The main characteristics of Korean diet are: high protein, more vegetables, light taste, not greasy, cold and spicy. Koreans have been living on rice since ancient times. The dishes are mainly stewed and roasted, and basically no cooking is done. Koreans prefer noodles, beef, chicken and dog meat to steamed bread, mutton and duck.
Koreans generally like to eat cold salad. Cold salad is made by cutting vegetables directly or blanching them with boiling water and adding seasonings. There are also raw fish, fish and shrimp sauce and other dishes. Raw fish is made by slicing raw meat, raw fish and so on. Add seasoning, shredded radish, pears, etc. , and pour with vinegar sauce or hot sauce.
Soup is also an essential part of eating. Usually cooked with vegetables, wild vegetables, meat, soy sauce, salt, miso and other raw materials.
Koreans love to eat Chili peppers, and almost all of them are put in home cooking. Koreans have the habit of eating four meals a day, which are arranged in the morning, noon and evening respectively. Koreans eat with spoons and chopsticks. Everyone has his own rice bowl and soup bowl, and other dishes are placed in the middle of the table for everyone to enjoy. Koreans are also very particular about the use of rice bowls, which are divided into men, women and children. Koreans pay attention to frugality, and try to eat all the food, whether they eat by themselves or entertain the poor.
Korean dietary guide
Although many people often say that they love Korean food, their understanding of Korean food is mostly limited to the method of barbecue. At most, they know a little about ginseng chicken soup or kimchi, and they know nothing about the rest of the food culture and etiquette.
Korea has attached great importance to etiquette since ancient times. In terms of language, young people must use honorifics to their elders. As for the food, when serving or serving, you should give it to the elders first, or even set a table separately, and the daughter or daughter-in-law will respectfully serve it to them. After the old man raises chopsticks, other people in the family can eat it. As for pouring wine on the table, we should also order it according to age, from long to young. When the elders raise their glasses, young people can drink. In addition, there is a traditional habit that men and women sit at different tables at the age of seven, and girls will not sit in the same room with any men (including fathers and brothers) after the age of seven. However, this custom has been gradually broken in big cities and occasionally seen in rural areas. In the past, Korean families put rice containers in the center of the table, while dishes were placed in bowls and placed around. Everyone has a flat spoon with a long handle and a round head, a pair of chopsticks and a plate of cold water. When eating, they send rice directly to their mouths with spoons. Chopsticks are used to hold dishes, while cold water is used to wash spoons. The dining habits of modern Koreans have changed a lot. Many people use food plates, and everyone's food is put on the plates. Some more modern families have replaced food plates with bowls.
Korea has a long history and has preserved many traditional cultures. The Korean dining table is a low table, and the host and guest sit cross-legged on the floor. Young people will kneel on the ground in front of their elders, and never straighten their legs, otherwise it will be considered impolite. If the room is too small, you can put the dining table in the yard with a mat on it. However, modern Koreans are increasingly advocating westernization, and both table manners and food etiquette are getting farther and farther away from tradition.
Eat in Korea
As a national of a big food country, it is inevitable to complain about the food there when he comes back from South Korea. I have met such compatriots more than once. On the eve of going to Korea, someone "warned" me: "Eat well, and I won't want to eat well when I go." But the results of my practice are quite different. Although I didn't stay for a long time, I was deeply impressed by Korean food and Korean way of eating.
Let's talk about tableware first. Koreans use chopsticks like us, but most of them use metal chopsticks. We can't see a pair of bamboo chopsticks in the restaurant, let alone disposable "convenient chopsticks". I asked them, the answer is that metal chopsticks are brittle, hygienic and durable, and disposable simple chopsticks are too wasteful, which consumes resources and pollutes the environment. Only this, I think we should follow suit.
Koreans, like Japanese, are used to sitting on the floor and eating cross-legged. Its traditional diet is relatively simple, the staple food is rice, and it likes to eat kimchi. The export volume of kimchi is said to be the highest in the world. I think it can win the championship because every meal has its own table, and many tricks can be put on exquisite dishes: cabbage, radish, pepper and what we call unknown ones, which are both appetizing and delicious. There are obviously more vegetarian dishes on their table than ours, because they are close to the sea and there are many vegetarian seafood. Another "multi" is sauce products. The influence of "Jianggang culture" in our place has probably reached the point where "shine on you is better than blue". They have a special sauce for mixing vegetables and rice. I tasted it and it was delicious. The above "three excesses" may constitute a reasonable factor that its diet is low in sugar and fat and meets the nutritional requirements. We have noticed that there are not many obese people in Korea. Generally, middle-aged and elderly people can keep fit and look healthy. Is this related to good eating habits?
