Korean cuisine has been utilized for millennia to maintain the body's balance and offers a wealth of health benefits. Food and medication are frequently viewed as being the same. According to the concept that "health begins with food," medical treatment should be tried if no improvement is noticed after initially attempting to treat all ailments with diet. One of the key words to understanding traditional Korean food is fermentation, a metabolic process that helps food to “mature” so that it can be stored for a longer period. The foods that best represent the tradition of fermentation developed in Korea include doenjang (soybean paste), ganjang (soy sauce), gochujang (chili paste), and jeotgal (fermented fish sauce). The fermentation can take anywhere from several months to several years.
Doenjang된장 paste is a fermented soybean paste similar to miso. The fermentation process of the doenjang paste neutralizes the toxins and anti-nutrients that soybeans contain. Doenjang is salty in taste and is related to the kidneys and bladder. Doenjang is a cheap source of protein. Fermented soy paste, the most essential condiment of Korean cookery for more than 2000 years. It is rich in flavonoids, linolic acid, vitamins, minerals, and hormones. It is anti-cancer and prevents cardiovascular disease
Gochujang 고추장 is a traditional Korean condiment made by fermenting a mixture of soybean malt, salt, and chili pepper powder with a blend of powdered rice, barley, flour, and malted barley. The spiciness of gochujang is good for the lungs and large intestine and gives energy. Gochujang has been a part of traditional Korean cuisine since the sixteenth century. Gochujang aids digestion so is great to eat with meat or food that is harder for the body to digest. Capsaicin, a substance found in chili peppers, is known to reduce body fat. Gochujang is used in Korean dishes such as bibimbap (rice with vegetables), tteokbokki (rice cakes in hot sauce), gochujang stew, and bibimguksu (noodles with vegetables).
Kimchi 김치 is fermented spicy cabbage and is the most famous Korean dish. Well-fermented kimchi is sour, so is beneficial to the gallbladder and liver. Kimchi has vitamins A, B, and C, and it contains Lactobacillus, a probiotic similar to that found in yoghurt. Probiotics aid digestion, boost the immune system, help to efficiently use vitamins, and filter out bad bacteria or toxins. They are also linked to reducing cholesterol. In 2003, when(SARS) was spreading throughout the world, foreign media reported that the Korean people were safe from SARS because they eat kimchi, which triggered global attention to its efficacy. In 2006, Health Magazine, an American monthly, selected kimchi as one of the world’s five healthiest foods.
The Korean medicinal food culture has been coming from the idea of Yak Sik Dong Won 약식동원, meaning food and medicine share the same root. The Korean culinary culture preserves its aim of producing healthy food with traditional cooking methods, cooking technology, basic principles, and knowledge. In contrast to today’s foods which are said to be good for health with fabrication and vague rumors, the Korean culinary culture has a structure that is proven and supported by medical and scientific data.
Comments
This is really cool! I had only ever heard of gochujang when I heard of it as a more savory alternative to hot sauce. I love spicy food! I've noticed that countries around the equator tend to have spicier foods as part of their national cuisine and I wonder if it's because the capsaicin also helps preserve food which would be more difficult in more hot/humid areas. Also, tteokbokki us delicious. You should hit up the bb.q Chicken in Carrytown some time.