The great leader Comrade
"The foods of Korea have a unique taste that is impossible to find in any of other nations."
It is of great significance to encourage and develop the traditional Korean food created by our ancestors through a long historical course in improving our people's diet and preserving the Juche character and national character. Korean dishes reflect the national characteristics of the Korean people including their appetites and tastes. Many of our Korean dishes are famous for their unique taste, scent, formative influence, color and also their high pharmacological value.
On March 6, Juche 74(1985) the great leader gave a "special lecture" on Korean food at a dining table with some officials.
The great leader started the lecture making them feel the true delicacies of Korean dishes, lively saying that Korean dishes are not rich in oil, nor greasy, insipid, but fresh, tasty, delicious-looking, nutty and pleasant to people.
Saying that one reason why Korean dishes are particularly tasty is that the ingredients are good, the great General added that our country has four distinguishable seasons, proper rains, warm temperatures and rich soil, so that food materials such as grain, vegetables, wild edible herbs and fruit grow well.
Saying that the Korean dishes also taste good, because they are developed and seasoned with different kinds of seasonings, the great General referred to the seasonings one by one.
The main spices in Korean food feature soy sauce, bean paste, chilli paste and salt.
That is, the basic taste of any food depends on how to use spices.
In the sauces of Korean foods, there are also irritating and fragrant ones such as leek, chilli, garlic, ginger, white pepper and mustard, savory ones such as sesame and sesame oil and such sweets as honey and liquid taffy.
In particular, our country has a variety of spices which add to the flavor of food. We use vinegared soy and pickles soy for oily foods such as fry or slices of boiled beef, vinegared red pepper paste and mustard soy for sliced raw fish and sesame oil and salt paste for minced raw beef.
In fact, although Chinese food is famous in the world, it is too greasy, and although Japanese food is neat, it is too sweet.
And swallow-nest dishes, fish-fins etc. are curious by their distinctive names, but in fact, their taste is not unusual.
Saying that Korean food is beautiful in color and shape, the great General continued the "special lecture".
Before eating food, people see it first with their eyes, and the Korean food is beautiful in color, colorful and beautiful in shape, so it is already attractive to the people.
The Korean dish is red with omija(a sort of five-taste nut or fruit of Schizandra chinensis), jujubes and chillies, yellow with red pine pollen and egg yolk, blue with mugwort and blue beans, black with black sesame, boletus(or rock mushroom) and black soybeans.
Gingko nuts, pine nuts, walnuts, jujubes and chestnuts also make the food appealing.
The great General said that Korean dishes are fully supported by scientific accuracy in making them.
From earlier ages our people applied physical methods such as boiling, cooking, baking and frying and used chemical methods of digesting and fermenting like kimchi, steam cakes, fermented fish and bean curd.
Not only does this give the best taste of food, but it also has the pharmacological effect of promoting people's health and preventing or healing diseases.
Saying that the superiority of Korean food can also be explained by its high cultural and hygienic service, the great General said that cold, spicy or irritable foods in the Korean style can be found in small bowls and flavorless and low irritating dishes can be found in large bowls so that the contents and characteristics of dishes can be displayed by the bowls. He added that the containers of Korean foods are usually covered with lid, which preserves the temperature and fragrance of the food and prevents pollution by the outside environment.
Officials were deeply impressed by the broad and deep insight of the great General.
The great General asked them if there was anybody who had ever cooked rice and told them about the scientific principle of cooking rice, saying that they should not regard it as inconsequential even though they have ever cooked rice several times.
In order to make good boiled rice, the great General said: one should not only wash the rice but also swell it up slightly and make the rice boil first over a strong fire, and then heat in the low flame so that it should be softened, and then slightly heat for a short time, and then the lids should never be opened; only then, the loss of nourishment can be prevented, its tenderness can be preserved, and it is oily and good to look at and digests well.
The officials were impressed looking up to the great General who has implanted the noble soul of the Korean nation-first policy by finding out all the customs of our nation's diet and excellent food culture. He finished the "special lecture" with a clear conclusion that our food is the best.
The "special lecture" on Korean food reflected the idea of the great General's boundlessly noble affection and love for the nation and people.
Indeed, it was a meaningful lecture which can be given only by the great General, a peerless patriot who loves his people and values national character.
