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National cuisine of the DPRK. North Korean cuisine, dishes, recipes, history. National features of Korean cuisine

Kitchen North Korea- culinary traditions and cooking methods of the state of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (not to be confused with the Republic of Korea).

Traditional dishes

Bread

Soups

Main courses

Naengmyeon, which means Cold Noodles in Korean, is perhaps the most common food in Pyongyang, this dish has a strong cultural history, stories and songs are composed about it. Pyongyang cold noodles are made from buckwheat. It is black and served in a clear, cold broth and usually contains an egg, a few pieces of meat. Koreans wish long noodles long life or long years of marriage. Everyone at the wedding is treated to cold noodles, so saying “No noodles, thank you” would be very rude.

Most North Koreans are mildly obsessed with cabbage kimchi, and a spicy version of the dish is now on the United Nations cultural heritage list. North Korean kimchi usually comes with a lot more spices than South Korean kimchi.

The biggest cliché in Korean cuisine is dog meat. By the way Koreans don't call it dog meat, in North Korea it's called sweet meat. Dog meat is a delicacy in North Korea and people can afford it maybe once or twice a year. In most cases, tourists are offered dog soup. Usually it is very sharp, and it is actually quite difficult to make out the taste of meat. There are several restaurants specializing in dog meat in Pyongyang, the most popular dishes there are dog ribs and steak. By the way, in North Korea, the culture of keeping dogs as pets is guard dogs and there are farm dogs. And another question that often arouses interest - What breed of dog do Koreans eat? Koreans eat dogs specially bred for this breed - Nureongi.

Salads and appetizers

desserts

The drinks

Alcohol

In 2000, North Korea imported an entire brewery from Ushers of Trowbridge (UK) to the capital to make Taedonggang, the country's most popular beer right now. Back then, it was all for the sole purpose of publicly declaring that North Korean beer is better than South Korean beer...and now it actually is. True, this is more likely not a merit of the North Koreans, but a defect of the southerners, their beer is of a painfully poor quality. Let's go back to Taedongan, named after the river that runs through Pyongyang. North Korea has a special beer economy - men get beer vouchers every month. However, those who refuse beer will be given more food - so that's enough Difficult choice. Other than that, if you want to drink beer you can go to a trendy bar and buy a pint there for two or three dollars, or go to a more proletarian place and get it for a voucher or for money - about 25 cents.

Another very popular drink in North Korean cuisine is soju. A fairly cheap drink with an alcohol content of 20-40 degrees. Soju is more popular in Pyongyang, while even cheaper makgeolli predominates in the countryside. In North Korea, it is customary for a person who is late for lunch or dinner to pour three shots of soju.

North Korean Cuisine Traditions not very different from their South Korean "relatives".

A characteristic feature of the national cuisine of North Korea has become, of course, unprecedented simplicity - Koreans simply mix everything in a row, using literally any products and the most conventional ways processing. However, of course, there are differences between the traditions of each region, and this, in principle, is quite explainable by different climatic and natural conditions, as well as the influence of the peoples of the countries bordering the DPRK.

Recipes North Korean cuisine. Dishes for the holidays. National New Year's recipes.

First meal:

Main dishes:

The main local cuisine is rice in all its forms and methods of preparation. At the same time, the role of this cereal is so great in Korea that in almost all establishments there are simply no other dishes, except for using rice. The most popular dishes are ordinary boiled rice without salt, unleavened rice porridge called “pap”, rice chops, rice cakes (“chahltok” or otherwise “tteok”), “bibimbap” pilaf prepared according to a special recipe, “cook” soup , which is served with ordinary boiled rice, vegetable sandwiches, rice or omelet called "kimbap", red pepper paste with rice and cold vegetables and many other types of rice - sour, simple, sweet, tart with a huge variety of additives, spices and fillers.

There are also snacks, represented by a fairly large variety, and even quite often they differ in brighter taste compared to the main dishes. When setting the table, Koreans arrange small plates of snacks around the rice dish, and during the meal, various snacks are mixed directly to the taste of the diner.

