Hello, everyone. Today I wanted to talk talk to the newbies, you know the new people. Because I realized that not everyone is so familiar with Korean food. For those that are, well...think of this as a refresher course.

Now, the most important part of Korean food is rice. Rice is considered the meal, so if you don't eat rice at a meal, then by Korean definitions it is just a snack. This is why many Koreans still consider eating a sandwich or eating bread and pastries as a snack. Also, the rice is important for it explains how it relates to the other dishes at the table.

Rice is considered to have a blank taste and it is considered dry therefore dishes need to be eaten with it to "flavor" the rice. Soup and stews are very important for they are wet, so they contrast the dry rice. The soups can be subtle like a beef and turnip soup, or pungent and spicy like a kimchi stew. The most common soup to have is deonjang chiggae or soybean stew.

Fermented soybean paste is boiled with vegetables like chilies, potatoes, squash and it is boiled in a fish or clam broth. Other popular soups are seaweed soup and bean sprout soup.

Now if you have soup and rice, you have to have side dishes. The side dishes should be a variety of different vegetables and meats. I think one of the healthy aspects of Korean food is that the meat is not considered the centerpiece of the meal; the rice is. This different perspective of a meal, I suspect, is one of reasons Korea has one of the lowest obesity rate among its population in the list of OECD nations.

The basic side dishes you can have are of course kimchi, blanched vegetables, egg or meat, and a type of seafood such as jot gal or stir-fried anchovies. Of course, there can be many more side dishes. Some meals such as the royal court meal can have over 40 different dishes.

The basic idea about the selection of side dishes is that the colors and the flavors should be different. You should have 5 red dishes or 5 spicy dishes. You should have 1 dish that is spicy, one that is bland, one that is sweet, and something that is bitter. It should be balance of flavors, because remember, you have all the side dishes to go with your rice.

The main idea behind Korean cuisine is that food is medicine so there are many healthy ingredients. Plus fermentation is a major component of Korean food.

The fermentation of vegetables and of sauces is one of Korea's unique skills and what sets the cuisine apart from others. The sauces add flavors and fortify the foods.

Finally, another important aspect of Korean food is the concept of sharing food and of using metal ware such as the chopsticks and the long spoon. In Korea, the food is bubbling or very hot so the metal chopsticks are necessary. Also, the long-handled spoon is perfect for the soups and stews. Oh, and in Korea, rice should be eaten with a spoon so not to crush the grains.