Jim is a Korean cuisine term referring to dishes made by steaming or boiling meat, chicken, fish, or shellfish which have been marinated in a sauce or soup. The cooking technique originally referred to dishes cooked in a siru (earthenware steamer mainly used for making tteok) by steaming. However, as kitchen tools have become diversified and simplified, the cooking method has changed to making jjim dishes by boiling in a small amount of broth, although the name has not changed.

When making a jjim dish, the main ingredients are marinated in a sauce, and then a small amount of water is added before cooking. The main ingredient is a meat, such as galbi, beef shank or rump, chicken, fish, or shellfish, while vegetables, mushrooms, or eggs are generally considered secondary ingredients.

Jajangmyeon (also spelled jjajangmyeon) is a Korean dish, derived from the Chinese dish zhajiang mian. It consists of wheat noodles topped with a thick sauce made of chunjang (a salty black soybean paste), diced meat and vegetables, and sometimes also seafood. Jajang (also spelled jjajang), name of the sauce, is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese characters, which literally means “fried sauce.” Myeon (also spelled myun) means “noodle.”

Noodles
Jajangmyeon uses thick noodles made from white wheat flour.

Sauce
The sauce is made with black bean paste, called chunjang, to which is added sauteed diced onion, zucchini, and ground meat (either beef or pork) or chopped seafood. When cooking the sauce, potato starch or cornstarch is typically added to give it a thick consistency and it is served hot over noodles. The paste, which is made from roasted soybeans, is called chunjang (literally “spring paste”) when unheated, while the heated sauce (containing vegetables and meat or seafood) is called jajang (literally “fried sauce”).

All Korean traditional non-alcoholic beverages are referred to as eumcheongnyu. According to historical documents regarding Korean cuisine, 193 items of eumcheongnyu are recorded. Eumcheongnyu can be divided into the following categories: cha (tea), tang (boiled water), jang (fermented grain juice with sour taste), suksu, galsu (thirst water), hwachae (fruit punch), sikhye (sweet rice drink), sujeonggwa (persimmon punch), milsu or kkulmul (honeyed water), jeup (juice) and milk by their ingredient materials and preparation methods. Among the varieties of eumcheongnyu, cha, hwachae, sikhye, and sujeonggwa are still widely favored and consumed; however, tang, jang, suksu, and galsu had almost disappeared by the end of the 20th century.

To produce doenjang, dried soybeans are boiled and stone-ground into not so fine bits. This paste is then formed into blocks, which are called meju. The blocks are then exposed to sunlight or warm place like a heated room to be dried and to be put the Bacillus subtillis in the air or in the dried rice plants during which soybeans initial fermentation process begins. The Bacillus subtillis reproduce consuming soybean protein and water in the meju,the soybean blocks.The Bacillus subtillis transformed into spores and endospores after finishing the fermentation periods in the meju.This produces an unpleasant ammonia smell during the fermentation. To speed up the fermentation,the meju are have to be placed in a warm,a humidity controlled,a ventilation controlled place. One,two or three months later, accordingly the block-size, the meju are put into large opaque pottery jars with brine and left to further ferment, during which time various beneficial bacteria transform the mixture into a further vitamin-enriched substance, similar to the way milk ferments to become yogurt. Liquids and solids are separated after the fermentation process, and the liquid becomes Korean soy sauce (Joseon ganjang). The solid, which is doenjang, is very salty and quite thick, often containing (unlike most miso) some whole, uncrushed soybeans.

While traditional homemade doenjang is made with soybeans and brine only, many factory-made variants of doenjang contain a fair amount of wheat flour just like most factory-made soy sauce does. Some current makers also add fermented, dried, and ground anchovies to intensify doenjang’s savor.

Banchan also spelled panchan, refers to small dishes of food served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. This word is used both in the singular and plural. The most famous banchan is kimchi.

Banchan are set in the middle of the table to be shared. At the center of the table is the main course, such as galbi or bulgogi, and sometimes a shared pot of stew. A bowl of cooked rice and soup are set individually. Banchan are served in small portions, meant to be finished at each meal. They can be replenished during the meal as they are finished. Usually, more formal meals have more banchan. The Jeolla province is famous for serving many more kinds of banchan in a single meal.