A popular snack in North Korea is sauerkraut or pickled cabbage called kimchi. Despite the fact that at first glance, the method of preparing this snack is quite simple, in reality it has a lot of options. For example, "kimchi" with carrots, radishes and various other vegetables is also sometimes added with edible herbs and garlic, onions and peppers, and even fruits.

And for special gourmets - salted clams. The Koreans themselves say that there are more than 500 variants of kimchi.

Of course, do not forget about the famous " Korean carrots", so popular with us. Like kimchi, this snack has many recipes - more than two hundred. In addition to these snacks, various types of mushrooms and the traditional “he” dish, made from meat, vegetables, seafood or fish marinated in vinegar or salted or in soy sauce, are also widely used.

A fairly important place in the daily diet of the people of the DPRK is occupied by various soups, and any Korean meal necessarily begins with broths. The most interesting thing is that the meat that was used to cook it is usually served as a second course.

As for drinks, various decoctions of herbs, barley and rice, as well as mineral and ordinary water, are traditional for Koreans. By the way, they don’t drink them at the table, they usually drink alcohol during dinners, of which there are quite a lot here. National cuisine North Korea is very peculiar but at the same time delicious.

The cuisine of North Korea practically does not differ from South Korean cuisine, and is a reflection of gastronomic elements. neighboring countries.

National cuisine of North Korea

Rice occupies a central place in Korean cooking: it is cooked crumbly, viscous and liquid, and other products can be added to it during cooking. In addition to rice, legumes (soybeans, mung beans, adzyki beans) have become widespread in North Korea. So, soy is useful for making tofu cheese, its sprouts are often fried in oil, and fermented seasonings and various sauces are prepared on the basis of soy milk. It is worth noting that panchang is often served with rice and second courses - variety of salads and snacks in small plates (mostly salted, boiled, pickled or fried vegetables with spices).

Not a single meal is complete without putting kimchi on the table (their basis is pickled cabbage): kimchi comes with garlic, onions, peppers, edible herbs, radishes, fruits and even salted shellfish. To give a special taste to some unleavened dishes, in North Korea they are supplemented with soy sauce or meat broth based on spices, herbs, herbs and vegetables.

Popular Korean dishes:

“kuksu” (a dish in the form of cold noodles made from buckwheat flour, seasoned with a broth based on meat, vegetables and herbs);
“hamul-than” (spicy soup with seafood);
“luotal” (soup with meat and rice);
“khwe” (a dish of meat marinated in soy sauce or vinegar, with vegetables, fish or seafood);
“kadi-cha” (eggplant-based salad);
“tothorimuk” (acorn jelly).

Where to try Korean food?

When you go to a local restaurant, you can be sure that you will be served something of a set meal - i.e. in addition to the main dish, soup, rice and kimchi will be on your table.

Tips are common everywhere, although they are not officially encouraged, but if you wish, you can thank the attendants with a small cash reward (5-10% of the bill).

In Pyongyang, to satisfy your hunger, you can visit the National restaurant, where guests are treated to Korean dishes and local beer (the entertainment program is represented by evening performances of traditional music groups).

Cooking courses in North Korea

You will be offered to start your gastronomic journey through North Korea with a visit to restaurants in Pyongyang - for those who wish, they conduct master classes in cooking Korean dishes, followed by an independent repetition of the actions of the chef and tasting cooked in a friendly company.

For visiting North Korea, you can find such an exciting occasion as taking part in the Culinary Arts Festival (April, Pyongyang).

In the 1970s, the North Korean government set out to expand relations with other countries. At this time, the first tourists began to enter Pyongyang, and North Korean goods and establishments began to appear abroad. One of such "exit" attractions was the restaurants of traditional Korean cuisine, which were opened in Russia and Europe. There are two official establishments in Moscow that are supervised by the embassy of the DPRK - the Koryo and Rynrado restaurants.

Features of North Korean cuisine

The cuisine in the North and South of the peninsula does not fundamentally differ, so there is no need to talk about the features of North Korean dishes. Like South Korean ones, they are distinguished by their sharpness and abundance of spices, they are represented by vegetables, meat, fish and seafood. It should be noted right away that there is no traditional exotic dog meat in restaurants. From meat, mainly chicken and beef.

