Emmy-Award Winner Kelly Choi to Reveal the Delicious Secret of Korean Cuisine

Choi to Highlight Delicious Traditions

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Feb 01, 2011, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of the Korean New Year, Emmy-Award winning host and TV personality Kelly Choi has teamed up with the Korean Food Foundation to share the delicious secret of authentic Korean food.

"Many Americans are unfamiliar with Korean food, but along with the Korean Food Foundation, I am hoping to change that," said Kelly Choi. "We want people to realize that Korean food is low in saturated fat and high in nutrients and vitamins, and the cuisine also contains a lot of flavor and variety, too."

Delicious traditions surround Korean food as well, particularly around dishes served during "Seollal," or the Korean New Year. Lasting three days, Seollal is a family-oriented holiday with a large emphasis on food. Special traditions include eating tteokguk, a rice cake soup, while wishing for health, happiness and good luck in the coming year. The white rice in the soup symbolizes the bright light of the first day of the year, while the round shape of the rice cake represents the sun. According to tradition, the soup must be eaten during Seollal to age a year. Other traditional Seollal dishes include galbijjim (braised short ribs), namul (seasoned vegetables), and japchae (a dish similar to vegetable stir fry).

Wearing new clothes such as a Hanbok, or Korean robe, to celebrate the holiday is also encouraged. A particularly special part of Seollal is "sebae," or wishing your elders good fortune. Korean youth bow to their elders while reciting a special wish for success and health. If done correctly, youth are sometimes rewarded with "saebaetdon," or good luck money.

The ancestor ritual table, or Charye, involves placing red fruit facing east and white fruit facing west. When serving fish, the tails must face west, and the heads must face east. This is a way to celebrate Seollal while giving thanks to ancestors.

About the Korean Food Foundation

Hansik is derived from two Korean words: "Han," meaning "Korean," and "sik" meaning "food." The Korean Food (or "Hansik") Foundation seeks to promote authentic Korean cuisine around the world through tasks that include highlighting Korean cuisine as one of Asia's best kept secrets and certifying Korean restaurants overseas.