Doenjang (IPA: /tønʨaŋ/) is a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste. Its name literally means “thick paste” in Korean.

Doenjang can be eaten as a condiment in raw paste-form with vegetables, similar to the way some people dip celery into cheese, but it is more commonly mixed with garlic, sesame oil, and sometimes gochujang to produce ssamjang which is then traditionally eaten with or without rice wrapped in leaf vegetables such as Chinese cabbage. This dish is called ssambap. Like this, doenjang is basic sauce when Koreans eat samgyeopsal, which is one of the most popular meat dishes.

It can also be used as a component of soup broth, for example in a popular stew (jjigae) called doenjang jjigae which usually includes tofu, various vegetables such as chile peppers, zucchini and welsh onion, and (optionally) mushrooms, red meat, or scallops.

Vegetarian cookery in Korea may be linked to the Buddhist traditions that influenced Korean culture from the Goryeo dynasty onwards. There are hundreds of vegetarian restaurants in Korea although historically they have been local restaurants that are unknown to tourists. Most have buffets, with cold food, and vegetarian kimchi and tofu being the main features. Bibimbap is a common vegan dish. Menus change with seasons. De-alcoholized wine, and fine teas are also served. The Korean tea ceremony is suitable for all vegetarians and vegans, and began with Buddhist influences. All food is eaten with a combination of rather slippery stainless steel oval chopsticks and a long-handled shallow spoon called together sujeo.

Korean vegetarian restaurants also exist outside Korea, such as Manhattan’s Hangawi and Franchia and Chicago’s Amitabul.

Collectively known as kungjiung ǔmsik during the pre-modern era, the foods of the royal palace were reflective of the opulent nature of the past rulers of the Korean peninsula. The opulent nature of the royalty is evidenced in examples as far back as the Silla kingdom, where a man-made lake (Anapji Lake, located in Gyeongju) was created with multiple pavilions and halls for the sole purpose of opulent banquets and a spring fed channel, Poseokjeong, was created for the singular purpose of setting wine cups afloat while they wrote poems.

Reflecting the regionalism of the kingdoms and bordering countries of the peninsula, the cuisine borrowed portions from each of these areas to exist as a showcase. The royalty would have the finest regional specialties and delicacies sent to them at the palace. Although there are records of banquets pre-dating the Joseon period, the majorities of these records mostly reflect the vast variety of foods, but do not mention the specific foods presented. The meals cooked for the royal family did not reflect the seasons as the commoner’s meals would have. Instead their meals varied day-to-day with significant variations. Each of the eight provinces was represented each month in the royal palace by ingredients presented by their governors, which gave the cooks a wide assortment of ingredients to utilize for royal meals.

In Korea, unlike in China and Japan, the rice bowl is not lifted from the table when eating from it. This is due to the fact that each diner is given a metal spoon along with the chopsticks known collectively as sujeo (수저). The use of the spoon for eating rice and soups is expected. There are rules which reflect the decorum of sharing communal side-dishes; rules include not picking through the dishes for certain items while leaving others that the diner does not desire, the spoon being used should be clear of other food particles, and finally that one should not reach across the table for the side-dishes as they should request them to be passed. Diners should also cover their mouths with a hand when using a toothpick after the meal.

The table setup is important as well, and individuals’ place setting moving from the diner’s left should be as follows: rice bowl, spoon, and chopsticks. Hot foods are set to the right side of the table, with the cold foods to the left. Soup must remain on the right side of the diner along with stews. Vegetables remain on the left along with the rice, and kimchi is set to the back while sauces remain in the front.

Korean cuisine is largely based on rice, noodles, tofu, vegetables, and meats. Traditional Korean meals are noted for the number of side dishes (banchan) that accompany steam-cooked short-grain rice. Kimchi, a fermented, spicy vegetable dish is usually served at every meal. Korean cuisine usually involves rich seasoning with sesame oil, doenjang (fermented soybean paste), soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, and gochujang (red chili paste).

Ingredients and dishes vary by province. There are many significant regional dishes that have become both national and regional. Many dishes that were once regional, however, have proliferated in different variations across the country in the present day. The Korean royal court cuisine once brought all of the unique regional specialties together for the royal family. Meals consumed both by the royal family and ordinary Korean citizens have been regulated by a culture of etiquette that is unique to Korea.