한국국제교류재단 KF

Garlic is a root vegetable, originally from Central Asia, that is cultivated all over the world — from Korea and China in East Asia, India and West Asia, to Southern Europe, in particular Spain and Italy, and all the way to the Americas. In Korean cuisine, garlic is a key ingredient for the flavoring of seemingly every dish, but it can also be served raw on the dinner table along with other vegetables.

In times past, each family would buy a large amount of well-dried garlic when it was in season and hang it in bunches by the stalks in a shady spot with a breeze, then break off a few bulbs at a time for use in the kitchen. These days, supermarkets sell conveniently prepared bags of peeled garlic or tubs of crushed garlic in small portions for home use.

To the Korean people, garlic, or maneul, has such a lengthy history as a foodstuff that itis even featured in the nation’s foundation myth. It is said that a tiger and a bear onceentreated Hwanung (the son of Hwanin, the Emperor of Heaven) to help them becomehuman. They are told to stay in a cave for one hundred days without seeing sunlight and to eatonly garlic and mugwort. The tiger runs out of the cave as it is unable to endure the confinement,but the bear withstands it for one hundred days and is then transformed into a woman,who marries Hwanung and gives birth to a son. It is this son, Dangun, according to legend, whofounded Old Joseon (Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom) and came to be regarded as the progenitorof the Korean nation.

Garlic, as described in traditional Korean medicine, “helps build up the body’s heat and staminaand thus wards off chills and gets rid of cold energy, while repelling and expelling bad energyor other harmful matter from the body.” Ancient records note that when people heard about acontagious illness going around they would eat more garlic as a preventive measure. In modernmedicine, various studies have found garlic to be a superfood that can aid blood circulation,provide antibacterial properties, and help to strengthen the immune system. Garlic is one of thesuperfoods with the potential to help protect against or inhibit certain kinds of cancer, accordingto information found on the website of the American Institute for Cancer Research.

Universal Flavor Booster

In almost any country, garlic is used as a basic ingredient or additive. The Chinese stir-frysliced garlic with chili or spring onions as the first step when preparing a variety of dishes, theItalians pan-fry sliced garlic in olive oil to flavor pasta, and the Japanese fry sliced or crushedgarlic in hemp seed oil to make a soup base for ramen (garlic powder is sometimes substitutedfor a milder flavor). These are just a few examples of how garlic is universally used in all kinds ofcuisine.

For Koreans as well, garlic is first and foremost used to enhance the flavor of food, but ratherthan being sliced, it is more often mashed or crushed. It would not be an exaggeration to saythat crushed garlic is used in the marinade or flavoring of every savory dish that finds its way tothe dinner table in Korea.

Similar to the use of various herbs in a bouquet garni for French cooking — to add aroma tocooking stock, get rid of unsavory odors of the main ingredients, and enhance flavor — in Koreaas well, lashings of garlic are added when preparing meat or fish dishes, including samgyetang(ginseng chicken soup), galbijjim (braised beef or pork ribs), spicy braised chicken, and seafoodstew, in particular. Gyerim Garlic Chicken, a braised chicken restaurant located at Jongno 3-gain central Seoul, which has been open for generations, is famed for serving up pots of braisedchicken stew topped with a generous ladleful of crushed garlic. When the dish gets a final boil atthe table, the towering heap of garlic melts into the rich broth and helps to get rid of the greasinessof the chicken’s fat and also adds a subtle sweetness with far more depth than sugar orother sweetener.

Punchy Raw or Savory Grilled

Garlic is also sliced and served raw on the dinner table, along with assorted greens, to makebite-size food wraps. When eating barbecued meats, such as beef rib or pork belly, a piece ofgrilled meat is placed atop a lettuce or perilla leaf and made into a mouth-size wrap, togetherwith sliced garlic and ssamjang paste. Those who are reluctant to eat raw garlic can grill garliccloves or slices on the side of the grilling meat, or cook the garlic with sesame oil in a smallbowl placed on the grill top.

Pickled garlic stems, made by cutting the stems into bite size lengths,boiling together sugar (and vinegar if desired) with soy sauce, then combining everything together, and storing in a sealed container to allow the flavor to develop.

This is a good way to avoid the burning sensation that might resultfrom chewing raw garlic, and prevent “garlic breath” — perhaps the only downside to garlic consumption.

