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  • Typical Corsican Cuisine in Italy

    Corsica

    Politically, Corsica is a part of France, but her geography, history, and language are linked inexorably with Italy. Most distinctively Corsican cuisine is noted for its imaginative use of chestnuts, which are used whole or ground into a fine flour that forms a part of many types of dishes and adds distinct flavor. Many people maintain that even sausages and hams produced from crossbred pigs and boars have a special taste because chestnuts form an important part of the animals’ diet. The importance of chestnuts in Corsican cuisine stems from the ingenuity of the peasants of the Middle Ages who decided to grow chestnuts instead of the grains that were so heavily taxed by foreign conquerors.

  • Typical Food of Calabria, Lucania and Apulia

    CALABRIA, LUCANIA, and APULIA

    Calabrian cookery is based mostly on pasta, many varieties of vegetables, and cheese. Most coastal towns have their own specialties in fish dishes and these are usually types of fish soups which may be based on fish and/or seafood: brodetto, zuppa di pesce alla marinara, and zuppa di vongole, using mussels, clams, or vongola, a shellfish similar to a snail.

    Tomatoes, artichokes, and peppers find numerous expressions in filling dishes but none so often as eggplant. Spinach is another favorite but wild greens may also be used when available. Bread is so important and so revered that it is identified with Christ the Life Giver and often pieces of bread are offered to beggars rather than money. Bread doughs are leavened by saving a small piece from the previous batch. So entrenched is the tradition and reverence for bread baked at home that it is easy to understand the Italian resistance to commercially baked bread.

    While Naples-Campagna indulges itself with ancient symbols, rituals, and superstitions sometimes with a “why not?” or a “just in case” attitude, here in the deep south, ancient customs, so closely intertwined with poverty and the ancestral history of conquests by the Turks, Greeks, and others, have left a distinct mark on the inhabitants. Time has stood still. Yet orchard groves, olive trees, and lean cattle producing milk contribute at least to physical nourishment.

    Pork is the most important meat, and pig-killing is a festive occasion fraught with tradition and great rejoicing. Local hams and fine pork sausages in many varieties, including capocollo and pezzente (made from sinews, livers, and lungs), are well spiced with pepper and garlic. Lard is an important fat and the children love the crisp cracklings called frittoli or ciccioli. Chicken, kid, or rabbits add variety to the menu as well.

    Apulia’s cuisine is similar to Calabrian but the inhabitants consider themselves the champion pasta eaters of Italy. They add cabbage, turnips, broccoli, and cauliflower to their casseroles, soups, and even sauces more often than others in Italy. Vegetables, bread and pasta, with cheese in and on almost everything, is the staple diet, but around the coastal areas there is also abundant fish and seafood and the oysters are considered special. Fish soups, stuffed shellfish, and squid stew are among the specialty dishes. Almonds are so abundant that some say there is an aroma of bitter almonds even in the local olive oil. The specialty cheeses include Caciocavallo, Scamorza, Mozarella, Ricotta, and Parmesan. Apulian wines are known for their heavy-rich flavors and some are even used for blending with other Italian wines of lesser stature.

  • Food in Tuscany

    TUSCANY

    In the 1400s, which city dined first with a knife and a fork and dabbed elegantly with a napkin? Venice, the Venetians, of course, claim, but the Florentines claim it was Florence, in Tuscany. Also in the 1400s, not only was pasta and ravioli of many varieties commonly cooked, wines of many types were also enjoyed, and a favorite dish was fegatelli, a type of liver sausage. Rules of behavior and good manners were carefully listed in Galateo by Giovanni Della Casa. Among them were admonitions against eating noisily, burping, or sniffing at food before eating. Furthermore, drunkenness was considered repugnant (but the book noted that in Germany and France drunkenness was considered amusing if not manly). In the late 1400s, Florentine doctors were prescribing cabbage as a general cure, a panacea that was to be taken into many other lands.

    One of the best known Tuscan breads is the salt-free panne toscano. Made from white or wholewheat flour, it is the perfect foil for the region’s spicy sauces and gravies, salamis and sausages. More commonly it is enjoyed with a generous rubbing of fresh garlic and a drizzle of first-pressed olive oil. Leftover breads are cubed or crumbled and anointed with a simple dressing as part of a bread salad, or to add substance to a simple country soup.

    The cuisine of Tuscany is noted for its classic simplicity and strict insistence on the finest and freshest ingredients prepared with passion and artistry While olive oil is important throughout Italy, in Tuscany only the finest from their own presses at Lucca can be considered. The Florentine steak bistecca alla fiorentina is judged by the animal the meat came from, the perfect degree of heat for cooking, and the final flourish of a seasoning with salt and pepper and a brush of fine oil. Most meats are spit-roasted or grilled; vegetables are cooked with loving care, and in coastal areas fish gets the same kindly attention to detail.

    Fritto del mare (a mixed plate of fried fish and seafood) and cacciucco are two classics, the latter a spicy fish stew inspired anew by each cook from the fish and seafood at hand. Pork, wild boar, guinea fowl, kid, and hare take their turn on grills and spits. Rice is widely used here too but in some specialties not known in other areas: riso nero, black rice prepared with cuttlefish ink, and risotto alla toscana that includes livers and kidneys. Dried white (haricot) beans are a staple and are prepared in soups with ribbon noodles, as a main dish with sage, tomatoes, and garlic, and sauteed with tomatoes and chunks of tuna fish. Fagioli ncl fiasco is a dish of beans cooked in a flask. Tuscany pastries and sweets are often distinguished by being prepared with chestnut flour. Chianti Brolio is one of the great chianti wines.

