early part of the Choson Dynasty, agriculture books were also widely published. Moreover, researches in the fields of astronomy and meteorology began to invent new equipment to observe the celestial bodies and the weather, which contributed to improvements in farm cultivation. Significant strides in medical research were also made and they focused on the salutary benefits of a balanced diet which included a combination of rice, beans, vegetables, fish and meat. The traditional dining table was classified into a three-ch'op, and five-ch'op, and a seven-ch-nop table, depending on the number of side dishes (panch-an). On the table, food was arranged in order to promote a balanced...

• Seoul Garden
• Jun 26, 2009
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Basic Sauces

The basic sauces of most Korean homes during the Choson Dynasty were soy sauce, bean paste, barley paste, and red pepper paste. The soy sauce and bean paste were cured with soybean malts, barley paste with barley malts, and red pepper paste with red pepper powder and malts made of glutinous rice, bean and rice. Since many Korean dishes are seasoned with these sauces, they are the key to what makes Korean food taste Korea. Soybeans are boiled in the early winter to make malt, which is then dried during the winter season Between late February and early March, the malt is soaked in water and fermented for 60 - 100 days. Later, some portions of the malt is sterilized by heating and made into soy sauce; the remaining dregs become bean paste.

• Seoul Garden
• Jun 26, 2009
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CEREMONIAL FOOD

During the Choson period, ceremonies were an important part of every family household and as a consequence, special goods for those ceremonies were developed. In particular, on the occasions of marriage and Hwan-gap, a special table-setting was arranged, which featured a variety of foods stacked to about 30-50 centimeters high in a shape of a big cylinder. It was a matter of course that long years of experience was needed to stack to products successfully. Of the many ceremonial dishes, rice cakes and confectionaries were popular. Rice cakes, or ttok, are made of rice, and beans or other grains. In ancient times, rice cakes were eaten both during ordinary meal times and during ceremonies of rituals. It was only later, after the Three Kingdoms period, that rice cakes became prima...

• Seoul Garden
• Jun 26, 2009
• Views 3300