Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in Korea and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine reflects a complex interaction of the natural environment and different cultural trends.
Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish (banchan) consisting of salted and fermented vegetables, most often napa cabbage or Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings is used, including gochugaru, spring onions, garlic, ginger, and jeotgal. Kimchi is also used in a variety of soups and stews. Kimchi is a staple food in Korean cuisine and is eaten as a side dish with almost every Korean meal.
Jeonju is the capital and largest city of North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju. It is an important tourist center famous for Korean food, historic buildings, sports activities, and innovative festivals.
Bulgogi is a gui made of thin, marinated slices of meat, most commonly beef, grilled on a barbecue or on a stove-top griddle. It is also often stir-fried in a pan in home cooking. Sirloin and rib eye are frequently used cuts of beef for the dish. Bulgogi is a very popular dish in South Korea, where it can be found anywhere from upscale restaurants to local supermarkets as pan-ready kits.
Andong is a city in South Korea, and the capital of North Gyeongsang Province. It is the largest city in the northern part of the province with a population of 167,821 as of October 2010. The Nakdong River flows through the city. Andong is a market centre for the surrounding agricultural areas.
Gochujang or red chili paste is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking. It is made from gochu-garu, glutinous rice, meju powder, yeotgireum, and salt. The sweetness comes from the starch of cooked glutinous rice, cultured with saccharifying enzymes during the fermentation process. Traditionally, it would be naturally fermented over years in jangdok (earthenware) on an elevated stone platform called jangdokdae in the backyard.
Korean royal court cuisine was the style of cookery within Korean cuisine traditionally consumed at the court of the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1897. There has been a revival of this cookery style in the 21st century. It is said that twelve dishes should be served along with rice and soup, with most dishes served in bangjja (bronzeware).
Banchan are small side dishes served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. Banchan are often set in the middle of the table to be shared. At the center of the table is the secondary main course, such as galbi or bulgogi, and a shared pot of jjigae. Bowls of cooked rice and guk (soup) are set individually. Banchan are served in small portions, meant to be finished at each meal and replenished during the meal if not enough. Usually, the more formal the meals are, the more banchan there will be. Jeolla province is particularly famous for serving many different varieties of banchan in a single meal.
Seollal is a Korean traditional festival and national holiday commemorating the first day of the lunisolar calendar. It is one of the most important traditional holidays for ethnic Koreans, being celebrated in both North Korea and South Korea as well as Korean diaspora all around the world.
Budae-jjigae is a type of spicy jjigae from South Korea that is made with a variety of ingredients, often canned or processed. Common ingredients include ham, sausage, spam, baked beans, kimchi, instant noodles, gochujang, and American cheese. The dish is now a popular anju and a comfort food cooked in a large pot for multiple people. It also goes by the English names army stew, army base stew, and spicy sausage stew.
Sujebi, ttŭdŏguk, or hand-pulled dough soup, or Korean-style pasta soup, is a Korean traditional soup consisting of dough flakes roughly torn by hand, with various vegetables. The flavor and recipe resemble kalguksu, except that the latter is made with noodles rather than wheat flakes. It is commonly considered a dish to consume on rainy days, along with bindaetteok.
Sinseollo or royal hot pot is an elaborate dish consisting of meatballs, small and round jeonyueo (전유어), mushrooms, and vegetables cooked in a rich broth in Korean royal court cuisine. The dish is a form of jeongol. It is served in a large bundt pan-shaped vessel with a hole in the center, in which hot embers are placed to keep the dish hot throughout the meal.
South Korea is a country in East Asia constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. It is bordered to the north by North Korea, and the two countries are separated by the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Some dishes are shared by the two Koreas.
Gukbap is a Korean dish made by putting cooked rice into hot soup or boiling rice in soup. It is commonly served in a ttukbaegi. Whereas soup and rice is generally eaten separately in Korea, in gukbap, rice is expected to be mixed into the soup.
Mandu-guk or dumpling soup is a variety of Korean soup (guk) made by boiling mandu (dumplings) in a beef broth or anchovy broth mixed with beaten egg.
Rice production in South Korea is important for the food supply in the country, with rice being a common part of the Korean diet. In 2009, South Korea produced 3,899,036 metric tonnes of rice.
Rice is the most valuable crop in South Korea. However, as noted by Donald S. Macdonald, rising wage levels and land values have made it expensive to produce. Rice represented about 90 percent of total grain production and over 40 percent of farm income; the 1988 rice crop was 6.5 million tonnes. Rice was imported in the 1980s, but the amount depended on the success of domestic harvests. The government's rice support program reached a record of US$1.9 billion in 1986 compared to $890 million in 1985. By raising procurement prices by 14 percent to the 1986 level, Seoul achieved a rice price structure that was about five times that of the world market in 1987.
Korean regional cuisines are characterized by local specialties and distinctive styles within Korean cuisine. The divisions reflected historical boundaries of the provinces where these food and culinary traditions were preserved until modern times.
Street food in Thailand brings together various offerings of ready-to-eat meals, snacks, fruits and drinks sold by hawkers or vendors at food stalls or food carts on the street side in Thailand. Sampling Thai street food is a popular activity for visitors, as it offers a taste of Thai cooking traditions. Bangkok is often mentioned as one of the best places for street food. In 2012, VirtualTourist named Bangkok as the number one spot for street food—the city is notable for both its variety of offerings and the abundance of street hawkers.
Cup Noodles is a brand of cup instant ramen developed in 1971 and manufactured by the Japanese food company Nissin Foods. The product was first introduced in the United States as "Cup O' Noodles" in 1972, before being renamed to "Cup Noodles" in 1993.
Newtro (Korean: 뉴트로) is a portmanteau of the words "new" and "retro", and refers to the trend of "modernized retro". Newtro's beginnings can be traced back to 2018 in South Korea.