At the same time, it should be taken into account that when Koreans say that their food is spicy, this most often means that it will be very difficult for Russians to eat it. If you do not like hot food, it is better to immediately ask the waitress to reduce the amount of spices.

North Korean beer "Taedongan" enjoys a good reputation even abroad. However, it is not always possible to try it in restaurants - most often guests are offered Czech, German and Russian drinks. In general, it is unlikely that you will be able to try traditional alcohol or soft drinks. Visitors have to be content with the usual tea, juices, soda and alcohol to choose from.

Eat in restaurants with chopsticks and spoons, depending on the dish. The variety of treats is large - up to two hundred items. At the same time, the portions are quite voluminous, so many visitors recommend not ordering many dishes at once or dividing them into a company. The disadvantages of the menu include little choice desserts - offer only three options that are made from sweet beans and sesame seeds.

In addition to traditional cuisine, European dishes are also offered, but, judging by the reviews on the network, they are ordered infrequently.

Staff and service

In both restaurants, the waitresses are young and attractive North Korean women who don't speak Russian very well. However, it is not so bad as not to find a common language with visitors. One of the assumptions why well-speaking people are not hired is “prevention” from conversations on unwanted topics. At the same time, it is believed that the waitresses at home were educated in the service sector and earned a good reputation. Under other circumstances, they would not have been released abroad.

There is also a theory about beauty: the tenderness of girls and their embarrassment due to the incorrect pronunciation of words should contrast with the image of the DPRK in the world. Everyone is accustomed to the drill step and military uniform, but in reality they are faced with meek and attractive Korean women.

True, visitors often note that waitresses are reluctant to make contact, smile a little and keep aloof. However, what some visitors perceive as unfriendly, others regard as unobtrusive. Previously, groups of musicians and dancers often performed in North Korean restaurants, but this is no longer practiced in Koryo and Rynrado. You can order a performance separately and in advance - for example, for a banquet. Representatives of restaurants explain this by the fact that Russian visitors much more than Asians like to relax in a calm and quiet environment.

However, for those who want to have fun, Koryo has a karaoke room - one of the favorite leisure activities in North Korea.

Restaurant furnishings

There is no need to say that North Korean establishments are made in the usual, deliberately Asian style. Rather, they resemble Russian middle-class cafes - and maybe even canteens. However, thanks to this, not just a Korean, but a North Korean mood appears in the establishments. The walls are decorated with landscapes made in the traditional style, national interior items and even a hanger with folk costumes - Josonots (as hanboks are called in North Korea).

Korean channels are shown on TV in the restaurant - most often you can get to news releases, concerts or performances by North Korean artists. The interior is also decorated with the colors of the national flag - in red-white-blue, for example, the bar in the center of the hall is painted. I would also like to say more about the names. "Koryeo" is the name of Korea, which was used in the country until the early 14th century. And the DPRK authorities usually use this word when they talk about the unification of North and South Korea.

The name "Rynrado" comes from an island on the Taedong River, which flows in Pyongyang. It is considered a symbol of the modernity of the DPRK - for example, it houses the world's largest May Day stadium.

And if visitors are especially lucky, they can get a free copy of the legendary Korea magazine in Russian.

National dish - Yakpab

Koreans, eating mainly boiled rice (pub - porridge), diversified the pub by preparing it with other materials.

The most famous is the yakbub.

Yakbap is made by mixing boiled glutinous rice with honey, sesame oil, chestnuts, jujubes and pine nuts and steaming it again. This porridge was called yakpab (healing porridge) or yaksik (healing food). Honey was usually called “yak”, so porridge cooked with honey was also “yakbap”.

In Korea, yakbap has been made for a long time.

According to legend, in 488 (during the reign of King Sozhi of the State of Silla), glutinous rice porridge was prepared for sacrifice, and in the verses placed in the book "Mokyunzhib", published in the 14th century, there are words about "glutinous rice porridge with honey , jujubes and sesame oil.

During the Three Kingdoms Period (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), a method of making yakbap developed.