    Throughout Italy but especially in Tuscany recipes using beans often date from the Middle Ages or earlier, and much Tuscan cooking still centers around the skills of the grill and the roasting spit.

  • Korean Food and Culture

    FOOD AND CULTURE IN KOREA

    Choson or Tai Hun is the name the Koreans give to their beautiful mountainous country. The name means “Land of the Morning Calm,” a name perhaps representing more hope than fact.

    As a strategic land bridge between north Asia and the outside world, especially the islands of Japan, the mountainous peninsula of Korea traces its origin to a legend. According to this, it was Tangun the great Divine being who descended from heaven and claimed leadership of the many Mongol tribes said to have inhabited the area more than 4,000 years ago. Archeological findings confirm the presence of migratory Ural-Altaic tribes around the tenth century B.C.E. throughout the peninsula and in southern Manchuria as well.

    The Land of the Morning Calm first faced invasions by the Han Dynasty of China which brought the introduction of bronze metal-working skills as well as the gradual division of the land into three kingdoms: Koguryo in southern Manchuria and northern Korea; Paekche around the basins of the Han River in central Korea; and Silla in the south of Korea. Chinese living styles, Buddhism, and later, Confucianism formed the foundations of Korean civilization.

    From 1392 to 1910, the Yi Dynasty in Korea took many steps to unify the people and the country. All government officials had to pass a national examination based on the Chinese classics, especially Confucianism; a phonetic alphabet of the Korean language was developed. This latter achievement and a much earlier one – the invention and use, before 1392, of what is believed to be the world’s first metal type system, inaugurated with the printing of the Buddhist scripture the Tripitaka Koreana, are credited by many as being two of the most important unifying features of the time. The phonetic alphabet was called Hangeul and its 24 precise letters were used in the publication of many precious books. This rich period of relative calm and great cultural achievement was broken in 1591 by Japanese invasions.

    In the past, although Korea had taken much from China, her “elder brother,” the hundreds of years during which Korea experienced relative isolation helped to develop customs and distinctive ways of life that are uniquely Korean. So it was that although much suffering came with the Japanese occupation from sporadic conflicts after 1591, and for a long period between 1910 and 1945, another cultural layer was superimposed on the Korean foundation. While the walled towns and cities and the many Buddhist and Confucian temples suggested Chinese influence, it is equally obvious that modern-day Korea’s many rapid transit and highway systems and even the electrical and telephone systems as well as new consumer habits resulting from mass production of cheap goods, the development of mines and factories and expanded seaports, all trace their origin from the western world via Japan.

    Although the Japanese can be credited with preserving the unity of Korea during their occupation, other results were not so favorable. It was both the increase in population and the pressures of politics that resulted in a large emigration of Koreans abroad. And with the Japanese withdrawal following World War II in 1945, the vacant administrative posts in government and executive positions in industry were left to be filled by untrained Koreans with the sad result of a period of economic corruption.

    Communist North Korea and the Republic of South Korea differ markedly, and not just in political outlook. With a total Korean population of more than 70 million, North Korea has close to 25 million predominantly engaged in agriculture, while South Korea has a population of almost 46 million with more than two-thirds located in cities and engaged in business and manufacturing. From the plains and lowlands of both regions come the major agricultural crops of maize, rice, wheat, vegetables and fruits as well as pigs, poultry, and cattle.

    Presently, although North and South Korea have been on divergent ideological paths, the severe famine in North Korea in the spring of 1997 seemed to bring negotiations closer to a lasting peace between the two regions. Many Koreans living at home and living overseas feel they will win the struggle for the restoration of their unique national culture and gain liberty once again so that their land of Choson will truly be the Land of the Morning Calm.

  • Foods in Korea

    KOREAN FOODS

    DAIRY PRODUCTS

    As in China and Japan, the use of dairy products such as cheeses and butter and cultured milk products is not a part of the Korean menu.

    FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

    The persimmon and the Chinese pear are the most common fruits. However, fruits are not a staple part of the menu, nor are they served with any frequency. In city homes or in upper-class families, fruits may be part of a snack or a treat offered to guests. When strips of raw meat are served (after marinating in garlic and sesame seed oil) it is customary to accompany the dish with thin slices of Chinese pear.

    Vegetables offer important nutrients and variety to the diet. Many types and varieties of vegetables are grown and prepared in a number of ways: white potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, many squashes, onions, leeks, Chinese cabbage, turnips, red and green peppers, daikon (Oriental radish), many types of mushrooms, cucumbers, garlic, and many types of beans (red beans, green beans, soybeans, and pea beans).

