Food and Culture
Lewis, M. W. (2014, August 7). Wikipedia, the difficulties of mapping world religions, and a most bizarre map. Retrieved February 22, 2017, from http://www.geocurrents.info/cultural-geography/religion/wikipedia-difficulties-mapping-world-religions-bizarre-map
This map shows the most prominent Belief Systems (religions) throughout the world; South Korea displays the colours for Buddhism and "Korean religions".
The South Korean diet mainly consists of rice, vegetables, and meat -- including fish -- as seen in the image above. These are all types of food found locally, and have been a staple in the Korean culture for hundreds of years.
How To Make Bibimbap
Bibimbap -- along with kimchi and bulgogi -- is considered to be one of the representative dishes of the Korean culture, as it is a combination of many different types of food produced and farmed in Korea. Bibimbap is a dish containing an assortment of fresh vegetables, fried egg, raw beef, and some other ingredients.
Ingredients
Bibimbap sauce
Instructions
Recipe courtesy of www.koreanbapsang.com/2015/01/bibimbap.html
- 3 cups short grain rice
- 8 ounces beef, rib eye or sirloin (substitute shiitake mushrooms for a vegetarian dish)
- 2 cups boiled gosari*, 고사리 (fernbrake)
- 16 ounces soybean sprouts, 콩나물 (or mung bean sprouts, 숙주)
- 1 bunch spinach
- 2 kirby (pickling) cucumbers (or 1 Korean cucumber)
- 2 small zucchinis
- 2 medium carrots
- 5 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 or 3 scallions, chopped
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
- roasted sesame seeds
- salt and pepper
- vegetable or canola oil
- 4 eggs
Bibimbap sauce
- 4 tablespoons of Korean red chili pepper paste (gochujang, 고추장)
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons of water
Instructions
- Cook the rice in a rice cooker or following package directions, using a little less water than called for. The rice for bibimbap should be a little drier than usual for best results.
- Beef: Cut into thin 2-inch long strips. Mix in 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, 2 teaspoons of rice wine, 1 tablespoon of chopped scallion, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/2 sesame seeds and a pinch of pepper. Marinate for 20 minutes. Sauté in a skillet for 2 - 3 minutes over high heat.
- Gosari (Fern brake): Cut into 3-inch lengths. Season with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds, and a pinch of pepper. Let stand for 10 minutes. Sauté in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of vegetable/canola oil for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Soy bean sprouts: Bring 1 cup of water to a boil with a teaspoon of salt. Add the bean sprouts and boil for 3 minutes. Drain quickly and shock in cold water to stop cooking. Drain again. Toss with 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Spinach: Blanch the spinach in salted boiling water only until wilted, 30 - 40 seconds. Drain quickly and shock in cold water. Squeeze out water. Cut into 3-inch lengths. Toss with 1 tablespoon of chopped scallion, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds and salt and pepper to taste.
- Cucumbers: Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and then thinly slice crosswise. Generously sprinkle salt over sliced cucumbers and set aside for 10 - 15 minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid. Toss with 1 tablespoon of chopped scallion, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds.
- Zucchinis: Cut the zucchinis in half lengthwise and then thinly slice crosswise. Generously sprinkle salt over sliced zucchinis and set aside for 10 - 15 minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid from salted zucchini by hand. Add 1 tablespoon of chopped scallion, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds. Sauté in a lightly oiled skillet for 1 - 2 minutes over medium high heat.
- Carrots: Julienne the carrots into match sticks. Sauté in a lightly oiled skillet for 1 - 2 minutes over medium high heat, sprinkling salt and pepper to taste.
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Assemble: Place a serving of rice in a big bowl. (If using a stone bowl, heat it over medium heat until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil and rice and cook the rice for several minutes until the rice sizzles.) Nicely arrange a small amount of each prepared vegetable and beef over the rice. Drizzle a little sesame oil over. Top with an egg fried sunny-side up and serve with the red pepper paste sauce.
Recipe courtesy of www.koreanbapsang.com/2015/01/bibimbap.html
Where Does Their Food Come From?
As South Korea is a mountainous country, it only has 22% of its land available for growing crops -- of that 22% of land, rice dominates 90% of total grain production. Because of the monopoly that rice has, South Korea has turned to imports for more food variety, lower prices, and convenience; South Korea is among the top ten markets for U.S. agricultural exports. South Korea does have its forms of fusion when it comes to food, as their McDonald's have bulgogi burgers, and they have their own take on Japanese food. However, there is also a very large amount of food culture variety in certain areas which are run and cooked for by immigrants -- Turkish food, surprisingly being one of the most popular.
Religion and Food
Although Buddhism was the main religion in South Korea until Christianity took over, the Korean diet has always consisted of meat and fish as far as I can tell. However, a rather large portion of their meals consist of a plethora of vegetables, roots, beans, and grains. Bakeries are also very popular with tons of different varieties of bread made with homegrown ingredients, such as red bean buns which have a paste in them made from red beans.