Koreans are as warm and thoughtful as we are, but they don't show generosity with a table full of "big fish and big meat". At least we didn't enjoy the "Gao Daquan" that we often met in China, from official banquets to folk banquets, and from South Korea to non-South Korea. Their meat dishes, such as roast duck, are also very authentic. The lean meat layer is thick, neither fat nor greasy, smooth and tender. The way of eating is different from ours. They don't wrap duck in bread, but use vegetable leaves. Lettuce is served with onion, garlic and seasoning, with roast duck slices in the middle. Good color, fragrance and taste. There is another kind of vegetable leaves that we didn't expect: sesame leaves. The host specially introduced that this is a new product of fashionable food and scientific research. Sesame leaves contain many substances needed by human body, and also have anti-cancer and anticancer effects. Later, I saw that there were "canned sesame leaves" for sale in the store, and I also caught up with the fashion.
Perhaps the most famous Korean food is barbecue. Teppanyaki is not only used for cooking, but also for fried noodles. The most interesting thing is a kind of "stone barbecue": put a pile of pebbles on the iron frame to heat it, first spread the meat pieces, and then twist the large pieces of meat into small pieces with long scissors when the temperature is certain, and put them into the rolling stones. After a while, they will creak and stink, and you can eat them. According to reports, pebbles are imported, since they can store heat and even temperature, so that meat will not be burnt, and oil can be removed to taste. We tasted this quaint and modern food in a restaurant named Haifeng in Incheon, and we were deeply impressed.
The economy and science of Korean food can also be proved by a kind of "miniature paper cup" specially used for water dispensers. It is a small piece of paper with only the length of the middle finger and the width of two fingers. After special treatment, it becomes a very small cup when you put it on the tap to receive water. Compared with transparent plastic cups and ordinary paper cups, it has its own advantages, small size and simplicity, and can often be seen in Korean streets and fast food restaurants.
Korean food ceremony
People in China and South Korea talk about food culture, which shows that food and culture are closely related. Dietary ceremony is one of the ways to express food culture. This is common sense. You can not observe, but don't forget, otherwise it will make the locals feel unhappy.
The internal structure of Korean restaurants can be divided into two types: using chairs and taking off shoes to get on the kang. When eating on the kang, the man sits cross-legged and the woman kneels and stands up-this sitting posture is only used when wearing Hanbok. Nowadays, Korean women don't wear hanbok at ordinary times, but just sit down with their legs together.
After you sit down, read the menu on the wall or the menu on the table and order good food. Soon, the aunt in the restaurant will come to you with a tray. She will take out the tableware from the tray first, and then the food. Of course, some restaurants have already prepared tableware on the table. But exquisite shops personally deliver them to their guests: chopsticks are covered with paper clothes, spoons cover their faces-a round paper bag the size of a spoon is covered on it, and pipes and hats are painted on the paper-the elephant class of the former Korean aristocrat "Class Two". I collected it when I thought it was fresh at first, but it was not surprising that restaurants in several big cities in Korea used this model.
Chopsticks and spoons are made of brass, in addition to wedding gifts and silver products that are afraid of killing people. However, these two kinds of chopsticks are not common, and ordinary people use flat-headed stainless steel chopsticks. Wooden chopsticks are disposable. According to my observation, most Koreans only use Japanese noodles and kimbap. I have never seen Koreans use bamboo chopsticks, ivory chopsticks and plastic chopsticks. The handle of the spoon is very long, and the head is round and big. I am afraid I will hurt my mouth when I first use it.
Both China and Japan have the habit of eating with rice bowls, but Koreans think this behavior is not standardized. So you must remember that you can't touch the rice bowl on the table with your hands, let alone touch the rice bowl with your mouth. Then you will notice that the rice bowl is made of stainless steel (ceramic at home or in a fancy restaurant), and the round bottom is "sitting" on a covered table without a handle for you to hold. Coupled with the heat from the rice to the bowl, it is reasonable not to touch it. As for the bowl cover, you can take it off and put it on the table at will.
Since you are acting recklessly, your left hand must be obedient and honestly hidden under the table, and you can't "shine" on the table. Your right hand must first pick up the spoon, take a sip of soup from the kimchi (when there is no kimchi, you can use other soups instead), then take a bite of rice with the spoon, then take a sip of soup with the spoon, and then you can eat whatever you want. This is the order in which Koreans eat.
On it, you may notice that Koreans drink soup and eat with spoons. This is different from the eating habits of China and Japanese. Koreans using spoons and chopsticks at the same time is not a recent invention, but originated in ancient times. In the National Duke of Zhou Museum, I have seen iron spoons and chopsticks put together in the Baekje era. In Korean, besides the words spoon and chopsticks, there are two letters to indicate that spoon and chopsticks are put together.