    Unquestionably the most important Korean vegetable dish present at every meal is kimchi. There are almost endless combinations but the general categories of kimchi include daikon kimchi made in large cut, small cut, salty, very salty, pickled, and summer; cabbage kimchi made with shredded Chinese or round cabbage; and cucumber kimchi. This national dish is made by layering cut vegetables with varying amounts of salt and onions and allowing it to ferment for a short time. After rinsing, the prepared vegetables are seasoned with peppery spices, garlic, leeks, and ginseng. A great variety of other special ingredients may be added to create the kimchi specialty of the household, such as dried or fresh shrimp, fish or other seafood, pine nuts, meats, chestnuts, pears, or apples.

    In some households, kimchi and rice may be the entire meal. Huge earthen jars are used to store the kimchi and these are placed either underground or in cool places during the summer.

    Cucumber and eggplant are greatly favored and are prepared in a variety of ways: stuffed, fresh, cooked, pickled, steamed, roasted, or as a salad with vinegar.

    More than 1,000 varieties of seaweed or laver are found around the shores of both Korea and Japan. Edible seaweed is called nori in Japan and kim in Korea. It is popularly served by dipping in sesame seed oil and soy sauce then toasting. It can also be toasted then crushed and mixed with soy, sugar, sesame seed oil, and red pepper. Another way is to cut the greens into small pieces, paint with rice powder and seasonings cooked together, then dust with sesame seeds, sun-dry, and finally fry.

    Other vegetables in the category of greens are parsley leaves, spinach, bean sprouts, lettuce, celery, bamboo shoots, and carrots. A delightful “lettuce lunch” called sang-chi-sam is prepared by washing fresh green lettuce leaves (a few drops of sesame oil in the last rinse water makes the leaves shine). The leaves are arranged on one platter, and various tidbits such as varieties of seafood, bean paste, slivered meats, kimchi (many types), and other greens are arranged on other platters. Diners choose their fillings, roll up their lettuce leaves, and eat. This dish is often served with soup.

    An important ingredient and condiment is hot pepper mash made from sun-dried red peppers. Seeds are knocked off (they add bitterness) and the peppers are pounded into powder. The resulting powder is then mixed with soy sauce, sticky rice, and seasonings of onions, leeks, and spices. This may be eaten as a side dish, condiment with other foods, or in soups.

    Finally, proper distinction must be given to the soybean, one of the most ingeniously used crops in China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Aside from using the dried soybeans as any other dried legume (mixed with rice or vegetables), six other distinctive uses are made. Soybeans may be used in soy sauce, as soybean mash; as raw beans that are toasted in an iron pot then ground up and used as a garnish over rice cakes or plain rice (children enjoy eating the toasted coarser bits not used in the toasted meal); sprouted into soybean sprouts to be eaten lightly cooked as a vegetable; prepared into tu bu or soybean curd.

    Tu bu is sometimes called “Oriental cheese” because of its creamy white appearance and smooth spongy texture. It is prepared by grinding soaked soybeans with water. The liquid is strained, boiled, and eaten as is, or it may be strained through a hemp bag into a shallow bowl; the curds left in the bag form a firm cake which may be cut, dipped in soy sauce, or fried in sesame seed oil and eaten. Oil can also be made from the soybeans, but it is not commonly used or prepared.

    MEATS AND ALTERNATES

    In many households, meat and fish are considered dishes for special occasions. Pork, chicken, fish, and many types of seafood are enjoyed when available. Fish is probably more plentiful than meats, though all rural households maintain a few pigs and chickens. Bits of fish or meat may be used in the preparation of kimchi, soups, in casseroles and other dishes where the combination of grains and vegetables stretches the flavor of the more expensive meats and fish. Marinated dried beef is a favorite for appetizers; some may be toasted before serving. Raw beef strips are enjoyed after marinating in garlic and sesame oil, and served with slices of raw pear.

    Charcoal fires are frequently used for barbecues. Strips of chicken or beef are marinated in mixtures of ground sesame seeds, sugar, soy sauce, minced garlic and green onion with a little sesame oil added near the end of marinating.

    Eggs are used as available. They are scrambled, formed into small pancakes with vegetables or kimchi, or made into steamed custards generally eaten for breakfast and, finally, sometimes used as soup garnishes.

    The tiny Korean kitchens make ingenious use of their facilities: fish or meats are usually grilled over hot coals in a little pot stove; a cook may scramble eggs and add a few other ingredients and set the little filled bowls to steam over the rice in the rice pot; frying can be accomplished by using the top of the iron pot upside down; finally, great varieties of soups are begun in the Chinese way with the simple browning of tiny bits of meat or seafood in the bottom of a pot, followed by a sprinkling of soy sauce or other seasonings and the adding of water to make a basic broth.

    Foods from the sea include sea cucumbers, oysters, crab, cuttlefish, cod, herring, whitebait (baingo), sea bream (plentiful and eaten with vinegar soy sauce), clams, crab, shrimp, and jellyfish.

    Pine nuts, chestnuts, and walnuts are also used and must be considered for their texture and flavor as well as for the protein they provide. Kochujan, which is a seasoned red pepper bean paste, may be mixed with minced pine nuts, green onions, and sesame seeds to form a popular condiment used with pickled cucumbers and vinegar soy sauce. Many other dishes use pine nuts collected from the five-needled pine tree whose nuts are thought to have the essence of longevity.

    Finally, two exotic foods enjoyed by Koreans are crickets and silkworms. Crickets are boiled whole then mixed with soy sauce usually as a special dish for babies and children in the autumn (said to prevent drooling), also as an upper-class delicacy for urban dwellers. Children also enjoy boiled silkworms when available.

