K-BAP the Eighth.

           Annyeong, K-BAP followers! It is good to see you again for this week too. Oh, did you find anything weird? It’s the first word used to start this post, ‘Annyeong’. As some of you might expect, it is Korean word for ‘hello’. As a Korean food blog’s publisher, targeting people who are interested in Korean culture, I’m going to use some Korean expressions for the posts from this week.  By the way, I haven’t told you about the main topic of this week. K-BAP the Eighth is the first post of new series, ‘Kinds of Gook’.

           In the third K-recipe, ‘Kimchi-Jjigae with ham’ was the main menu. It is a kind of Korean ‘Gook’ cooked with kimchi and ham. As I stated in the last post, Jjigae is one of the kinds of ‘Gook’. You might wonder about the difference between Jjigae and Gook. Thus, I’m going to give you the difference between those two menus as the first post of series.

           At first, you have to understand what the Jjigae is. I’ve told you that Jjigae is one of the kinds of Gook for your easier understanding. However, specifically, Jjigae is not one of the kinds of Gook. Jjigae is the think soup cooked with chopped meats, fishes, vegetables, tofu, and etc. through seasoning with Gan-jang, Doen-jang, Gochu-jang or pickled seafood. All the ingredients are not necessary for all Jjigae. You can choose your own ingredients and seasoning for Jjigae. Because Jjigae is relatively free from the selection of main ingredients, there are unaccountable kinds of Jjigae in Korean food culture. Furthermore, the methods to cook those kinds of Jjigae are unaccountable, also. Followings are the famous menus of Jjigae; ‘Kimchi-Jjigae’, ‘Doenjang-Jjigae’, ‘Gochujang-Jjigae’, ‘Beef-Jjigae’, and ‘Egg-Jjigae’.

           With the explanation about Jjigae that I stated above, you might not get the difference from Gook. The most distinct difference between Gook and Jjigae is the amount of water being used to cook those menus. Jjigae needs more solid ingredients and less water for thicker taste than Gook. If you see Korean soup with less water, it might be Jjigae. Cooking utensils for cooking Jjigae is different from Gook, also. If the chosen menu is Gook, or Jjigae that needs more water, we use ordinary pot. On the other hand, if the chosen Jjigae needs less water, we use Ttukbaegi, which is Korean earthen pot.

           In Korean food culture, soups are very important. Jjigae and Gook are the most basic kinds of them. If you try a meal with Jjigae or Gook, you might understand why those menus are very important in Korean food culture.