In South Korea, it is rare for a family to own an oven. A lot of the food here is prepared in a pan or by being boiled in a pot. It is also very popular to ferment vegetables and eggs in South Korea. Fermenting is a technique where a food is stored for a very long time in oils and spices. This is how the most famous South Korean dish is made: kimchi! You place cabbage, radish or eggs in a container with red peppers, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and other spices. Sometimes the vegetable or egg sits in the container for three months! Can you think of foods we eat in America that are fermented?
It is! Since so many people live close to the coasts in South Korea, seafood is very popular. At school, fresh fish is served for lunch two times every week. On my island, a special kind of orange called hallabong is extremely popular. Hallabong taste much sweeter than an orange but are half the size. These are normally cooked in desserts, but never eaten for breakfast. In South Korea, fruit is usually eaten as a dessert or at the end of a meal if it is served with lunch.