    BREADS AND GRAINS

    Koreans do not generally eat breads as known in the western world. Rice is the staple and most important food. As a rule the rice is washed four times before cooking. The first rinse water is given to the pigs, the second may be used in the soup pot. Distinct personal preferences exist about exactly how much water to use for cooking the rice and the exact degree of hardness or softness desired. Rice accompanies every meal and often only rice with kimchi comprises the entire meal. Rice may be served plain or mixed together with barley cubed potatoes, sorghum, millet, or as a dish of rice, barley, and potatoes.

    Rice flour is used in making special occasion cookies, steamed dumplings, and for the very special tuk-kuk or New Year’s rice cake soup. For the rice cakes, the rice flour is steamed then kneaded.

    Barley is the next most important grain. It is grown in between the season for the rice crops and is considered important especially when rice is scarce. Since it takes a long time to cook, barley is often boiled separately first and is always served combined with other foods. It is considered a “low-level food” but nonetheless important.

    Although corn is grown in some areas, it is not used as a grain. It is considered more of a children’s food and is cooked by steaming the ears of corn on top of the rice pot. The youngest children and babies are given cooked corn or white potato to gnaw on when they are hungry.

    The buckwheat grown in Korean fields is widely enjoyed in the form of buckwheat noodles. In fact, noodles are frequently homemade from a dough of buckwheat flour, salt, rice flour, or cornstarch and water. The stiff dough is then pressed through a Korean noodle cutter placed over a pan of boiling water. Noodles are called myun. Noodles are considered a lunch dish, whether served hot or cold. Naing-myun is a cold plate of cooked buckwheat noodles served with a garnish of chopped kimchi, strips of beef or chicken and sliced pear and sliced hard egg; chilled broth is poured over. A similar dish served hot and said to be a favorite of the masses – especially enjoyed by men as they eat sitting cross-legged – is jaing-ban. The heated meat and condiments are enjoyed with wine, the noodles are eaten last, and the entire platter is kept hot over small fire pots placed on the low tables.

    FATS

    Sesame seed oil is used both for cooking and frying. Frequently the flavorful oil, reminiscent of toasted sesame seeds, is also used to give a sheen to washed greens or roasted (grilled) meats. Other fats consumed include those contained in pork crackling and chicken skin and in the actual meats themselves.

    SWEETS AND SNACKS

    Considering that a small Korean child is commonly given a cooked potato or a steamed cob of corn to gnaw on as a snack between meals, as opposed to the early western introduction of sweet cookies and sweetened desserts, it can be seen that the Korean sweet tooth is an insignificant one.

    Desserts are not part of traditional Korean meals but they are served when special guests come and also for holiday and feast occasions. Chun Kwa is the name given to a variety of candy-coated thinly sliced vegetables; the prepared vegetables are dipped into a syrup then allowed to cool and harden. Many types of dried fruits – sometimes candied – are also enjoyed. Steamed and kneaded glutinous rice can be made into many types of small cookies and pastries often flavored with honey and nuts. Some are even sun-dried then deep-fried. Kai-yut are sesame seed candies, and a candy treat made from glutinous rice powder, chestnuts, honey, dates, and cinnamon is called “flower paste” or ju-ak. Ju-ak is shaped and fried in sesame oil then sprinkled lightly with sugar.

    Pine cakes or song-pyun are specially festive and often used as offerings to the spirits of ancestors. They are made with rice powder dough pressed into small cup shapes then filled with red beans, chestnuts, and raisin mixture. The unusual taste comes from steaming them together with fresh pine needles. Another festive favorite is kyung-dan, sweet dumplings which are also prepared from glutinous rice powder dough. Red bean paste and chestnut paste are popped into the center then rolled in a ball which is finally coated with yellow bean powder or very finely chopped walnuts or dates.

    Interestingly, although these festive and dessert specialties are considered to be sweets, many are also considered medicinal because of their content of nutritious ingredients such as honey, raisins, etc.

    Sometimes fruits are poached in a light syrup and flavored with ginger root. Such a dessert is su-jun-wa, made from persimmons.

    The traditional children’s treat, particularly in rural areas at New Year’s, is yot. This is ritually prepared from ground barley powder mixed in a ratio of one-to-three parts of boiled rice, then heated carefully with water (overheating makes it bitter). The thick part is gradually spooned off and the remaining liquid is allowed to boil until it thickens into a rich syrup. This is much enjoyed by dipping rice cakes into it.

    SEASONINGS

    The taste and distinctive aroma of sesame seeds is characteristic of Korean cooking because sesame seed oil is the preferred fat, and sesame seeds are used in many dishes. Garlic, green onions, ginger root, pine nuts, and monosodium glutamate are all used generously. Pears and pear juice are often used both as seasoning and as condiment. Soy sauce, vinegar soy sauce (a combination of two parts soy sauce, one part vinegar and monosodium glutamate), and kochujan are the condiments. The latter is a red pepper and bean paste made from a blend of soy sauce, bean paste, and powdered red peppers in equal pans. Another condiment is prepared from a base of kochujan with minced green onions, crushed pine nuts, and sesame seeds. This pine nut condiment is served with pickled cucumbers.

