The A, B, Cs of Korean Cooking

Korean food is based on five tastes and five colors: salty, sweet, sour, bitter and spicy; and red, green, yellow, white and black. When these ten fundamentals are taken into consideration, a healthful balance is achieved—the yin and yang of well being. Each color is associated with an element, direction, emotion, internal organs, taste and various foods. It has its roots in Taoism, an ancient Eastern philosophy.