Bernard Rowan is an associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University.
Korea's food technology
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By Bernard Rowan
Among the growing exports of Korea is her food culture. In the United States and other countries, foreigners enjoy Korean food.
Dishes include bibimbap (Korean casserole), doenjang jjigae (soybean, seafood soup) and galbi (Korean ribs). Also, try bulgogi (sweet, marinated beef) and samgyeopsal (fried pork belly). While hallyu usually refers to Korean entertainers, its not so quiet storm is the food technology of Korea.
Korea, the hermit nation of old, the war-torn country of the mid-20th century, the rising tiger at century’s end, and now an advanced nation has carefully preserved her food traditions, customs and habits. Their secret is balance and an approach that combines medicine or nutrition into daily eating.
Let’s talk about four areas: banchan, kimchi, fish and meat, along with respect for nature. These are just a few parts of Korea’s food technology.
Several of Korea’s food practices come from versions of royal court eating. The Korean kings employed cooks, tasters and other servants to provide them with the best foods available. One surviving practice is the use of banchan or a table of side dishes.
In Seoul and other major cities and family restaurants in remote areas of Korea, many, perhaps most, tables will feature a wide array of side dishes. People typically used to consume these dishes with rice and soup at the end of the meal. These days we enjoy the side dishes throughout the meal, like appetizers.
Side dishes incorporate an economy and attention to nutrition. Fermented cabbage or kimchi, prepared radish root or kkaktugi, prepared eggplant, cucumbers, small fish or crabs, bellflower and other kinds of roots are some of the dishes.
Pedestrian comparisons of Korean food may scorn the use of “root vegetables” or “stems” in various forms, but Korea’s side dishes are medicine. They provide nutrition and vitamins when eaten with rice. Whether one is a carnivore or vegetarian, the banchan insures that a meal covers the basic food groups and aids digestion.
Speaking of kimchi, everyone should visit the Pulmuone Kimchi Museum in Gangnam-gu. Kimchi tastes like food mixed with mild acid. It takes time to like it. I didn’t the first few times I ate it. Now, I enjoy kimchi better than other Korean foods. Kimchi means fermented cabbage or other vegetables.
We call the art of making kimchi “kimjang.” Korean kimchi mixes salt, red pepper flakes, fish sauce and other ingredients with the vegetables. There also is a less spicy variety called “mul kimchi” (water kimchi). The vegetables season best in clay pots that appear in many Korean homes, temples and restaurants.
Kimchi is like a probiotic vegetable. Though it's partly rotted or fermented, kimchi aids digestion and prevents cancer. Many of us nowadays hear the virtues of yogurt with probiotics (which is yakult in Korea), but most of us don’t want to drink yogurt with our main meals. Kimchi balances fish, meat and rice and brings out the taste of other foods. Try it. You’ll learn to like it. You’ll live longer, too.
Fish vs. meat? Korean barbecue houses are popular restaurants. Usually separated into pork, beef or even chicken establishments, we can enjoy all kinds of Korean meats prepared in tasty sauces. Bulgogi and galbi are just the beginning.
Most Koreans are omnivores. There are many good fish restaurants. From maeuntang (fish soup) to sashimi, it's all to the good. Don’t forget to try some plum wine, maesil ju or plum juice (maesil cha).
Often when Koreans eat fish or meat, Koreans combine them with rice, onions and sauces wrapped in lettuce. Some establishments will serve tofu as well for this style of eating, called “ssam.” It's like a Korean taco. It’s made with fresh ingredients and balances meat and other food groups all in the style of eating.
Koreans like meat and fish but don’t obsess about either one. Rice occupies the symbolic or literal center of the meal and is eaten last. The wonderful soups taken with rice or barley rice (boribap) provide warmth, aid digestion and taste so good.
When I have lived or stayed in Seoul, I like to walk to any neighborhood. On and off the beaten paths, older folks sell fresh vegetables. Farmers in the city sell just ripened and picked fruit. Millers prepare fresh grains to supplement daily teas and drinks. Foodstuffs are available everywhere for good to cheap prices.
Mainline Korean agriculture beats out “organic,” “free-range” and cage-free Euro-American methods, hands down. Korean food culture respects nature. It conserves the environment.
I hope that global food production and the law of comparative advantage don’t take away this part of Korea as an advanced nation. Nutritionists and students of health around the world should take up Korean food culture as an example of health, variety, fun, and good eating. In Korea, eat well and, as the ajumeoni would say, “Eat a lot” (mani meoggo).
Bernard Rowan is assistant provost for curriculum and assessment, professor of political science and faculty athletics representative at Chicago State University, where he has served for 20 years. Contact him at browan10@yahoo.com.