One of the most basic and well-loved side dishes in Korean cuisine is pickled garlic. It is made by combining peeled cloves or whole bulbs of garlic (with the outer skin s and roots removed) with soy sauce which has been boiled and cooled, and then leaving the mixture to ferment for a few months.The flavor of the soy sauce, which varies with each family’s recipe, permeates the garlic as it develops a mellow accent over time, resulting in a unique and exceptional kind of preserved food.

One food made using garlic, which is perhaps the easiest to prepare and can be found almost anywhere in the world, is garlic bread. All you have to do is make a paste with crushed garlic, melted butter, and sugar, and then spread it onto diagonally-cut slices of a baguette, sprinkle with dried parsley, and brown it lightly in the oven. As the garlic bread bakes, an enticing aroma will fill the kitchen, and when you dig in you can enjoy how the rich taste of the butter has become even more rounded and flavorful.

Tender Scapes and Garlic Greens

Pickled garlic, made by boiling together sugar (and vinegar if desired) with soy sauce, then allowing the mixture to cool before pouring it over the garlic. The end result is always unique because the flavor of the soy sauce varies from family to family.

Koreans’ love of garlic is not limited to its aromatic bulbs. The tendergreen stems of garlic flowers (called scapes), which have a subtle flavorof its own, are also a tasty ingredient for side dishes. In March,when the flowers bloom, garlic stems are harvested toallow the bulbs to fully form, starting at Korea’s touristhotspot in the far south, Jeju Island. Bunches ofthe green stems, a little thinner than asparagusshoots, make their way to the marketplace toherald the start of spring. Fried in oil withdried shrimp or preserved in soy saucelike the bulbs, garlic stems make anotherfavorite side dish for the Korean dinnertable. They are also a nice substitute forgarlic when making aglio e olio, which is traditionallymade with garlic and olive oil. When cooked, the stems still retain their crunch, while the pungent spiciness is moderated.

In the springtime, garlic tops can be found among the various vegetable garnishes for grilledmeat, such as lettuce and green chilies. You can also use garlic greens to prepare a flavorpackedside dish that is guaranteed to reawaken your taste buds to the coming of spring. Justcut the garlic tops into desired lengths and stir-fry with oil in a pre-heated frying pan. Once thegreens begin to soften, add sliced squid, chili paste, sugar, splash of vinegar, chili bean sauce,and oyster sauce. Just the aroma arising from the pan will be enough to tickle your nose andmake your mouth water.

Garlic, as described in traditional Korean medicine, “helps build up the body’s heat and stamina and thus wards off chills and gets rid of cold energy, while repelling and expelling bad energy or other harmful matter from the body.” In modern medicine, various studies have found garlic to be a superfood that can aid blood circulation, provide antibacterial properties, and help to strengthen the immune system.

Shallots: Garlic’s Sweet Cousin

Crushed and whole cloves of garlic are an essential flavor enhancer in various meat dishes including the classic chicken soup, samgyetang

If you are not all that familiar with Korea’s garlic-laden cuisine, you can conjure up a similartaste and aroma by thinking of shallots. Shallots and garlic are members of the same lily familyof plants, but shallots combine the pungency of garlic with a sweetness that is stronger thanthat of onions. They are used widely in salads and sauces, especially in France and SoutheastAsia. Shallots make up the base ingredient of many sauces and are used to flavor or garnishmeat and fish dishes. They can be served after being lightly roasted in oil; when the tops are stillgreen, it is also used to add flavor similar to the ways that Koreans like to grill garlic in oil anduse garlic stems as an ingredient in numerous dishes.

When you visit a new place, it is impossible to not encounter unfamiliar foods. Turning thisencounter into a joyful experience makes any holiday much more meaningful and memorable.This is exactly the reason why I, as a specialist in culinary produce, have d the group calledTraveler’s Kitchen in collaboration with a number of like-minded travel writers. Above all, weencourage people to try out seasonal and local produce as they travel around Korea, rather thanjust searching for the most well-known restaurants.

We also try to motivate Koreans travelingabroad to discover unfamiliar culinary delights, rather than heading for a Korean restaurant.Likewise, I would like to encourage visitors to Korea who are not yet big fans of garlic: while youare here, take the opportunity to make friends with this zesty, aromatic ingredient.