> Korean Traditional Food > Kinds of Korean Food > Condiments / Garnishes
 
  • Characteristics of Traditional Food
  • Traditional Meal Table
  • Table Manners
  • Kinds of Korean Food
 

Table Manners

 

 

In cooking are used some materials which can generate special taste of the food while preserving original flavor of each ingredient. The materials can be roughly grouped into 'Yangnyeom' (condiments), 'Jomiryo' (seasonings) and 'Hyangsinryo' (spices). Condiment of Korean food writes in Chinese character as 'Yaknyeom' which means 'bearing in mind to benefit human body like medicine.'
Seasoning in Korean cooking include materials that help produce such basic tastes as salty, sweet, sour, hot and bitter taste. Salt, soybean sauce, hot pepper paste, soybean paste, vinegar and sugar are included in the seasonings.
Spice in Korean cooking indicates material that retains good aroma or hot, bitter savory taste in itself. Spice reduces odor of food and helps produce better taste with its own good aroma. Ginger, mustard, pepper, sesame oil, and powdered sesame mixed with salt, leek, garlic, ginger and Cheoncho are included in spices. In cooking food for royal court, most of the seasonings available in Korea were used except that hot pepper and its powder were rarely used. The basic seasoning in royal court was soy sauce.

The role of garnishes in Korean food is to decorate and embellish the food, thereby arousing appetite for the eaters. Therefore, they are more focused on shape and color than on taste. The garnishes are also called 'Utgi' or 'Kkumi.' The basic colors of Korean foods are red, green, yellow, white and black. These five colors are based on the 'Five elements theory' of the old Korea and can be found in daily meals and banquet cuisines.

 

Condiments

 


Salt

Honey

Yeot, Jocheong

Sugar

Vinegar

Hot pepper

Black pepper

Mustard

Edible oil

Powdered sesame mixed with salt
   

 

 Salt

At the end of Joseon dynasty, 'Horyeom' (crude salt) and 'Jaejeyeom' (refined salt) were used in royal court and ordinary houses. Horyeom involved many impurities and tastes bitter, thus it was mainly used in preparing pickled vegetable or soy, while Jaejeyeom was used as seasoning for food.

 

 

Garnishes

 


Egg garnish

Alssam

BongOri

Minari chodae

Minari

Hwanghwachae

Red pepper

Pine nuts

Mushroom

Walnut, ginkgo
   

 

 Egg garnish

Separate the egg white and yolk and, without causing foam, dissolve them on a pan. Next, stir-fry them thinly and then shred them into meatball type (diamond form) or domino type (rectangular form) for use as garnish.