    Commercially prepared soy sauce, of course, is widely available, but many households in Korea still prepare their own. Prepared in the autumn, the boiled and pounded soybeans are molded into a cone shape and set to dry hard. Then they are wrapped with rice straw, hung from ceilings, and allowed to ferment for several weeks. (Such fermented cones may be winter-stored in huge rice straw bags kept in a cool place.)

    In the spring, bits of the cone are broken into a water-filled jar to which is added salt, spices, red peppers, and a few charcoal lumps. This is left in the sun a few days until the molded soybean clumps float on top and the resulting liquid turns black. The final step is the ladling out of the black liquid which is then boiled to become soy sauce. The remaining contents of the jar are used as soybean mash.

    BEVERAGES

    Water is an anytime drink. Well water is considered superior but spring waters are considered to have medicinal value. In wintertime (November to February) hot water is sometimes taken with lunch.

    It was the Japanese who introduced tea as a beverage in the cities and towns, but it is almost nonexistent in the villages. Sungyung completes every meal: the color and flavor are derived by pouring hot water over the charred rice or barley in the bottom of the pot. Sesame seed tea is also enjoyed.

    There is a great fondness for wine and spirits although at all times drunkenness is considered very offensive, while an inebriated woman is simply intolerable. However, there is leeway in what is considered drunkenness. One village saying insists that a man may not be considered drunk so long as he can still move an arm.

    T’akju is a light wine that has an alcohol content of about 10 percent, a bit stronger than beer. Yakju is a stronger version of T’akju with about 15 percent alcohol content and is considered medicinal, as are many other good things. Soju (“burning wine”) is a spirit so named because of its effect and probably because of its 25 percent alcohol content.

    Omija-wha-chai is a refreshing beverage made either in the home or commercially. It is a seasonable drink prepared from fresh or dried fruit, parts of tart or sour flowers and is sweetened with honey or sugar. Shikhe is another sweetened drink, prepared from fermented rice and sugar and lightly scented with citron.

  • Domestic Life in Korea

    KOREAN DOMESTIC LIFE

    There are sharp contrasts between the domestic life of Koreans in farming villages and those who live and work in cities. The majority of Koreans live in farming villages, for even fishermen in seashore communities pursue some form of agriculture. The villages are mostly democratic, each tending to be an almost independent social unit.

    Many urban homes as well as almost all of those in the countryside follow traditional styles and decor. As the extended family grows, rooms and wings are added to the basic L-shape, U-shape, or hollow square homes built of earth, clay wattle, brick, or concrete blocks. Old straw-thatched roofs are giving way to tiles, metal or plastic styles, but the heating system remains “age-old.” Under baked clay floors which are neatly covered with glazed paper, stone flues carry heat from either the kitchen or outside fire pits. Thus there is heat for cooking, hot water, and warmth for the occupants of the house as they sit on mats or sleep on quilted mattresses at night.

    In rural homes as well as in many urban homes, the kitchen is the special domain of the woman. Pine branches may be used for fuel in the iron, stone, or clay fire pits. Traditionally, three large globular iron pots of varying size are sunk into pits in the stove. The largest of these pots may be used for heating laundry water or cooking grass as food for oxen; the smaller pots are used for rice and other foods. An inverted dome of the iron pot is used as a griddle. Open shelves as well as at least one food cabinet are used for general storage, while foods needing storage in a cool place may be kept in the ground or in huge stone jars. Trays for dining, baskets and brooms add to the decor of the kitchen together with the family’s brass ladles hanging on the wall.

    A special area of the traditional rural home is the outer porch or patio area, made with a floor of smoothed clay and often sheltered with a roof. This area is called the matang. Shoes are placed here before entering the home, but more important, it is here that old and young congregate to do odd jobs, talk, and watch the children. It is said that “he who does not know the matang will never understand Korea.” In fact, for the men, the matang is the summer social area, while women prefer the kitchen or the tiny walled garden accessible from the kitchen entrance.

    While sliding rice-paper panels within the homes are reminiscent of Japanese design, Chinese influences are stronger. Borrowed from the Chinese is the village arrangement of homes clustered together around the courtyard. So too are the small market gardens near each home, the pine tree and bamboo groves surrounding the villages, and even the typical walls surrounding the towns.

    Upper-class Koreans living in the larger cities live in towering modern apartment buildings or western-style homes, many with modern appliances such as refrigerators, gas stoves, and piped-in hot water.

    Gradual changes are occurring in family life. Father and son still form the primary family relationship, but the large extended family living in one home unit is gradually giving way to the nuclear family consisting only of father, mother, and children.

    Respect for elders and ancestor worship are almost as deeply inculcated in the Korean as fundamental Confucian values. Among these is the belief that “a good life depends on knowledge and observance of proper behavior between one individual and another.” This is outlined in the five Confucian categories: parent and child (especially father and son), king and minister, husband and wife, elder and younger brother, and between friends.

    These fundamental traditions persist even among Koreans who profess the Christian faith. First Chinese, then Japanese, and more recently Russian and American cultures, religions, and lifestyles have all been superimposed on traditional Korean ways, but they do not replace them.

