Korean people are bright enough, because they borrow a lot of cooking skills from other Asian countries instead of confining themselves in their own cooking culture. In many aspects Korean food is a combination of Japanese and Chinese techniques in preparing food. If compared to Japanese cuisine, it relies less on fish and seafood; if compared to Chinese, it relies less on oil. However, it does not mean there is no good Korean food.

For centuries, Korean people have eaten the products of the seas, fields, and mountains. The features of Korean peninsula and a distinguish climate makes a more abundant Korean food. Korean foods are very special, exotic, and particular. The most distinguishing feature of the Korean food is spicy. The basic seasonings-red pepper, green onion, soy sauce, bean paste, garlic, ginger, sesame, mustard, vinegar have been combined in various ways to enhance Korean foods.

Korean food has various side dishes. Favorite side dishes are beantaste soup, broiled beef, fish, cabbage “kimchi”, and steamed vegetables. “The full course Korean meal “is called “Hanjoungshik”. It is composed of grilled fish, steamed short ribs, and other meat and vegetable dishes with steamed rice, soup, and “kimchi”. Koreans also like meat dishes. “Pulgoki” is one of the famous dishes to Westerners, which is generally called “Korean barbecue”.

Vegetable dish is also popular in Korea. Koreans traditionally eat more vegetables with rice in main meal than meats and the vegetable dishes are various in kinds and tastes. However, if you have eaten Korean food, you must have the impression that most peculiar about Korean food is its way of pickling instead of cooking vegetables. Koreans are likely to eat pickled vegetables every day of the year, commonly for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In the cold Korean winter kimchi can last for many months. Almost all available vegetables can be pickled but the most common in Korea are cabbage, turnip, and cucumber. The seasoning is chili, garlic, onion, ginger, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and salt. During the fermenting process the vegetables loose much of their natural flavor and instead adopt the flavor of the seasoning. The difference in texture, however, is enhanced.
In fact, pairing wine with Korean food has long felt like a gamble. The many layers of ingredients and flavors featured in one dish and the simultaneous serving of multiple dishes can make pairing wine with Korean food overly complicated and risky. If you stay in Korea for a long time, you will learn for sure a few key tips can make wine pairings with Korean food easy, mutually enhancing both the wine and the meal. Balance is the basic consideration when pairing wine with Korean food. As a rule, wine with heavy alcohol or tannins will block the rich flavors of most Korean food. Foods that are spicy are enhanced by a wine with very little alcohol; otherwise, the heat from the alcohol will intensify the heat sensation from the food.