Spoons are more important than chopsticks in Korean diet. They are responsible for filling soup, fishing for vegetables in soup and filling rice. When not in use, put it on a rice bowl or other utensils. Chopsticks, on the other hand, are only responsible for serving vegetables. Under no circumstances can you take bean sprouts out of your soup bowl with a spoon, and you can't use chopsticks. First of all, there is the problem of food ceremony, and secondly, soup may flow down the chopsticks to the table. When chopsticks don't hold vegetables, the traditional practice in Korea is to put them on the table in the right hand direction, with two chopsticks close together, two-thirds on the table and 1/3 outside the table-this is for the convenience of picking them up and using them again. Koreans have no habit of using chopsticks racks. This practice, some people think that unless the desktop is wiped clean, it is unsanitary, so put chopsticks on a small plate instead. Finally, when you finish eating, you should still put the spoon and chopsticks in their original shapes, beginning and ending.
People in China eat with chopsticks and drink soup with spoons. Koreans eat and drink soup with spoons and hold vegetables with chopsticks. Japanese eat and drink soup with chopsticks. Why are there no spoons in Japanese diet? An old Japanese man once told me: "Spoons only spread from China to the Korean peninsula, because there is a sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, so spoons did not spread to Japan." Later, I saw this in "Traveling Around the World in Korea" (version 1995): It is said that in the past, when Japan ate with its hands, Koreans felt sorry for them, so they taught the Japanese to use chopsticks instead of spoons. South Korea is a single nation, so the whole country is like a big family, which is reflected in eating together.
People in China may not use chopsticks and spoons at home, but when they eat in restaurants, they all use ordinary tableware to put food into their bowls and plates. Besides a meal, so do the Japanese. However, the situation in South Korea is different. Koreans eat common soups and vegetables directly with their own tableware. Koreans are an emotional people. I think people should fully understand them when they express their feelings by sharing food.
Koreans attach great importance to etiquette when entertaining guests.
Korea is a single Korean nation, speaking Korean (also known as Korean) and believing in Buddhism, Christianity, Catholicism, Taoism and other religions. Its customs are unique and interesting.
Koreans attach great importance to etiquette when entertaining guests. When men meet, they should bow to each other, shake hands warmly and say "hello". Generally speaking, the opposite sex does not shake hands. They greet each other by bowing, nodding, smiling and saying "hello". When leaving, shake hands and say "goodbye". If the guest leaves with him, say "Have a nice trip". If the guest doesn't leave, say "Hello, it's good to be here". When entering the door or participating in activities in a certain place, guests and elders should be invited first; When having a meal, please sit down with your elders. When handing something to a guest or elder, you should bow first and then extend your hands.
When dating a Korean friend, contact in advance. Although Koreans are not strict with their guests' time, they are strict in punctuality, so guests should also be punctual to show their respect for their hosts. When visiting a Korean home, it is best to send a bunch of flowers or some small gifts, and present them with both hands when meeting, thanking the host for his hospitality. When you enter a Korean friend's house, you must take off your shoes in advance. Speak softly, don't laugh loudly. When a woman laughs, cover her mouth with her hands, don't blow her nose in front of everyone, and greet her host when smoking, otherwise it will be considered impolite.
When Koreans receive guests in economic and trade business, they often hold banquets in restaurants or bars, and most of them are mainly western food. Non-business contacts, mostly eating at home, using traditional meals. Koreans love spicy food, and peppers and garlic are often indispensable in staple food and non-staple food. The staple food is rice and pasta, and the favorite traditional pasta is Chili noodles and cold noodles. Koreans make cold noodles with soba noodles. There are a lot of peppers, beef slices and apple slices in the soup, which should be chilled. It tastes cool and refreshing, but it will be hot all over after a while. Famous non-staple foods include sashimi, roast beef, dry-roasted mandarin fish, crispy suckling pig, fried shrimp, crispy fried chicken, refreshing beef, soft fried chicken, cold platter and so on. Koreans should have a plate of hot and sour vegetables, especially hot and sour cabbage, for every meal. At a formal banquet, the first course is to use nine folded plates to hold nine different foods, among which there must be hot pot, and then other dishes; Treat at home and serve all the dishes at once.
