Dog's Meat, Pickles & Big Catsup Soup

The Korean non-stale foods are diversified. They like eating fish, beef, chicken, and dog's meat, but seldom eat ducks, geese, mutton or any other greasy food. They especially have a liking for dog's meat and soup of dog's meat. Dog's meat can help driving away the heat and preventing heat exhaustion, and build up one's health. Nevertheless, there is taboo when eating dog's meat, that is, one should not kill dogs nor eat dog's meat at festivals, weddings and funerals or house removes.

Pickled vegetable is the most characteristic Korean dish with traditional flavor. It is a must for every family and eaten at every meal. There are various kinds of pickled vegetable. Generally it can be classified into over-wintering pickles and those can be pickled and eaten at any time in spring, summer or autumn. They are mostly pickled cabbage, pickled radish, pickled cucumber etc., among which the piccalilli made from celery cabbage in winter is the most popular. 

Winter pickled vegetable is made from cabbage, salt, capsicum powder, garlic, ginger, fruit, spicery, fresh choice seafood such as dried, unshelled shrimps, dried scallop, oyster, walleye Pollack etc., and is pickled around the Beginning of Winter of Chinese traditional calendar every year. The methods of making it vary according to different places and people. The usual way is like this: first peel off the outer leaves of cabbage, wash it clean and soak it in brine for two or three days. Take it out, wash it with clean water, and drip the water. Then break off the leaves of cabbage one by one with fingers and thumb, and lay on the cabbage the flavoring in stuffing shape mixed by capsicum powder, mashed garlic, ginger powder, salt, sugar, and monosodium glutamate and so on. Finally, put the cabbage into vats, cover the vats closely, store them in a cellar or cool place, and let it ferment gradually. In half a month or so, it is ready to be eaten. When having it, chop it into sects, put them in a plate in red and white alternatively. It looks nice and tastes delicious, with a sour, pungent and sweet flavor that is dainty and stimulates the appetite.

The soup is an indispensable food in the everyday life of the Korean nationality. They usually have soup both at breakfast and supper. There is also many a kind of soup. But the most popular and most frequently drunk kind is big catsup soup, which is often made from big catsup, vegetable, edible seaweed, shallot, garlic and so on together with clean water. Sometimes, it is also made from meat or fish of various kinds. Hot soup is served in winter, while cool soup is prepared in summer. The big catsup soup is not only tasty, but also whets the appetite and invigorates the function o f the spleen, which is good for the health.

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