    Following this age-old pattern it is not difficult to understand that even if the modern-day Korean woman works outside her home, the likelihood is strong that within the family she is the “inside master” while her husband is the “outside master.” That is, while the Korean family may live in a modern multi-story apartment building and enjoy modern conveniences, a scratch on the surface will reveal ancient codes and beliefs.

  • Meals and Customs in Korea

    KOREAN MEALS AND CUSTOMS

    Koreans disagree whether breakfast or supper is the main meal of the day. Generally breakfast is more important in the country, while supper is the main meal in the city. Considering the work patterns, this emphasis can he understood. Since rice and kimchi are present at every meal, the additions of soup, meat or fish, and vegetable dishes and more probably, the amount and number of courses, would signify which is the most important meal of the day. Many Koreans prefer rice for breakfast and supper, while a noodle dish with meat or fish and vegetables and sometimes soup provides a satisfying lunch.

    Meals are usually taken while the family and guests sit cross-legged around a floor mat upon which are placed separate low-legged trays with the foods for each diner. Sometimes foods are arranged banquet or buffet style and each diner takes his or her portion to eat with rice.

    Ladles made from gourds as well as crafted ladles from brass are used for spooning out foods, but brass chopsticks and spoons are used for dining. Rice, soup, and kimchi may be eaten with the aid of spoons; liquid, soup, kimchi juice and wine can also be loudly and appreciatively sucked from bowls.

    The etiquette of chopsticks demands that they be held close to bowl and mouth. Further, they should always be held close to the top ends for it is said that those who hold their chopsticks near the working end will have a bad wife. It is considered bad taste to make a scratching sound with chopsticks or spoons against the food bowls.

    It is expected that liquor will be served at funerals, weddings, sixty-first birthdays (sixty-one is considered a significant age), at any old man’s birthday, at all ceremonial festivals. Wine is poured graciously into a bowl and passed around, while the men sit on their heels and sip. The largest wine bowl (about 4 inches) is for T’akju; Yakju is served in a smaller one; and the potent Soju is presented in a tiny wine cup. The many forms of kimchi are nibbled in between sips of the wine as an hors d’oeuvre.

    Both men and women enjoy pipe tobacco at any time. In the cities and towns people enjoy smoking cigarettes, but these are too expensive for most villagers who simply grow and dry their own tobacco suited more to pipe smoking.

    Children are nursed till about two years of age but in the villages it is not uncommon to see even six-year-olds occasionally nursing. This is no embarrassment to anyone. Weaning is accomplished by the simple expedient of dabbing the nipples with pepper. Children are fed whenever they cry. As the child becomes older he or she may be given a corn cob to nibble or a cooked potato or even a daikon soaked briefly in saltwater.

    Social life in the villages centers on the matang, and guests are always welcomed. The only exception to this is the few days after childbirth when it is understood that the family would prefer to be alone. In the cities, many fine restaurants abound and men enjoy bars, cafes, and nightclubs. Upper-class men enjoy the company of kisaeng (female entertainers like the geishas of Japan), while upper-class women for the most part live a secluded and isolated life, spending their free time sewing and embroidering when the details of managing the home are completed. However, Korean cities, like large cities everywhere, are changing with the pressures of modern society and more and more women are venturing into the business and professional world.

  • Glossary of Foods and Food Terms in Morocco

    MOROCCAN FOOD GLOSSARY AND FOOD TERMS

    Amalou: a smooth thick blend of crushed almonds, honey and olive oil used as a spread on Khboz (regular bread) or fried breads, and as an ingredient in a breakfast gruel called Zematur.

    Barbary Figs: name given to a succulent pear-shaped fruit of a type of cactus plant. Also called prickly pear.

    Bisteeya, Pastilla, or Bastilla: one of the most important Moroccan dishes, of Berber origin and inevitably part of any diffa (banquet). A large circular pie, composed of many buttery, tissue-thin layers of pastry (Warka) enclosing lamb, eggs, vegetables and usually pigeon meat all salted and spiced, redolent with cinnamon and almonds.

    Boukha: sweet brandy distilled from figs.

    Braiwats: similar to the Greek Tiropetes. Tissue-thin Warka pastry oiled or generously buttered and filled with cheese or other savory mixtures then pinched or folded and finally baked or deep-fried and served crisp and hot.

    Brik: deep-fried meat turnovers but made with Warka pastry and often filled with a whole raw egg that cooks during the deep-frying. While eating, some care is needed not to dribble the soft-cooked yolk. Tunisian classic, eaten also in Morocco.

    Chele or Khelea: a preserved form of beef used as a snack, appetizer or as flavoring in other dishes. The selected pieces of beef are spice-rubbed, sun-dried, then oil-cooked, and finally preserved in oil until used.

    Chermoula: Tunisian dish of sautéed fish served with a sweet and sour sauce of raisins and wine vinegar touched with sugar.

    Chorba: name given to any thin soup.

    Couscous: classic Moroccan dish of Berber origin. Basically this is a dish of specially prepared grains over or beside which is served a stew of vegetables and meats with a well-seasoned sauce. The classic Couscous is prepared from wheat flour rubbed with dribbles of water to form tiny grains. Often the Couscous may be purchased in this form. Cooking is done by steaming (no cover) over a bubbling stew or boiling water in a pan with a perforated base. The two-layer pot used to prepare both the stew and the Couscous grains is called a couscousiere. Note that Couscous may be made with any grain and sometimes even with sprouted grains or even dried bread crumbs.