When eating, the host always invites guests to taste traditional drinks-low-alcohol and sake. Turbid wine, also known as farm wine, used to be brewed by farmers themselves. It has a long history and is made by mashing grains and fermenting with distiller's yeast. The wine is turbid in color, but low in alcohol content, cool and pleasant, invigorating the stomach and refreshing, and is available in all stores. For guests who don't drink, the host often serves persimmon juice. Persimmon juice is a traditional refreshing drink, which is made of persimmon (pear, peach, orange, pomegranate and other fruits), cinnamon powder, pine nuts, honey and ginger by boiling in ice, cooling and filtering off the residue. It tastes sweet, spicy and cold. It is drunk by family members on holidays and is usually used to entertain guests. Some people also entertain guests from afar with traditional foods, such as oil cakes, muffins and manna.
In addition, there are many western restaurants and Japanese restaurants in Korea, and fast food such as hamburgers, fried chicken and hot dogs are popular, which makes the traditional diet structure of Koreans, which is mainly fish, vegetables and rice, tend to be convenient, fast and diversified. There is no habit of tipping in Korea, so guests don't have to tip when eating, shopping or staying in hotels.
Korean custom
The Republic of Korea is located in the south of the Korean Peninsula in East Asia, with an area of 99,000 square kilometers and a population of over 40 million. The population of the whole country is a single Korean, and Korean is widely spoken. Tang Wenhua has been greatly influenced by me in history. The national flag is Tai Chi flag, with a red and blue Tai Chi pattern in the center of a white background and four groups of gossip symbols around it. White represents the land, Tai Chi and Eight Diagrams are handed down from China, symbolizing the eternal movement, balance and coordination of the universe, and reflecting China's eastern philosophy represented by the Book of Changes. China is deeply influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism. Most residents believe in Buddhism, Christianity and Confucianism. The Confucian Temple in Seoul, the capital, holds ceremonies to worship Confucius every spring and autumn. South Korea's economic growth rate ranks in the forefront of the world, its economic development level ranks in the forefront of Asia, and its export-oriented economy is relatively developed. Korean culture is the fusion of eastern and western cultures.
Korean food style is between China and Japan, and most people eat with chopsticks. Here comes high-protein food, supplemented by vegetables. I like to eat soup and rice (beef soup, sparerib soup, etc. And in rice), hot pot, noodle soup, cold noodles, sashimi, raw beef, mixed rice, etc. I also like the spicy taste. At banquets, Koreans are used to pouring wine and toasting each other; Don't refuse to drink when advised; When you can't drink well, leave some wine in the cup; They are more tolerant of drunken people. When someone gives you a dish, you should politely divide it twice and then accept it happily for the third time. Invite you to sing after dinner, don't refuse.
South Korea's national costume is: men wear coats, vests, trousers and robes, which are the same color from top to bottom, mostly white; Women wear coats, skirts and robes. The skirt is long and fat, plump and smooth. Modern men and women often wear suits and pay attention to clothes. It is their traditional habit to take off their shoes in the house. They also use kang and hot water pipes for heating.
Koreans pay attention to etiquette. When they meet, they will greet each other. Men bow slightly when they meet, shake their right hand or hand, and bow when they break up. Men are not allowed to shake hands with women. Meeting for the first time, exchanging business cards. Most Koreans entertain guests with soft drinks, and guests must accept refreshments provided by their hosts. Koreans chat together, don't talk about their own politics, economy, wives and other topics, and like to ask personal information. They have strong self-esteem and are not allowed to be criticized or disagree in public. In social situations, men and women must be separated. In public, men have to go first, and all kinds of conference spokesmen put "Mr" before "Ms". Respect teachers, use honorifics, don't smoke and wear glasses in front of elders. Home visits are used to bringing small gifts instead of sending foreign cigarettes; You must use both hands to receive things, and you can't open gifts on the spot. Don't cross your legs when sitting on any occasion.
There are many festivals in Korea. Festival activities from the first day of the first lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month are similar to the Spring Festival in China. Lantern Festival is on the 15th day of the first lunar month, and the traditional diet is fruits (chestnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, etc. ), medicated diet, whole grains rice, old tea rice, etc. April 8 of the lunar calendar is the Buddha's Birthday Festival and the Spring Festival for women. The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival. Every family eats green bread and hangs calamus to celebrate this festival. August 15 of the lunar calendar is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and September 9 of the lunar calendar is the Double Ninth Festival. Tomb-Sweeping Day in Tomb-Sweeping Day and Solstice porridge in winter (red bean porridge mixed with sorghum batter). In addition to the above traditional festivals, Koreans also attach importance to Christmas, Children's Day (May 5th) and Enshan Bieshen Festival (March 28th to April 1). Popular sports activities include archery, wrestling, tug-of-war, swing, springboard, kite, go and chess.
Koreans prefer odd numbers to even numbers. Avoid using "four" (Korean pronunciation is the same as "death"). Don't point at people. Don't talk with your hands behind your back. A woman must cover her mouth when she smiles.