<K FOOD: Secrets of Korean Flavors: Part 1, The Special Flavors of Korea>

Prologue

The Five Secrets Behind the Taste of Korea

Bland; Wrapping and Mixing; Pickling and Fermenting; Digging, Picking and Plucking; Simmering, Boiling and Steaming.

Korea’s Specialty Dishes

Royal Cuisine, Gourmet Food for Royals

Three Women of Korean Royal Cuisine

The Cuisine Coexisting with Royal Court Food: The Food of Seoul’s Nobility

The Prestigious Heritage of Jongga Food

Understanding Jerye Food

Heritage Foods of Korea’s Renowned Jongga

Temple Food, the Taste of Enlightenment

Why Eating Temple Food is the Key to a Long Life

Praying for Health, Prosperity and Happiness: The Food of Korean Holidays

Food and Rites of Passage

Korean Food Basics

Foods Contemporary Koreans Like to Eat

Korean Condiments: Not Just a Seasoning but also a Medicine

Gomyeong: A Picture Drawn in a Dish

Deep Cuts: Korean Cooking Knives

Cooking Utensils for Korean Dishes

Artless Art, Kitchenware for Korean Food

The Feudal Ethics and Democratic Principles Contained in Korean Tables

Soban: The Mobile Dining Table for One

The Dining Tables of the Koreans

Dining with Guests

Daily Dining for Families

A Farmer’s Lunch Table

A Senior’s Birthday Dinner

Making Picnic Lunches for Families with Children

A Solo Diner’s Simple Dinner

A Weekend Meal for Three Generations

A Vegetarian’s Dinner

The Dining Table of a Long-Term Expat

A Korean Chef’s Formal Dinner

Appendix

What’s Inside Koreans’ Cupboards

Jongga Food in the Supermarket

Where to Experience Authentic Korean Food



< K FOOD: Secrets of Korean Flavors: Part 2, Bland, Wrapping, Mixing>

Prologue

Bland Wrapping and Mixing

The Fusion Culture Created by Rice

Bland

The Korean Way of Dining

Why Have Koreans Made Rice Their Staple Food?

Future of the 0.001%: Korea’s Native Rice

An Introduction to Korea’s Most Prominent Native Rice Cultivars

Comparing the Tastes of Korean Rice Cultivars

The Infinite Transformations of Ssal and Bap in the Korean Language

Tools to Make Rice: From Cast-Iron Cauldrons to Pressure Cookers

Secrets of Instant Rice

Why Did Koreans Drink Sungnyung After Meals?

Juk: A Food That Came Before Cooked Rice

Wrapping Everything

Korean Ssambap: Fortune and Health in a Wrap

How Quick Meals in the Fields Became Ssambap

Common Wrapping Leaves in Korea

Gujeolpan: Ssam, Elevated

What’s in a Royal Lettuce Ssam?

When Did Koreans Start Eating Gimbap?

Korea’s Mandu vs. China’s Dumplings

The Secrets of Frozen Mandu

Mixing Cooked Rice

Bibimbap: A Commonwealth of Flavors

Haeju Bibimbap

Jinju Bibimbap

Tongyeong Bibimbap

Andong Bibimbap

Jeonju Bibimbap

Sesame Oil and Perilla Oil: The Finishing Touches of Korean Dishes

Korea’s Top Bibimbap Restaurants

Everyday Korean Dishes Made by Mixing and Wrapping



< K FOOD: Secrets of Korean Flavors: Part 3, Pickling, Fermenting>

Prologue

Pickling and Fermenting

Korean Fermentation Culture: Born from Scarcity

Making Jang

The Secret Behind the Taste of Ganjang and Doenjang

The Basis of Korean Food’s Complex Flavors: Doenjang and Ganjang

Blessed Are the Homes with Meju Hanging from the Eaves on the Jang-Making Day

The Secret Behind the Taste of Gochujang

Gochujang, Korean Soul Food

The Fermented Beans of Korea, Japan, and China

Best Korean Jang, Winners of the Good Fermented Food Awards

Korean Jang-Based Sauce Products

Beans in Korean Proverbs

Salt, the Hero in the Story of Fermentation

The Natural History of Sea Salt

Salt Products Available in Korea

Making Kimchi

The Secret Behind the Taste of Kimchi

Why is Kimchi Special to Koreans?

Is Kimchi Really a Superfood?

Gimjang: Making “Half-Year Food”

Without Onggi, Fermentation Does Not Occur

Jangdokdae: A Family’s Altar

Why Were Geumjul Wrapped Around Crocks?

The Invention of the Kimchi Refrigerator

The Korean Love of Jeotgal

In Praise of Jangajji

Fermenting Alcohol

Korea’s Fermented Alcohols Have Good Roots

Tasteful Drinks and Entertainment in Old Paintings

Drink Makgeolli if You Want to Understand Koreans

Malgeolli’s Transformation

Regional Signature Fermented Wine

Everyday Korean Food Made by Pickling and Fermenting



<K FOOD: Secrets of Korean Flavors: Part 4, Pickling, Digging, Plucking>

Prologue

Picking, Digging and Plucking

Descendants of Gatherers: The Dietary Lives of the Koreans

Picking Greens

Namul Nation

Korea’s Favorite Namul (Greens)

Folk Songs about Gathering Namul

Koreans Are Sweet on Bitter Tastes

Year-Old Namul on the First Full Moon

Koreans and Kongnamul

Ready-Made Seasonings for Convenient Cooking

Ready-Made Namul Seasoning Products

Magical Mushrooms

Korean Mushrooms

A Baguni on Every Arm

Digging Up Roots

Deep-Rooted Root Vegetables

Root Vegetables in Korean Cuisine

The Place of Root Vegetables in Holiday Foods

Homi, the Tool of the Korean Woman

Plucking Fruits

Tree Nuts and Fruits in the Lives of Koreans

For Celebration and Remembrance: Jujubes, Chestnuts, Persimmons and Pine Nuts

Making Jelly out of Grain

Gathering Seaweed

A Watery Harvest

Marine Plants on the Korean Table

Varieties of Gim (Laver)

Seaweed, Koreans’ Lifelong Companion

Everyday Korean Food Made by Digging, Picking and Plucking



<K FOOD: Secrets of Korean Flavors: Part 5, Simmering, Boiling, Steaming>

Prologue

Simmering, Boiling and Steaming

Korea: A Nation of Broth

Simmering Soup

A Nation of Broth: Guk, Tang, Jjigae and Jeongol

Soup Dishes of the Royal Court

Guk: From the Cradle to the Grave

The Hidden Science of a Rich Broth

Ingredients for Making Broth

Boiled, Brewed and Stewed: Gomtang and Seolleongtang

The Old Gukbap Restaurants of Seoul

Korea: The Nation of Spoons and Chopsticks

Simmered Down: Yeot, Jocheong and Go

The Story Behind Sot

Boiling Noodles

Noodles, Broth, and the Koreans

Regional Noodle Dishes of Korea

Naengmyeon: A Mysterious, Indescribable Dish

In Search of Ramyeon (Instant Noodles)

A Timeline of Korean Ramyeon

Steaming Rice Cakes and Dishes

Seon and Jjim: The Slowest of Slow Foods

A Humanistic Approach to Tteok

The Beauty of Royal Rice Cake

Popular Tteok (Rice Cake) of Today

Tteoksal: Carved Out of Life Itself

Tteokbokki, a Nation’s Favorite

Everyday Korean Dishes Made by Simmering, Boiling and Steaming