    Djej: chicken.

    Doqq: salt-preserved lemons. Moroccan Jews often prepare Doqq by preserving their lemons in oil as well as salt. Indispensable to Moroccan cuisine.

    Harira: one of the most famous of Moroccan soups, a meal in itself. It is made with browned pieces of lamb, lentils and garbanzos, noodles and vegetables all pungent with ginger, coriander, and pepper. The final touch may be threads of lemony eggs or a thickening of slightly fermented flour and water stirred in just before serving. Large bowls of this, accompanied with sweet pastries, dates, and other fruits are the usual sundown meal of the month of Ramadan.

    Harissa: a smooth peppery sauce added to the Couscous by the diner according to taste. If it is true that Moroccan sauces are “everything,” then the Harissa is truly important for it always accompanies the Couscous (unless it is a dessert couscous) and usually enhances many other foods. The base of this sauce is usually the slow-simmered juices of the stew accompanying the Couscous, thus the blend while being peppery is also one of subtle seasonings.

    Hummous: a name heard all over the Mahgrib and many other places as well. It is a general name referring either to whole chickpeas or garbanzos, or to a puree of these legumes. The latter is usually blended with both garlic and pepper.

    Hut Makali: crispy fried fish. Popular street snack found almost everywhere but especially in coastal areas.

    Kaaki: Tunisian breadsticks prepared in many shapes and sold by street vendors. These are nibbled anytime and especially enjoyed by children.

    Kebab: small morsels threaded on skewers and broiled usually over charcoal. The French call them Brochettes, the Spanish Pinchitos, but all around the Mediterranean they are called Kebab.

    Kefta: the Moroccan version of ground meat used in large or small meatballs with the mixture usually sweetened and spiced with cinnamon.

    Khboz or Kisra: typical Moroccan bread made from wholewheat flour and unbleached white flour (all white flour for guests), yeast, milk, or water and seasoned with anise, sometimes sprinkled with sesame seeds. Baked fresh daily, usually in communal ovens.

    Kousha: a Tunisian stew of potatoes, tomatoes, chickpeas, and any variety of fish. May be garnished with prawns or shrimp.

    Leben or Lobon: similar to buttermilk, used as a cooling beverage or in cookery.

    Mahalkra: like biting into crisp honey, these saffron-tinted yeast pretzels are shaped then browned in hot oil and plunged into boiling honey They are served with a sprinkle of sesame seeds (cool), adding a mouthful of sweetness to the sundown meal of Ramadan.

    Mechoui: Moroccan specialty of spit-roasted whole lamb or sheep generously rubbed with ground coriander seeds and garlic cloves. It is eaten with the fingers while piping hot. Tidbits are dipped into a salt and cumin mixture. Moroccan bread is the accompaniment.

    Mechouiya: a thick puree of tomatoes and peppers garnished with chunks of hard eggs and tuna. It is not to be confused with the succulent lamb mentioned above (Mechoui); this is a Tunisian appetizer salad resembling a very thick Spanish gazpacho.

    Meshmel or Djej Emshmel: classic diffa (banquet) specialty: A Tagine of chicken, green olives, and preserved Moroccan lemons (Doqq).

    M’Hanncha: a pastry that uses the thin Warka pastry, stuffed with a rich sweet mixture of sugared chopped nuts and tingling spices, then rolled up, coiled like a snake and baked crisply This pastry is seared in slices with cups of traditional sweet green mint tea as a snack.

    Mikla: when the Moroccan bread dough is patted into flat rounds and baked to a brown crustiness on both sides on an open-lire griddle, the resulting bread is called Mikla.

    Pita: Mahgrib and Middle Eastern bread, sometimes called Arabic bread. Rounds of simple yeast dough are rolled thinly, allowed to rise, then baked quickly in a hot oven. The resulting breads puff up high then slowly deflate upon cooling. The result is a thin tasty bun that is hollow in the center. Makes a convenient pocket for fillings.

    Qodban: Mahgrib tidbits of lamb entrails first marinated then skewered and charcoal-broiled.

    Raipe: a bland sweetened dessert resembling yogurt or junket but the whole or skimmed milk is set with the addition of the pounded dried pulp of wild Moroccan artichokes.

    Ras el Hanout: a varying blend of spices used in meat and game dishes, stuffing, and even candies. Sometimes mystical properties are attributed to Ras el Hanout, which may be a blend of a few or over a hundred ingredients said to contain legendary aphrodisiacs.

    Rghaif: Moroccan version of thin dessert pancakes or crepes. Served in many variations: greased, stretched, folded and deep-fried or layered and served with melted butter and honey Sometimes a special breakfast dish.

    Sefirna: the classic Moroccan Jewish Sabbath dish of legumes and meats nestled with whole eggs in the shell. The whole casserole is placed in banked ovens late Friday afternoon, then eaten as the Sabbath noon meal without violating the prohibition of work. Versions of this dish abound. It is said to have been taken by the North African Jews to Spain during the Moorish conquest where the Spanish version came to be known as Olla Podrida (literally, “rotten pot”) because ingredients were always added to the leftovers and reheated and eaten over and over. In central European countries this practical and satisfying dish came to be known as Cholent and often included potato chunks, and/or a large flour dumpling.

