Oksusu cha (literally “corn tea”) is a traditional Korean tisane made from boiled roasted corn kernels. It contains no tea leaves.

To prepare oksusu cha, corn kernels are thoroughly dried and then roasted until they turn golden brown or brown. Then the roasted corn is brewed with boiling water until the drink’s color turns a pale yellow. The tea is then strained and the boiled corn discarded. Although the drink is naturally sweet, sugar may be added to oksusu cha if a sweeter flavor is desired.

The variety of corn most often used is called Gang-naeng-i, which is usually grown in the area of Gangneung, a city in the Gangwon province on South Korea’s eastern coast, thus making this drink particularly popular in that region. Corn tea is very simple to prepare from scratch by roasted fresh corn kernels in the oven, then steeping them in boiling water for several minutes, but it is also available in prepared tea bags.

Oksusu cha is often combined with bori cha (roasted barley tea), as the corn’s sweetness offsets the slightly bitter flavor of the barley.

You can find authentic Korean Tea on many Korean Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Roasted barley tea is a tisane made from roasted barley, which is popular in Japanese and Korean cuisine. It is also used as a caffeine-free coffee substitute in American cuisine. Barley water is a popular traditional soft drink in Britain and a similar drink, aguas frescas is frequently sold by street vendors in Mexico.

Roasted barley tea is called mugicha in Japanese, and boricha in Korean. While the tea is generally regarded as a cooling summer beverage in Japan, it is served year-round, hot in winter and cold in summer, in Korea. Originally, roasted barley seeds were stewed in hot water (this is still the method generally used in Korea), but tea bags containing ground barley became more popular during the early 1980s; this is now the norm in Japan. It can be found from many different distributors in vending machines all over Japan.

In Korea, roasted unhulled barley is used to prepare the tea. Often the barley is combined with oksusu cha (roasted corn infusion), as the corn’s sweetness offsets the slightly bitter flavor of the barley. A similar drink, made from roasted brown rice, is called hyeonmi cha.

Roasted barley tea, sold in ground form and sometimes combined with chicory or other ingredients, is also sold as a coffee substitute.

You can find authentic Korean Tea on many Korean Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Korean tea refers to various types of tisane that can be served hot or cold. Not necessarily related to “common” tea, they are made from diverse substances including fruits, leaves, roots, and grains used in traditional Korean medicine.

Following are some of the types of Korean Tea made from fruits

Sujeonggwa is a Korean traditional fruit punch. It is made from dried persimmons, cinnamon, and ginger, and is often garnished with pine nuts. The flavor of sujeonggwa is mildly hot and spicy, and at the same time sweet. It is served cold, often in a punch bowl, and is dark reddish brown in color.Sujeonggwa is usually served at special occasions such as weddings. It is also widely available in canned form. It is usually consumed as a dessert, much like sikhye.

Yujacha (also spelled yuja cha) is a Korean traditional tea made from thinly sliced with its peel and combined with honey or sugar. A tablespoon of yucheong thick syrup-like stirred into a cup of usually hot water makes a beverage. The color is yellow and its form looks like marmalade. The yuja fruit itself is flavorful while it has a sour and bitter taste at the same time, so Korean people make it preserved and sweetened for making tea. Yujacha can either be made at home or purchased in glass jars. Yujacha is used as a herbal remedy for the common cold and similar winter illnesses.

Kugija cha – made from dried wolfberries
Daechucha – made from jujubes
Omija cha : Tea made from dried fruits of Schisandra chinensis. Omija cha is named because the tea comprises five distinct flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and pungent.
Maesil cha : green fruits of a maesil and sugar is added to water, and then fermented for a month or so. Be careful not to produce alcohol.
Mogwa cha – the fruit of a Pseudocydonia, or Chinese quince, is sliced, and then it is stored and fermented in large bowl with sugar and water for a month or so. Take care that the mixture does not become alcoholic. Sometimes, small red ants are added to improve flavor and enhance fermentation.
Sansu-yu cha – made from a fruit of Cornus officinalis, which is a variety of dogwood.
Taengja cha – the fruit of the trifoliate orange and sugar are added with water and allowed to ferment for a month or so.
Sanguyu cha – made from Korean Dogwood

You can find authentic Korean Tea on many Korean Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Korean tea refers to various types of tisane that can be served hot or cold. Not necessarily related to “common” tea, they are made from diverse substances including fruits, leaves, roots, and grains used in traditional Korean medicine.

