SDLC - 110 Learning Journal #4
For my fourth learning journal, I have been researching and exploring more regarding Korean cuisine. This is tangent with my research topic on my final presentation for SDLC 105. I think that cuisine is such a huge part of culture and an excellent avenue to exploring any culture further in depth.
My research regarding cuisine focused more on the fermentative aspect of Korean cuisine. Fermentation is such a large sub category within Korean cuisine and is a part of something like 80% of all dishes.
One of the most if not the most popular fermented food item in Korean cuisine is kimchi. Exploring kimchi and how it is representative of Korean culture has been super insightful. All the way from the process in which it is made, up to the variations has definitely intrigued me. Starting from the process, I learned that kimchi is often prepared in large batches with groups of people assisting each other. This is representative of the heavy emphasis in which Korean culture places on community. Furthermore, I learned that Kimchi could be prepared in a variety of ways using different vegetables as a base and even measuring how long to ferment it.
For the second topic that I had researched, this was doenjang. Doenjang is an essential item in most Korean pantries and dates back to its invention during the three kingdoms period. Traditionally doenjang was believed to have a lot of antibiotic properties and was even used in medicine. It is made of fermented soybean and used most commonly as a paste. Many dishes use this ingredient in Korean cuisine to create jjigaes (soups) or even purely as a dipping sauce.
For my third fermented food, I researched gochujang. Similar to doenjang, I learned that gochujang is a fermented chili paste made from red chili peppers. This is also an essential part of Korean cuisine and is often used in dishes to enhance and create complexity in flavors. Common Korean dishes that utilize gochujang include tteokboki, jeyuk bokeum, and dak galbi.
Overall, my understanding of Korean cuisine and even in learning some new dishes has allowed me to gain a deeper insight into the history and background of how certain dishes came to be and why they were made in such a way. For example, fermentation was a necessary process not just to enhance the flavor of dishes but because Korea has faced periods of famine, war, and poverty which required its people to preserve their food. This intermix of culture and language allows me to have a more nuanced understanding of the culture as a whole and the exchange in parts of the development of the language.
For my fourth learning journal, I have been researching and exploring more regarding Korean cuisine. This is tangent with my research topic on my final presentation for SDLC 105. I think that cuisine is such a huge part of culture and an excellent avenue to exploring any culture further in depth.
My research regarding cuisine focused more on the fermentative aspect of Korean cuisine. Fermentation is such a large sub category within Korean cuisine and is a part of something like 80% of all dishes.
One of the most if not the most popular fermented food item in Korean cuisine is kimchi. Exploring kimchi and how it is representative of Korean culture has been super insightful. All the way from the process in which it is made, up to the variations has definitely intrigued me. Starting from the process, I learned that kimchi is often prepared in large batches with groups of people assisting each other. This is representative of the heavy emphasis in which Korean culture places on community. Furthermore, I learned that Kimchi could be prepared in a variety of ways using different vegetables as a base and even measuring how long to ferment it.
For the second topic that I had researched, this was doenjang. Doenjang is an essential item in most Korean pantries and dates back to its invention during the three kingdoms period. Traditionally doenjang was believed to have a lot of antibiotic properties and was even used in medicine. It is made of fermented soybean and used most commonly as a paste. Many dishes use this ingredient in Korean cuisine to create jjigaes (soups) or even purely as a dipping sauce.
For my third fermented food, I researched gochujang. Similar to doenjang, I learned that gochujang is a fermented chili paste made from red chili peppers. This is also an essential part of Korean cuisine and is often used in dishes to enhance and create complexity in flavors. Common Korean dishes that utilize gochujang include tteokboki, jeyuk bokeum, and dak galbi.
Overall, my understanding of Korean cuisine and even in learning some new dishes has allowed me to gain a deeper insight into the history and background of how certain dishes came to be and why they were made in such a way. For example, fermentation was a necessary process not just to enhance the flavor of dishes but because Korea has faced periods of famine, war, and poverty which required its people to preserve their food. This intermix of culture and language allows me to have a more nuanced understanding of the culture as a whole and the exchange in parts of the development of the language.
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