History
Korean cuisine has changed many times in its history. Historically, Koreans have been terrible meat-eaters. People who raise cattle for sale had a high status in society, as Korean cuisine was mainly based on meat dishes. Pulcogs, thin slices of beef in a special sauce, are even mentioned in ancient Chinese chronicles. With the advent of Buddhism in the 5th century, vegetarian dishes and tea ceremonies became popular. Mongol raids brought not only destruction but also new culinary traditions. It is thanks to them that there is such a dish as mantu in the menu of Korean establishments (yes, yes, similarities with mantuas known to you are not accidental).
How to behave in an institution
It is not customary to leave a tip here, the water is immediately served on the table in the jug free of charge or dialed independently from the cooler. They would have to pay for the water! If Korean dishes were spicy, it would be just a robbery. Sticks for food use only metal, unlike wooden sticks in Japan. Historically, this feature goes back to the epoch of royal dynasties, when the intrigues flourished and the rulers were often disposed of with the help of poisons, slipping them into the food. Therefore, the royalty used silver sticks for food, as silver reacts to poisons and allows you to see the danger in time. Poor people could not afford silverware, so they made sticks from other, cheaper metals. The era of the poisoners has passed away, and metal sticks have remained.
What's worth trying
It's almost impossible to meet fat Koreans. Korean cuisine is low in calories, it has almost no fatty food, and the abundance of spices improves metabolism. We are not used to baking here so popular, sweets are made of rice flour and beans, and Korean cuisine is one of the main symbols of Korea. The preparation of Beijing cabbage is even on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. In addition to Beijing, pepper paste (the most popular variant) or radish, cucumbers, beans, fern - fermented and seasoned with spicy sauce - are added to kimchi. In the shops, you can find special refrigerators designed to store only this product.
Buying rolls wrapped in burrows, many of us do not even suspect that, in fact, it is cut into pieces kimpab. A kimpub is a long Korean roll with ham, cheese, tuna, and beef. This dish can be tasted not only in establishments - kimpaks are often found in tents on the street, in shops like 7 Eleven. A real Korean fast food!
"The preparation of Beijing cabbage is even on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Be sure to try pibimpab - a mix of raw eggs, rice, vegetable salad, soy sprout or other vegetables, thinly sliced meat, and pepper paste.
Pajong is a cross between pizza and pie. Onion is an essential ingredient in this dish. Most often, pajuns make it with seafood, vegetables, kimchi cabbage. Ideal for Korean vodka! Mom and grandmothers will be glad to know that Korean cuisine is a story about soups. One of the most popular is calbithan, a brew of beef bones, vegetables, and noodles. Koreans like spicy soups and often eat them cold (especially in summer), so when ordering soup from a waiter it is better to clarify whether it is "summer" or "winter" soup.
Another dish without which it is impossible to imagine Korean cuisine, toccocles, spicy rice cakes, which are sometimes served with cheese or eggs, pieces of fish cake and vegetables. Tokdoks can be bought wormhole for a couple of dollars in a glass - from the restaurant can not distinguish.
Street food in Korea is not only spicy tokpokki, kimbabs and pajong, but also sweet hottok (flatbread with honey and seeds), dough nuts with nuts inside, sweets with sweet bean pasta, gul tare - soft honey sweets with nuts inside, reminiscent of threads, bobbins - a delicacy of melted sugar.