한국국제교류재단 KF

September is the month of newly harvestedrice, the tastiest rice of the year. A bowl ofgood, freshly cooked rice is the main dish ofthe Korean traditional meal.

The rice eaten by Koreans as their staple food is the japonica type, whose grains are round and sticky when cooked.

During a long overseas trip, anyone would sometimes miss the accustomed food ofhome. That happens to me, longing for a very simple meal: ripe cabbage kimchi,soybean stew, and a bowl of freshly cooked, fluffy rice. In my travels, I sometimesdiscover different rice dishes. But they are mostly unexpected encounters with unfamiliarrice.

Japonica and Indica

Rice can be largely classified into two types: japonica and indica. Korea, Japan, and partsof China consume the former, and most other regions the latter. The difference betweenthese two varieties lies in the starch composition of grains. Rice starch is composed ofamylose and amylopectin, and the level of amylopectin determines the level of gluten thatmakes rice sticky. The indica rice, with its higher amylose content, comes from a tallerplant, such that its grains are longer and can be easily broken. When cooked, it is less sticky.The japonica rice, with its higher content of amylopectin, is from a shorter plant, and itsgrains are rounder, thicker, and harder. When cooked, it is stickier. Of the most well-knowninternational rice dishes, Italian risotto, Middle Eastern pilau rice, and Southeast Asian stirfriedrice are better suited to indica, while Korean bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables) andJapanese sushi use japonica.

It is not clear exactly how long Koreans have eaten rice as their staple food. Based onwild rice seeds discovered in prehistoric settlement sites, it is estimated that inhabitants ofthe Korean Peninsula began gathering and eating rice about 15,000 years ago during theOld Stone Age.

Rice can be largely classified into two types: japonica and indica. Italian risotto, MiddleEastern pilau rice, and Southeast Asian stir-fried rice are better suited to indica, whileKorean bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables) and Japanese sushi use japonica.

The Centerpiece of Korean Meal

White rice mixed with red beans or with brown rice is nowadays increasingly preferredas the healthier choice over polished white rice alone.

It is not an exaggeration to say that rice is the main dish of the Korean meal; side dishestend to assume a supporting role, to add flavor to rice. It almost seems as if condimentssuch as red pepper paste, soybean paste, soy sauce, and other fermented foods like kimchiand pickled vegetables have been developed to make a tastier meal by complementingthe rice. It is when the main and supporting dishes are in harmony that a good meal can behad. A bowl of freshly cooked rice, a soup or a stew, and a fish or meat dish, with kimchi, acouple of vegetable dishes and a little salted seafood added, and finally some roasted laver,will make an ample meal. A spread of home-style dishes of this kind, called baekban, canbe easily found on the menus of Korean traditional restaurants.

For foreign visitors unsure what to order in Korean restaurants, I would recommend thistype of home-style meal. If they want to try certain dishes, such as bulgogi or kimchi stew,that would be fine as well since the basic side dishes of the baekban will also be served forfree.

In convenience stores, particularly those near hotels, you can easily find ready-to-eatKorean rice meals. Instant pre-cooked rice packed in single-serving containers looks andtastes just like freshly cooked rice, complete with a pleasant aroma, after being heated forthree minutes in a microwave. Recently, a wide variety of packaged toppings and sauceshave been added to convenience store offerings, so you can pick up a handy ready-to-eatmeal of rice topped with a savory sauce. In guest houses, where visitors can use the kitchen,packaged instant rice has become an essential part of meals for cost-conscious travelers. Itis popular even in home cooking due to its convenience and consistentquality. Exports of instant rice are also increasing notably.

Snacks and Delicacies

In the past, mothers would hurriedly soak one or two cups of rice inwater when someone in the family caught a cold or was sick. A mother’srice porridge of every Korean’s childhood is an iconic comfort food,painstakingly prepared for a loved one who has difficulty ingesting regularmeals of rice and side dishes. The mother would finely chop seafoodor meat, along with vegetables, and stir-fry the ingredients withthe soaked rice, adding a few drops of sesame oil. The mixture is stirredslowly, adding a little water at times, until all the ingredients are blendedinto a flavorful and easy-to-eat porridge. This is a traditional slow foodcalled juk. Juk can be made with rice alone, without any other ingredients,which is known as “white rice porridge.”

The juk originally prepared for the sick in the past has been adoptedas a popular health food for people today. Though its calorie count islow, the dish is filling. By using different grains or vegetables as starchbase, endless forms of porridge have emerged, transforming this simpledish of old into numerous variations of a healthy one-dish meal,such as pine nut porridge, abalone porridge, kimchi porridge, jujubeporridge, and tuna porridge.

Juk restaurants and manufacturers ofinstant juk products are continuing toever new varieties of thisquintessential comfort food.

The traditional Korean rice snack hangwa, which used to be servedmainly on festive days or for ancestral rites, has become popular recently as finger food to accompany coffee or tea. Gangjeong is a typical kind of traditionalsnack. This light, crispy snack is rather complicated to prepare. Fermented sticky riceis ground into flour and kneaded into thin strips, as long and as wide as one’s middle finger,and then dried. When the strips are deep fried, the dough swells up in s, the resultsimilar to a Western puff pastry. The deep-fried pieces are coated with grain syrup madefrom rice and rolled in popped rice crumbs to become gangjeong, with its distinctive textureand taste. At least 15 days are needed to make this rice-based snack. By applying Korea’straditional fermentation methods to Western-style snacks, new fusion snacks are beingdeveloped, sweet and soft outside but crispy inside.

Gangjeong, a low-calorie sweet snack, is a variety of hangwa, or confectionery made withfermented glutinous rice, syrup or honey, and puffed cereal, traditionally served mainlyon festive days or in ancestral rites. It has recently become popular as a finger food.

Another traditional Korean food made of rice, tteok, or rice cake, comes in an amazingvariety of kinds and shapes. Rice cake has long been a symbolic food for conveying specialblessings and good wishes, which thus plays an essential role in ceremonial events such asbirthdays and weddings, as well as funerals and ancestral rites. Even today, when a babyreaches 100 days of age, a white rice cake, called baekseolgi, is made and sharedwith neighbors, to express wishes for a healthy and long life of thechild. Sirutteok, a rice cake garnished with red beans, is preparedfor good luck and is shared with others when a newbusiness or store opens. For Chuseok, Korea’s ThanksgivingDay, songpyeon, the half-moon shaped rice cake,is made using newly harvested rice. Koreans visit thetombs of their ancestors to offer thisspecial food in memorial rituals, anages-old custom held sacred byall Koreans, whose staple food ofrice is a source of spiritual as wellas physical sustenance.

When a baby is 100 days old, the family makes baekseolgi, a traditional white rice cake,to share with neighbors, to wish the child a long and healthy life. The cake is made bysoaking rice in water, grinding it finely, and steaming.