It's all about South Korea! =)

I am very curious about Korean food. It looks like the Korean food very tasty and healthy. I dunno, maybe it's because Korean food have more vegetables, soup, stew, or a typical Korean Porridge. And makes me wonder, Korean people love their own traditional food, in a Korean movie or a play they always displays the traditional Korean food. It's an appreciation for their own country in promoting Korean food. In movies or soap Indonesian operations is very rarely seen Indonesian traditional food, most often there is fried rice and chicken noodles (aka mie ayam). They prefer to eat the bread for breakfast scene or beef / chicken steak for restaurant scenes.

From now on I want to discuss about South Korea. I'd like to write something all about South Korea. I want to start with the food. I'll write about tourism, culture, and Korean dramas.

I know some Korean food such as Kimchi, Jajjangmyeon, Bulgogi, Bibimbap, and Gimbap / Kimbap. I've tasted the Kimchi and Bulgogi, Kimchi it's good, especially for the diet (it's like pickled vegetables, but the content is more sour tapi segerrrr), Bulgogi is like Japanese yakiniku. I have not tried the rest of the food. You can leave comments if you have tried Korean food. Talking about the food .... hmmm ... I think I want to eat Korean food now another. LOL; p (ngilerrr jadinya)

1. Jajangmyeon (mie hitam Korea)

Jajangmyeon is a popular Korean dish, derived from the Chinese dish Zha jiang mian. It consists of wheat noodles topped with a thick sauce made of chunjang (a salty black soybean paste), diced meat and vegetables, and sometimes also seafood. Jajang (also spelled jjajang), name of the sauce, is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese characters ??, which literally means "fried sauce." Myeon (also spelled myun) means "noodle."

Jajangmyeon uses thick noodles made from white wheat flour. Noodles made entirely by hand and not by machines, which are called sutamyeon are praised in South Korea as an essential ingredient of good jajangmyeon.

The sauce is made with black bean paste, called chunjang. The paste, which is made from roasted soybeans and caramel, is called chunjang (literally "spring paste") when unheated, while the heated sauce (containing vegetables and meat or seafood) is called jajang (literally "fried sauce"). Chunjang is stir-fryed with diced onions, ground meat (either beef or pork) or chopped seafood, and other ingredients. When cooking the sauce, usually meat stock is added to reduce the salty taste of cooked chunjang, and potato starch or cornstarch and is added to give the sauce a thick consistency. The sauce is served hot over noodles, sometimes with sliced raw cucumbers.

2. Kimchi

Kimchi is very popular in S. Korea and there are actually over 200+ kinds of kimchi.

And it is actually very healthy. They did a study a few years ago regarding why, among all the Asian countries afflicted with SARS, S. Korea was the only country not to have any reported case. The result was because of two things: Ginseng and Kimchi.

Authentic Korean food is very different from Western Korean food. They do not mix meats and they do not eat much meat (except the hot grill). Their most popular meat is not beef, but pork and then chicken.

I find Korean food to be good. It does not have much oil, and is rather filling. A bit bland for my taste, but it's a good break if all you eat are oily dishes.

3. Bibimbap
Bibimbap is a popular Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed rice." Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot.

Vegetables commonly used in bibimbap include julienned cucumber, zucchini, mu (daikon), mushrooms, doraji (bellflower root), and gim, as well as spinach, soybean sprouts, and gosari (bracken fern stems). Dubu (tofu), either plain or sautéed, or a leaf of lettuce may be added, or chicken or seafood may be substituted for beef. For visual appeal, the vegetables are often placed so that adjacent colors complement each other.

4. Gimbap
Gimbap atau kimbap adalah makanan ringan khas Korea yang sangat digemari. Gimbap dibuat dari nasi yang digulung dengan rumput laut kering yang disebut gim. Isi dari gimbap dapat bermacam-macam, seperti daging, sosis atau omelet. Gimbap dipotong menjadi ukuran kecil dan disajikan dingin, biasanya disajikan dengan danmuji dan kimchi.

Bahan dasar gimbap adalah nasi, daging, sayuran yang diacar atau yang masih segar. Secara tradisional nasi dibumbui dengan garam dan minyak wijen atau minyak perilla. Isinya pun beragam, mulai dari ikan (dalam bentuk fish cake), daging kepiting, telur atau daging iga sapi yang dibumbui. Sedangkan bahan sayuran adalah ketimun, bayam, wortel dan danmuji.

Gimbap dipilih sebagai makanan terfavorit dari 100 jenis masakan Korea oleh orang asing. Mingguan terbesar Kanada, straight.com menulis artikel tentang gimbap dan membandingkannya dengan sushi dengan judul Korean kimbap rolls out of sushi's shadow. Artikel itu juga menuliskan komentar: "No need for soy sauce, wasabi, or pickled ginger: kimbap stands alone. It's a star waiting to be discovered."

5. Bulgogi

Bulgogi adalah masakan daging asal Korea. Daging yang digunakan antara lain daging sirloin atau bagian daging yang bagus dari seekor sapi.

Bumbu bulgogi adalah campuran kecap asin dan gula ditambah bumbu lain bergantung pada resep dan daerahnya di Korea. Sebelum dimakan, daun selada digunakan untuk membungkus bulgogi bersama kimchi, bawang putih, atau penyedap lain sesuai selera.

Di Jepang, makanan yang sejenis disebut Yakiniku. Dibandingkan dengan Yakiniku, bumbu daging untuk bulgogi dibuat lebih manis. Air pada bumbu cukup banyak sehingga daging tidak dipanggang di atas plat besi (teppan), melainkan di atas panci datar.

Special Thanks to:

• wikipedia