Let's Eat South Korean Style! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dairy

Seafood, vegetables and rice made up the bulk of traditional Korean cuisine, with very little consumption of dairy products.

Modern Korean cuisine has been influenced by foreign nations with the addition of more dairy and processed foods. Also, many have replaced rice for noodles and bread as daily staples. Although statistics show most Asians as being lactose intolerant, South Korea has increased dairy use and production as compared to traditional Korean cuisine.

Red Crew's jaknginger is very fond of cheese and milkshakes.

Answer: Onggi

Kimchi is a very pungent side dish and can be made from a variety of vegetables. They are salted and seasoned, often using spring onions, garlic, ginger and gochugaru, a Korean chilli powder. Sometimes jeotgal, a salted seafood, is also added. Prior to contemporary refrigeration methods, the vegetables were placed in an onggi, which was buried in the ground to reduce overfermentation during the summer and to prevent the contents freezing during the winter. Special kimchi terraces called jangdokdae were also constructed to store the onggi. Like other fermented foods, kimchi is considered to be very beneficial to gut health, as the fermentation process produces large quantities of desirable micro-organisms.

Red Crew's smpdit is partial to kimchi, but hasn't been successful in making her own.. Yet.

Answer: Soju

Soju is a clear liquor traditionally made from rice, wheat or barley, but has sometimes been made from potato or sweet potato. The origins of soju can be traced as far back as the 13th century, when the technique of distilling the drink was introduced by the Mongols. The custom when drinking Soju is for the youngest, or most junior person to serve the others. The soju bottle should be held with both hands when pouring, and the person receiving should hold the glass in both hands.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew member, leith90 would gladly grab a glass of soju with both hands.

Answer: Mukbang

Contributing to the steady roll out of South Korean culture across the globe, known as kallyu or Korean Wave, the eating shows known as 'mukbang' have attractive people eating foods whilst interacting with fans. These foods are not necessarily traditional Korean dishes, but can include anything from pizza to noodles. Mukbang's popularity is attributed to lonely users having company whilst eating.

Mukbang has been criticised for encouraging food waste as its popularity and therefore sponsorship has grown, bad practices such as overeating and misinformation have crept into the genre.

Red Crew's smpdit sits eating bibimbap, a vegetable and rice dish whilst wearing tradition Korean Hanbok as she watches someone eating noodles.

Answer: Rice beer

While the majority of beer sold in South Korea comes from two large breweries, lately microbreweries, thanks to a change in the tax laws, are establishing themselves.

Beer is a favorite of Phoenix Rising's mike32768, however he's never sampled beer brewed from rice - that'll have to change!

Answer: Red bean paste

Not specific to only Korea, red bean paste is a common ingredient in Asian pastries. Jjinppang is nice and soft when served warm. It is a steamed, sourdough bun with red bean skins and unsweetened red bean paste. The bun gets hard when it cools and can be re-steamed. Hwangnam is a wheat bread filled with red bean paste and traditionally has a stamp cutout of a chrysanthemum on the top. It is similar in shape to a US muffin. Hodo-gwaja is a Korean walnut cookie filled with red bean paste. It is shaped to look like a whole walnut.

Jaknginger of Phoenix Rising will be on the lookout for these pastries on future world cuisine shopping trips.

Answer: Autumn harvest festival

Chuseok, also called Hangawi, is one of the most celebrated Korean festivals. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar cycle, the middle of Autumn. Songpyeon is a small steamed rice cake shaped like a half-moon and with a sweet or savoury filling. They are then steamed over pine needles which imparts a distinctive taste and fragrance. The cakes were traditionally made using freshly harvested rice and offered as thanks to their ancestors for a bountiful harvest. They are also given to family and friends. The rice cakes are usually coloured brown, pink, white, green and yellow, and an old anecdote says that the person who makes the best looking songpyeon will have a bountiful life with a good spouse and beautiful children.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew member leith90 has tried the Chinese moon cake, but has not had an opportunity to sample the Korean songpyeon.

Answer: Bulgogi

Bul- means 'fire' and gogi is 'meat'. Bulgogi came from the Pyongan Province, North Korea and spread to South Korea after WWII. Bulgogi is marinated meat that has been sliced thin and cooked. It is typically grilled or stir-fried.

Neobiani is also grilled meat but sliced into broad sections. Galbi is Korean grilled short ribs. Yakiniku is Japanese grilled meat.

Jaknginger of PR's Red Crew loves bulgogi!

Answer: Sesame oil

Gim literally means seaweed and bap is rice. Gimbap, or kimbap as sometimes called, are seaweed-wrapped rice rolls. The rice is seasoned with sesame oil. The fillings vary in Korean gimbap. One could see meats, imitation crabmeat, vegetables, eggs and cheese. Traditionally, gimbap is served with side dishes like kimchi or other pickled vegetables.

While there's a debate over which came first, norimaki or gimbap, PR's jaknginger can attest that both are delicious!

Answer: Lims Chicken

Almost a third of chicken eaten in South Korea is fried, the practice can be dated back as a form of cooking to the 15th century. Yu Seck-ho studied abroad in the US and gained a following selling fried chicken there and upon his return to Seoul started selling smaller pieces of fried chicken out of a basement in a department store, beginning the franchise of Lims chicken in 1975. KFC expanded on fried chicken's popularity when they opened in South Korea in 1984.

Red Crew's smpdit seasoned, coated and fried the info for this question