Following are some of the types of Korean Tea made from roots

Insam cha is a tea made from ginseng, which can be an undried ginseng, a dried ginseng or a red steamed ginseng. The sliced or whole ginseng is gently boiled for a few hours in water, and then honey or sugar is added for taste. Usually, water 500 mℓ and ginseng 50 g is usual preparation for Insam Cha. Sometimes, jujube can be added when boiled. Insam cha is good for increasing energy, especially or someone who catches colds frequently in winter. It also has a remedial effect on stomachache due to low body temperature. But, this tea should not be consumed by someone who has a high body temperature or high blood pressure.

Danggwi cha is a tea made from boiling the dried root of Korean angelica or an angelica gigas. The dried root of Korean angelica is gently boiled in water for a few hours. Sometimes, ginger root can be added for preference when boiled. Korean angelica is often called ginseng for woman. Thus, it is good for (white) leucorrhoea and postpartum care. If consumed for a long time, it can remedy cold fingers or toes. But, it should not be used for someone who has diarrhea.

Saenggang cha is a tea made from ginger root. The ginger root is washed and sliced without peeling. The sliced ginger root is stored with honey for a few weeks. To make tea the mixed honey and ginger root is added to hot water. Saenggang Cha is usually used to prevent colds and to aid digestion. It also has a remedial effect on diarrhea and stomachache due to low body temperature. It helps someone who has a low body temperature due to bad circulation. However, this tea should not be consumed by anyone who has a gastric ulcer.

You can find authentic Korean Tea on many Korean Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Koreans eat a medium-grain “sticky” rice (as distinguished from long-grain and short-grain, or glutinous, varieties) which is also common in Japan. Rice is sometimes mixed with barley or soybeans for flavor and nutrition. Unlike the crops grown in Korea’s tropical neighbors to the south, these grains and rices are more amenable to the colder weather, longer days, and shorter growing season of Korea. Both grain and rice are often made into noodles, which play a central role in Korean cooking. Soups, which come in a wondrous variety, are often noodle-based, and buckwheat noodles are distinctively local.

Much Korean cooking is done in a clay stewing pot known as a tukbaege. These produce gorgeous casseroles and stews that might combine fish or meat with potatoes (sweet and white), eggplant, seaweed, fiddleheads, or tofu. Street carts and restaurants all over Korea serve up pancakes made on a griddle and fritters made from scallions, oysters, buckwheat, meat, and most anything else. The wok, too, is common.

At dinner time, a Korean family sits on the floor around a low table. A meal is built around a mound of plain, steamed rice, which is eaten with thin chopsticks. A grilled or stir-fried main course is supplemented by a soup and perhaps a salad, along with an array of sauces, pickles, and other condiments. Kimchi is the most famous of these. Kimchi is the name given to any one of hundreds of spicy pickles. It is a part of nearly every meal, and its production is an ancient and revered art. The most famous kind of kimchi is made with napa cabbage, but Koreans make it from radishes, fish, squid, cucumber, eggplant, radish greens, fruit — the list could go on and on. The vegetables or fish is pickled in a mixture that may include, among other things, coarse salt, chile, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, and water. The whole is sealed into an earthenware pot or jar to ferment until ready to eat. Korean food is often extremely spicy, for in the 16th century, Korean cooks were seduced by the chile, which the Portuguese introduced.

Find authentic Korean rice in many Korean restaurants in Los Angeles.

If Americans know anything about Korea, it is that it’s bisected by the 38th parallel, it contains the city of Seoul, and that, judging from M*A*S*H, the whole country looks a lot like southern California. But there is more to this beautiful country, and its cuisine is not the least of its charms. Descended from Mongolians, Koreans were governed by imperial dynasties on a feudal system since before the Common Era. And despite persistent troubles with Japan, Korea remained independent until 1910, when it became a Japanese protectorate. As a result, Korean cooking has a distinct national identity that, in its contemporary, form combines dishes and techniques from both peasant diets and royal palace foods.

Korea is surrounded on four sides by water — so, beside rice, seafood is the staple food. The markets overflow with fish, shrimp, crabs, clams, oysters, squid, and octopus, which are eaten dried, pickled, crushed into paste or sauce, stewed, steamed, and grilled. Fish is even stirred into a common breakfast porridge. As in Japan, rice, pickles and fish are the basis of the diet. Food is flavored with various combination of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, dried anchovies and one of the many delicious spice pastes (changs or jangs) that Koreans build from a base of fermented soy beans. dejan paste, fermented soybean paste, and gochu Jang, a hot, fermented chile paste are much like Japanese miso. Koreans also eat meat; northerners eat more pork, while southerners prefer beef, and the cooks are unafraid to mix meat, fish, chicken, and pork. Anything goes.