    Shebbakia: luscious honey pastry, the same as Mahalkra but shaped into stars.

    Smen: clarified butter. But the Moroccan version is more than clarified: it is often salted, spiced, or herbed and frequently has been preserved in underground crocks until it has the appearance and odor of very old cheese. Small amounts may be added to soups or Couscous. Most appreciated by Moroccans.

    Souk: outdoor markets.

    Tagella: bread eaten by the Tuaregs (a Berber group), made from a simple dough and baked in open fires on hot stones.

    Tagine: meal cooked in one pot, the bottom of the pot being a rimmed shallow circle fitted with a classic cone-shaped cover. If the ingredients require, the Tagine can be cooked over a heat source or banked with hot coals to give the food a baked-in-the-oven effect. The ingredients may vary but usually include a spiced mixture of vegetables, legumes, meats, with almost as many regional and personal variations as the Couscous.

    Tedouira: a floury mixture used for thickening sauces and soups. In Marrakesh, the classic Tedouira is left overnight to ferment and develop a sour flavor.

     

    Warka: thinner even that the Greek phyllo pastry, the Warka is made from flour and water and most closely resembles the technique for making Chinese spring roll skins. The dough mixture is dabbed or rubbed over a flat or domed heated utensil, forming a sheer “skin” of pastry that is gently lifted off as soon as it firms. To keep it workable, it may be gently washed with oil or melted butter. Layered together, the final effect is similar to the French puff pastry.

    Za’atar: a herb of sweet aromatic scent, similar to the theme-oregano family.

    Zebda: fresh butter.

    Zematur: a thin breakfast porridge or gruel made from toasted wheat germ and the honey-almond butter called Amalou.

  • Meals and Customs in Morocco

    MOROCCAN MEALS AND CUSTOMS

    Moroccans commonly awake to the nose-tickling aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Tiny cups of coffee may be served black, heavily sweetened, or delicately spiced depending on the home and the location. Breakfast is not an important meal; the important meal of the day is most often the midday meal. Usually more than one set of talented hands prepare the noon meal from the freshest ingredients available and everything from grinding spices in mortar and pestle (or, if fortunate, in an electric blender) to cutting meats, trimming and chopping vegetables, scaling fish and washing and preparing fruits – everything will be done in the four to five hours preceding that meal.

    The main meal of the day may begin with three tiny glasses of sweet green tea; or, in the south, with a plate of fresh dates and a bowl of milk; or, in the countryside, with plain biscuits, honey, and smen. More cosmopolitan areas may begin a meal with rounds of drinks and platters of appetizers such as miniature meatballs or fish balls or tiny stuffed crisp pastries (braiwats). Moroccan salads, usually a mix of spiced and sometimes sweetened vegetables which have been cooked and served at room temperature, may be one of the many dishes or may introduce the meal much as Italian antipasti.

    Dining is almost always communal, the meal arranged on platters in the center of the table with diners helping themselves. The food is always eaten with the first three fingers of the right hand. Only soups and sometimes couscous (traditionally served at the end of a banquet and as the main course only in family meals) may be eaten from spoons. Adept fingers form foods into small balls, dip them with a calculated swirl into the savory sauces, and pop them into waiting mouths. More often, bread is used to scoop up food and soak up fragrant juices and sauces.

    Festive occasions are not the only time when hospitality and a great show of abundance is important. Heaped platters and full stomachs are always the goal. But even when the platters are whisked away, hungry mouths will take care of the leftovers: nothing is ever wasted. To a Moroccan the great show of abundance is a matter of deep pride and is essential for any feast and for any guests. It is not, however, the dictum of restaurants.

    Meals are always preceded and ended with ceremonial hand washing. This may be done humbly and simply or with great elaborate gestures and appropriate gracious words accompanied by elegant towels and perfumed water. Just as commonly, the custom of tea drinking – a minimum of three tiny glasses – often also precedes and concludes important meals.

    The importance of the one midday meal can be understood when one realizes the great prevalence of vendors, souks, tiny shops and restaurants offering drinks and snacks at any time of day. Seldom is any work done or business discussed without a customary drinking of tea and often the offering of snacks. Thus the Moroccan is not so concerned with food upon awakening, nor is the evening meal of great importance; there has been a hearty meal at noon and many tidbits and sips throughout the day.

  • Foods Commonly Used in Morocco

    MOROCCAN FOODS THAT ARE COMMONLY USED

    A variety of cultures have reached into Moroccan kitchens. Spanish chickpeas, Arabian spices, Portuguese fish dishes (especially in the coastal city of Essaouira), and African and Senegalese spicy sauces all take their places with the ancient Berber dishes of couscous, tagine, bisteeya, and mechoui and make artful use of local barley and wheat flour for breads and pastries, dates, olives and almonds, and seasonal fruits and vegetables. Grains and vegetables form the dietary staples: the larger the household the smaller the meat consumption. The commonest beverage is hot sweetened green mint tea sipped from small glasses. From the British the Moroccans learned “tea-dunking”, and the country was a French protectorate for so long (1912-1956) that Gallic touches abound, especially in upper-class homes. The ancient staple of harira (legume soup) served with harisa (peppery hot sauce), bread and dates remain the rural staples and the universal “simple meal”.