Editing Korean cuisine (section)

===Grains===
[[File:Korea-Icheon-Dolsotbap-Cooked rice in a stone pot-01.jpg|thumb|alt=Cooked rice sprinkled with four pieces of dried grape and cooked three chestnut in a black stone pot|''Dolsotbap'', cooked rice in a stone pot (''[[dolsot]]'')]][[Grain]]s have been one of the most important staples of the Korean diet. Early myths of the foundations of various kingdoms in Korea center on grains. One foundation myth relates to [[Jumong]], who received [[barley]] seeds from two [[dove]]s sent by his mother after establishing the kingdom of [[Goguryeo]].<ref>Yi Kyubo, 1-9.</ref> Yet another myth speaks of the three founding deities of [[Jeju Island]], who were to be wed to the three princesses of [[Tamna]]; the deities brought seeds of five grains which were the first seeds planted, which in turn became the first instance of farming.<ref>Koryŏsa, 57, 53b-54b.</ref>

During the pre-modern era, grains such as barley and millet were the main staples. They were supplemented by wheat, [[sorghum]], and [[buckwheat]]. Rice is not an indigenous crop to Korea and millet was likely the preferred grain before rice was cultivated. Rice became the grain of choice during the Three Kingdoms period, particularly in the [[Silla]] and [[Baekje]] Kingdoms in the southern regions of the peninsula. Rice was such an important commodity in Silla that it was used to pay taxes. The [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|Sino-Korean]] word for "tax" is a compound character that uses the character for the rice plant. The preference for rice escalated into the [[Joseon]] period, when new methods of cultivation and new varieties emerged that would help increase production.{{Sfn|Pettid|2008|p=33}}

As rice was prohibitively expensive when it first came to Korea, the grain was likely mixed with other grains to "stretch" the rice; this is still done in dishes such as ''boribap'' (rice with barley) and ''[[kongbap]]'' (rice with beans).<ref name="Joins">{{cite news |url=http://article.joins.com/article/article.asp?total_id=2685876 |script-title=ko:콩사연 |trans-title=The reason why kongbap changed to boribap  |newspaper=[[JoongAng Ilbo]] |author=Yu Ji-sang (유지상) |language=ko |access-date=2009-03-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126133718/http://article.joins.com/article/article.asp?total_id=2685876 |archive-date=2009-01-26 }}</ref> White rice, which is rice with the bran removed, has been the preferred form of rice since its introduction into the cuisine. The most traditional method of cooking the rice has been to cook it in an iron pot called a ''sot'' ({{Korean|hangul=솥|labels=no}}) or ''musoe sot'' ({{Korean|hangul=무쇠솥|labels=no}}). This method of rice cookery dates back to at least the [[Goryeo]] period, and these pots have even been found in tombs from the Silla period. The ''sot'' is still used today, much in the same manner as it was in the past centuries.{{Sfn|Pettid|2008|p=34}}

Rice is used to make a number of items, outside of the traditional bowl of plain white rice. It is commonly ground into a flour and used to make rice cakes called ''[[tteok]]'' in over two hundred varieties. It is also cooked down into a [[congee]] (''juk'') or [[gruel]] (''mieum'') and mixed with other grains, meat, or seafood. Koreans also produce a number of [[rice wine]]s, both in filtered and unfiltered versions. Grains have also been used for centuries to make [[misu]] and [[misu-garu]], drinks made from grain powder that are sometimes used as meal supplements.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ahnesty.com/food/misugaru|title=All About Misugaru + Misugaru Dalgona Latte Recipe &#124; 미수가루|date=2 April 2020 |access-date=31 January 2021|archive-date=29 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729152310/https://www.ahnesty.com/food/misugaru|url-status=live}}</ref>