Jatjuk or jaht jook is a variety of juk, or Korean
porridge, made by boiling finely ground pine nuts and rice flour or
soaked rice in water. It is seasoned with salt and garnished with pine
nuts and sliced jujube. The dish has been regarded as a quality food
in Korea because of its rich and creamy taste, nutritiousness and easy
digestibility. It is not a staple of the Korean diet, as pine nuts are
expensive and not readily available, so jatjuk used to be served as a
special treat for breakfast, as a supplement for someone who is ill or
elderly, or as a snack.

Bibimbap is a popular Korean dish. The word literally means “mixed meal.” Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot.

Vegetables commonly used in bibimbap include julienned cucumber, zucchini, mu (daikon), mushrooms, doraji (bellflower root), and gim, as well as spinach, soybean sprouts, and gosari (bracken fern stems). Dubu (tofu), either plain or sautéed, or a leaf of lettuce may be added, or chicken or seafood may be substituted for beef. For visual appeal, the vegetables are often placed so that adjacent colors complement each other.

A variation of this dish, dolsot bibimbap , is served in a very hot stone bowl in which a raw egg is cooked against the sides of the bowl. The bowl is so hot that anything that touches it sizzles for minutes. Before the rice is placed in the bowl, the bottom of the bowl is coated with sesame oil, making the layer of the rice touching the bowl golden brown and crispy.

The city of Jeonju, the capital of the North Jeolla Province of South Korea (located about two and a half hours’ drive south of Seoul), is famous throughout the nation for its version of bibimbap, said to be based on a royal court dish.

Bibimbap is first mentioned in the Siuijeonseo, an anonymous cookbook from the late 19th century. There its name is given as(bubuimbap). In Korean households, bibimbap is frequently prepared from steamed rice, vegetables, and meat.
As one of the most representative items of Korean cuisine, and because of its convenience of preparation, since the late 20th century bibimbap has been served as an airline meal on various airlines connecting to South Korea, including not only Korea-based airlines but also foreign airlines such as Lufthansa.

A further variation of bibimbap, called hoedeopbap uses a variety of raw fish, such as tilapia, salmon, or tuna. The term hoe in the word means raw fish. The dish is popular along the coasts of Korea where fish are abundant.

While soju is the best known liquor, there are well over 100 different alcoholic beverages such as beers, rice and fruit wines, and liquors produced in South Korea. The top-selling domestic beers (the Korean term for beer being maekju) are lagers, similar to others found in Europe and Asia. The South Korean beer market is dominated by the three major brands: Cass, Hite, and OB. Taedonggang is a North Korean beer which is based in Pyongyang since 2002. Microbrewery beers and bars are growing in popularity after 2002.

Soju is a clear spirit which was originally made from grain especially rice, and is now also made from sweet potatoes or barley. Soju made from grain is considered superior (as is also the case with grain vs. potato vodka). Soju is around 22% ABV and is a favorite beverage of hard-up college students, hard-drinking businessmen, and blue-collar workers.

Yakju is a refined pure liquor fermented from rice, with the best known being cheongju. Takju is a thick unrefined liquor made with grains, with the best known being makgeolli , a white, milky rice wine traditionally drunk by farmers.

In addition to the rice wine, various fruit wines and herbal wines exist in Korean cuisine. Acacia, maesil plum, Chinese quince, cherry, pine fruits, and pomegranate are most popular. Majuang wine (a blended wine of Korean grapes with French or American wines) and ginseng-based wines are also available.

Samgyetang (Korean pronunciation:  is a variety of guk or Korean soup, whose main ingredients are a whole young chicken and Korean ginseng. The dish’s name literally means “ginseng chicken soup”, so sometimes is called as such in English. Samgyetang is traditionally served in the summer for its supposed nutrients, which replaces those lost through excessive sweating and physical exertion during the hot summers in Korea.

For making samgyetang, a whole young chicken is stuffed with glutinous rice and boiled in a broth of Korean ginseng, dried seeded jujube fruits, garlic, and ginger. Depending on the recipe, other medicinal herbs such as wolfberry (gugija), Codonopsis pilosula (dangsam), and Angelica sinensis (danggwi) may also be added.

Like chicken soup, which is thought to help common sicknesses in the West, samgyetang is held in Korea to be not only a cure for physical ailments but a preventer of sickness. Proteins, minerals, and hormones from the whole chicken mixed with the beneficial properties of the ingredients combined in the dish makes it a revered culinary item in South Korea. Only whole uncut ingredients are used for the dish, as they are believed to preserve the maximum amount of nutrients.

Many Koreans enjoy it on three specific days in summer: “Chobok,” “Jungbok,” and “Malbok,” which Koreans believe to be the hottest and most sultry of the year.

Specialty restaurants common in Korea serve nothing but samgyetang, having gained local popularity through their special recipe for the dish which are often kept secret. The dish is usually accompanied by side dishes and, in some restaurants, a small complimentary bottle of insamju (ginseng wine) is included.