February 2012/Prepared Foods -- Korean cuisine (typically referring to South Korean cuisine) is characterized by regional specialties and distinctive styles. The local variations reflect historical boundaries of the provinces from which these foods and culinary traditions originated.
Ingredients and dishes vary by province, and throughout the years, many have tended to overlap and integrate. This integration is why many regional dishes are now national. Other dishes that were once regional have proliferated into customized variations across the country.
Korean food stands out from other cuisines with the many side dishes, or banchan, which are served during meals. The number of these can range anywhere from two to a dozen or more. Everyday meals always feature at least a few.
Koreans perfected the art of preserving food over thousands of years, so many of their most common side dishes rely on fermentation, pickling or salting for flavor and preservation, to produce a tangy, salty and spicy taste. One of the most notable of these is kimchi, Korea’s famous spicy cabbage. There are hundreds of varieties of kimchi, each featuring different combinations of vegetables. It can be served with any meal at any time.