Contents
volume_1
Korean Food, The Originality
Prologue: Creating a Positive Experience with Negative Ingredients
1. The Story Behind Korean Cuisine
The Root of Korean Cuisine
An Epicurean Philosophy
Foods That Observe The Changes of Nature 9
Serving Meals
2. The Basics of Korean Cuisine
Grains: The Core of Korean Food Culture
The Secret of Obangsaek
Yangnyeom: Seasoning
Cooking Methods
Preservation Methods
3. The Secret of Fermentation - The Essence of Korean Flavor
Korean Cuisine and The Culture of Fermentation
The Origin and Evolution of Jang
The Ingredients and Nutritious Value of Jang
Making of Jang
Cooking with Jang
The Origin and Evolution of Kimchi
The Characteristics and Nutritional Value of Kimchi
The Secret of Kimchi
The Many Ingredients and Flavors of Kimchi
The Making and Storing of Kimchi
Korean Alcohol: Tradition and Ordeals
Making Korean Alcohol
The Development of Yagyongju, Medicinal Liquor
4. Enjoying Korean Cuisine
Table Settings: Separate but Together
How to Eat Korean Food
The Choice of The Dishware
Epilogue: The Philosophy of Korean Cuisine . A Historical Future
Recipes from Tteokguk to Kimchi
Volume_2
Korean Food, The Impression
Prologue A Cuisine of Harmony and Inclusion
1. Simple and Healthy Meals
2. Royal and Aristocratic Cuisine: A Half-millennium Tradition
3. Korean Cuisine Meets Western Style
4. Modern Korean Food: A Casual Twist on Tradition
5. Temple Food: A Table Full of Nature
Food of Harmony: Various Bibimbaps
6. Korean Cuisine in The World's Metropolitan Cities
7. Simple Health Food Dishes
8. Appetizers Served with Liquor
9. Makgeolli Bars: Trendy Bars for The New Generation
10. Simple Street Snacks
11. Fusion Style Snack Cafe
12. Back to The Tradition: Trendy, Tasty Korean Desserts
Information: Authentic Korean Restaurants and Recommended Places
Recipes: The Best of Korean Cuisine
Recommended by Koreans and Foreigners
Description
With a diet consisting primarily of vegetables and containing a particularly large amount of fermented foods, Korean food is attracting more and more interest around the world as healthy food. There are many people who enjoy Korean fermented foods and alcohol, such as kimchi and makkeolli, but there are few people who truly understand Korean food. While it is possible to simply enjoy food by taste alone, knowing the history and cultural background of that food allows for a deeper, more magical experience.
We have made these books in the belief that Korean food can be genuinely understood through such an open-minded experience with the flavors of a new culture. The first book explores the philosophy and cultural-anthropological values of Korean food, while the second book offers an up-close look at the many ways that Korean food has taken root today.
Why do Koreans mix, combine, and wrap ingredients?
Korean food has an international reputation of being health food, due to its vegetable-heavy meals and the wide variety of fermented products that are consumed. Korean food, however, is much more than just “healthy.” It strongly reflects the spiritual aspect of food – as a medium of communicating with spirits, reinforcing solidarity with others, and becoming one with the universe. It is difficult to understand why Koreans mix, combine, and wrap ingredients, and pour solid foods into soup, without first understanding the philosophy of Korean food.
For some, simply enjoying the flavor of food may be enough. But food is a product of history and culture. Eating food with the knowledge of this background would be able to more magical experience the culture of Korean cuisine.
Korean cuisine is a cuisine of paradox and irony? …!
Korean cuisine flourished not from abundant produce and resources but from a harsh climate and difficult conditions. The lack of rice drove Koreans to mix different grains into steamed rice and use beneficial medicinal ingredients when brewing liquor. The difficult conditions ironically led to the development of Korean cuisine in a healthier, tastier, and sustainable direction. Even a single bowl reflects such irony – each ingredient is meticulously arranged upon serving, but they are all mixed or poured into a bowl of soup before eating. Moreover, flavorless seolleongtang (ox bone soup) is considered to have one of the best flavors of all, and vegetables are made even fresher through long periods of fermentation. The goal of this book was to explain the background and philosophy that gave birth to the paradox of Korean cuisine and how that very paradox came to be an established theory in line with the cycles of nature. |