The name "yakbap" first appeared in the records of the Joseon period of the feudal dynasty (1392 - 1910) as a dish prepared on the day of the Great Full Moon (15th day of the 1st month in lunar calendar). The books Gyuhapcheongseo and Ryolyan seshigi contain detailed descriptions of how to prepare yakbap.

Yakbap was also called hyangbap (fragrant porridge) for its pleasant aroma, michhan (beautiful porridge) or japkwabang (porridge with berries).

People from neighboring countries marveled at the special taste of Korean yakbap and called it "Koryo porridge".

The Korean envoy in Beijing ordered the chef to prepare yakbap for the day of the Great Full Moon. The officials of the Qing state really liked this delicious dish.

Yakbap is prepared with the addition different types healthy food, so this highly nutritious food has a healing effect.

Yakbub, being one of the dishes of the national cuisine of Korea, is served on the table for holidays or family celebrations.

New Year's dish - soup with tteok dumplings

Since ancient times, Koreans have been preparing various traditional national dishes on the New Year's holiday according to the lunar calendar. Of the many New Year's dishes, housewives put a lot of effort into making tteok dumpling soup.

Tteok dumpling soup is a broth with finely chopped pieces of white carettek.

On the lunar New Year holiday, Koreans considered it a custom to eat soup with tteok dumplings and treat them to guests and relatives who visited them to congratulate them on the holiday.

This soup was also called "cheomsebyon", as according to custom it was eaten on every New Year's holiday and became a year older.

Koreans loved the delicious tteok dumpling soup, which is easy to digest and absorb, and has a high nutritional value.

Below is the way to prepare it:

One serving requires 153 g of rice, 100 g of pheasant or chicken, half an egg, 3 g of dried porphyry, 10 g of green onions, 3 g of garlic, 2 g of salt, 5 g of soy sauce, 0.5 g of sesame, 2 g of sesame oil , 0.3 g mannegi, 0.5 g black pepper.

Soak the washed rice for 4-5 hours cold water, drain and dry. Grind the dried rice, sift its flour through a sieve and, mixing with salt and boiling water, make custard dough. Having molded certain pieces from it, steam for 40 minutes, then 10 minutes on low heat. With the help of a machine, make the dough in the form of a sausage with a diameter of 3 cm, cut it into pieces 0.3 cm thick in the form of tree leaves and freeze.

Boil peeled pheasant or chicken and cut into large pieces, and make broth from their bones. Cut the onion into a length of 5 cm, and crush the garlic. Roast dried porphyry, brushed with sesame oil and salt, and crumble. After stirring the beaten egg with water and salt, fry in a hot frying pan and chop finely.

Dip frozen pieces of tteok in water and boil for 2 minutes in boiling broth. When boiled for a long time, they become too sticky, and the soup loses its original taste. Keeping the exact time is one way to make delicious soup.

When the pieces of tteok are cooked and float, the dumpling soup is ready. Put it in a bowl, put pheasant or chicken and chopped egg, pour onion, garlic, crushed dried purple, sesame, black pepper and serve.

In addition, there are choranyitteokguk and santteokguk.

The methods for preparing them are as follows.

Boil pieces of white tteok cut in the form of a mulberry cocoon in the broth, put a meat garnish and finely chopped egg cooked like this choranyitteokguk on the table.

Make custard dough out of rice flour, mold into flat pieces, boil them in water in which clams are boiled, serve santteokguk cooked like this.

Famous Pyongyang dish - Onban

Since ancient times, Pyongyang has been widely known national dishes. Among them is Pyongyang onban (boiled rice diluted with broth), which, along with guksu (Korean noodles) in cold broth, mullet soup and mung bean pancake, is famous as one of the 4 Pyongyang dishes.

Onban, distinguished by its high nutritional value and original taste, originated from the custom of an ancient time, when rice and soup were considered daily main dishes.

Pyongyang onban is a kind of rice soup. For its preparation, white rice, mung bean pancake, chicken, mushrooms and various seasonings and spices are used.

Over time, the products and methods of its preparation have varied.

Nowadays, Pyongyang onban is not only a delicious and highly nutritious dish, but also a wedding and festive dish. It can now be tasted in many Pyongyang canteens, in particular, in the Onban restaurant on Kumson Street.