Whether you are planning to eat in a Korean restaurant, visit Korea, or cook your own Korean food at home, this quick introduction to Korean cuisine will give you all the basics you need.

The Side Dishes

Korean foodstands out from other cuisines with the many side dishes (banchan) that are served during meals. The number of side dishes can range anywhere from 2 to 12, but everyday meals feature at least a few.

So when you eat at a Korean restaurant, your various side dishes will come to you before your meal in small bowls and can be anything from vegetables to meat to seafood prepared in any number of ways. Korean dishes are all served at the same time, so there are no separate courses like in Western cuisines.

The Basics

Rice is the backbone of almost everyKorean meal. On rare occasions, noodles will replace the rice, but the vast majority of the time, every person eats a bowl of rice with their meal. Typically, each person will also have their own bowl of soup or stew. The side dishes and main dish or dishes, which can be meat, seafood, or tofu are all be served family-style in the middle of the table. Sometimes a large stew will replace the main dish and will be served family-style at the table.

Common Ingredients

Koreans have perfected the art of preserving food over thousands of years, so many of the side dishes are pickled, salted, or fermented and many are spicy.

Kimchi, Korea's famous spicy cabbage, has over a hundred varieties of different vegetables, including some non-spicy types. Even thoughKorean stewsand soups are served very hot (almost boiling), many of the side dishes are served cold or at room temperature.

Korea is a peninsula, so Koreans eat a lot of seafood although meat has become very popular in the last 50 or so years.

The most common spices and sauces used in Korean cuisine are: sesame oil, chili pepper paste (kochujang), chili pepper flakes (kochukaru), soybean paste (daenjang), soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and scallions. As a result, much of Korean cuisine is intensely flavored, savory, and bold.

The Little Things

Everything, including meat and poultry, is cut into bite-sized pieces so there is no need for a knife. Koreans are also adept atusing chopsticksso if the meat is too large or a whole grilled fish is served, it can be split with chopsticks. (Many Korean meat dishes are braised or marinated for a long time for a tender flesh). Korean food is traditionally eaten with stainless steel chopsticks and a long stainless steel spoon and is traditionally served at a low table with people sitting on the floor.

Some Korean Culinary History

Korean cuisine has been affected by its geography (peninsula), climate (hot, humid summers and very cold winters), proximity to neighbors China and Japan, and the Japanese occupation from 1910-1945. European traders also had an impact on the cuisine with the Portuguese introduction of chili peppers to Korea in the 17th century. By the 18th century, chili peppers were already being widely used in the preparation of Korean cuisine.

無論您是計(jì)劃在韓國餐廳吃飯，還是去韓國，或者在家中烹制自己的韓國料理，韓國料理的簡介將為您提供所需的所有基礎(chǔ)知識(shí)。

副菜

韓國料理與其他菜肴脫穎而出，并配有多種餐點(diǎn)。配菜的數(shù)量可以在2到12之間，但每天的餐點(diǎn)至少有幾個(gè)。

所以當(dāng)您在韓國餐廳吃飯時(shí)，您的各種配菜將會(huì)在您的小碗飯之前到達(dá)您面前，可以從蔬菜到肉類以及以任何方式準(zhǔn)備的海鮮。韓式菜肴同時(shí)供應(yīng)，所以沒有西餐的單獨(dú)課程。

主菜

米飯是幾乎每個(gè)韓國料理的骨干。在極少數(shù)情況下，面條會(huì)取代米飯，但絕大多數(shù)時(shí)候，每個(gè)人都用一頓飯吃飯。通常，每個(gè)人也會(huì)有自己的碗湯或燉湯?？梢栽谌庵校ｕr或豆腐的配菜和主菜或菜肴都在桌子的中間供應(yīng)家庭風(fēng)味。有時(shí)候大燉菜會(huì)取代主菜，并在桌子上供應(yīng)家庭風(fēng)味。

常用成分

韓國人已經(jīng)完善了數(shù)千年來保存食物的藝術(shù)，所以很多配菜都是腌制，腌制或發(fā)酵的，許多都是辣的。

韓國著名的辣白菜泡菜有不同種類的不同蔬菜，包括一些非辣類。盡管韓國燉湯和湯湯很熱（幾乎沸騰），但許多配菜都是冷的或室溫的。

韓國是一個(gè)半島，所以韓國人吃了很多海鮮，雖然肉已經(jīng)在過去的50多年里變得非常受歡迎了。

韓國料理中最常用的香料和調(diào)味醬是：芝麻油，辣椒醬（kochujang），辣椒片（kochukaru），大豆醬（daenjang），醬油，大蒜，姜和。蔥。因此，韓國料理的味道很濃，味道鮮美，大膽。

其他

所有的東西，包括肉和家禽，都被切成小塊，所以不需要一把刀。韓國人也擅長使用筷子，如果肉太大或者一整條烤魚都可以用筷子分開。 （許多韓國肉類菜肴長期燉或腌制肉嫩）。傳統(tǒng)上，用不銹鋼筷子和長不銹鋼勺子吃韓國料理，傳統(tǒng)上是坐在地板上的低桌子上。

一些韓國烹飪史

韓國料理的地理（半島），氣候（炎熱，潮濕的夏天和非常寒冷的冬天），鄰近的中國和日本以及日本的占領(lǐng)從1910年至1945年受到影響。歐洲貿(mào)易商也在17世紀(jì)與葡萄牙向韓國引進(jìn)辣椒對(duì)美食產(chǎn)生了影響。到十八世紀(jì)，辣椒已經(jīng)被廣泛用于制作韓國料理。