Korean cuisine also uses many fermented dishes and sauces that provide good bacteria. Don’t let the word scare you. Remember that yogurt and cheese are fermented, too! Thus, it feels quite healthy to eat. It’s also very red food, meaning the people here use a lot of red pepper paste in their cooking, but there are other non-spicy options available, too.
Bulgogi Pot - marinated thin slices of beef are cooked with mushrooms in a slightly sweet broth
Marinated Spicy Pork - marinated pork loin stir-fried with onions, kimchi and red chili pepper paste called gochujang (고추장)
Kimchi Stew - fatty pork, aged kimchi, and a variety of vegetables stewed with gochujang and other spices
Japchae - stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables resulting in a sweet and savory noodle dish
Ddeokbokki - sliced spicy rice cake cooked and simmered for hours in gochujang
Stir-fried Sausage - Korean-style Vienna sausages and vegetables cooked in a ketchup and sugar based sauce
Soybean Sprouts - sesame seasoned soybean sprouts
Kimchi - salted and fermented cut Napa cabbage
Korea has a very diverse geography. It has mountains and plains, and it is surrounded by the ocean, resulting in a variety of meat, seafood and vegetable dishes. Korea has four seasons, so the side dishes change depending on what’s available. The winter tends to be harsh and long, so Koreans traditionally ferment many of their foods in order to preserve them so they can enjoy vegetables all year long.
