[Food] Chogyetang (초계탕, Chilled Chicken Soup)

[Food]

[Food] Chogyetang (초계탕, Chilled Chicken Soup)

Once upon a time in Korea, there was a cook in the king's court who always cared about the king's health. One day in summer, the king wanted to eat a chicken dish, but he didn't want Samgyetang because it was too spicy. So the cook invented a cold chicken recipe - Chogyetang - and it became one of the staple cuisines in the king's court in Korea. It was spicy and sour, full of a chicken flavor. Later, its recipe flowed into Pyeongyang (North Korea), making it a typical dish in North Korea. Obviously, this isn't a true story, but the fact is...

Chogyetang (초계탕, Chilled Chicken Soup)

1. Korean Court Cuisine
2. A typical dish in North Korea

I don't think that Korea is the only country where cold chicken soup is eaten in the summer, but it is true that Chogyetang is a unique Korean food. It is known to be a staple North Korean food that people in Pyeongyang enjoy, but it was one of the Korean court's cuisines. Chogyetang has been a great alternative recipe since its invention for people who don't want to eat hot Samgyetang.

However, the recipe is not that simple. You need to:

1. bone a half chicken to get the meat out, boil it for 20 minutes with green onion, onion and garlic stock.
2. season chicken and put mustard into the stock.
3. slice a cucumber, marinate it with salt, chop a pear and put it into sugary water.
4. make meatballs with seasoned meat, chop sea cucumber coarsely then stir fry it with salt.
5. chop and blanch mung bean jelly and shiitake mushroom and season them each.
6. put every prepared ingredients into a bowl then pour the stock.

You can make a variation of Chogyetang with more ingredients

I remember that Chogyetang became very popular in South Korea 20 years ago. Like many others, I also tasted Chogyetang at chicken restaurants. It was a new way of making chicken. The cool, refreshing sourness and spicy taste with thick savory chicken stock. It is even better with noodles.

Chogyetang with cold noodle

Chogyetang with buckwheat noodle

It is not a common dish that you can find easily in any restaurant, and you are very likely to taste a very stale dish with yucky chicken smell if you order it in a restaurant which does not specialize in Korean chicken dishes. So I recommend you find a restaurant with the 'Chogyetang' name board, if you want to taste good Chogyetang (or you can just cook it at home)

A famous instant spicy cold noodle once released limited 'Chogyetang' edition. I don't know if it was good or not (because I didn't want to taste it), but it surely attracted much instant noodle mania.

Chogyetang is the best menu for people who want a cold, spicy and healthy chicken dish, I think. If you want some exotic and spicy flavor that wakes you up, Chogyetang is here for you :)

Bon Appétit!

[Food] Makguksu (막국수, Cold Buckwheat Noodle)

[Food]

[Food] Makguksu (막국수, Cold Buckwheat Noodle)

Mr. Roh’s hometown is Pyeongyang, North Korea, but now he lives in Abai (meaning 'Father' in N.Korean dialect) - a village of Sokcho city in South Korea. He has been running a N.Korean food restaurant since 1955 in the village of Abai. Well, he is one of my grandfather’s friends; that is how I got to know him when I visited his restaurant with my grandpa as a little kid. He was a very good friend of my grandfather, sharing a long friendship, and he cried as if he had lost his mom when my grandpa passed away.

What I really like about him is that he is the hidden grandmaster of Makguksu (막국수, Cold Buckwheat Noodle) in Korea who can cook Makguksu from raw buckwheat to its complete dish.

Today, I have come to enjoy his great Makguksu for a long while. His Makguksu is very simple but not easy to make, and needs some toughness and tenderness to turn hard buckwheat into powder and then buckwheat dough. He first grinds all buckwheat with a grinding machine, and then takes the powder to his noodle workshop beside his restaurant.

Buckwheat flowers. Buckwheat is very well-known to Koreans because of the novel 'At the bloom of buckwheat' by the famous novelist Hyo-Seok Lee. Hyo-Seok Lee likened buckwheat flowers to swarms of stars at night :)

An image from the novel 'At the bloom of buckwheat'

 Buckwheat. Buckwheat has been planted and grown in Korea since the 7-8th centuries. Wheat was a very rare ingredient so Koreans rather used buckwheat for cooking :)

"Papa Roh! How's everything? Any good news from the National Red Cross?" 

"Good...good...yeah, the red cross guys sent me a good letter yesterday..haha.."

Mr. Roh grinned with wrinkles round his eyes. He looked happier than last time I saw him.

"Now you can finally ask your family in N.Korea about the secret recipe of Makguksu and its Dongchimi (동치미, Cold white radish kimchi), right? haha!"

I hugged him as I hugged my grandpa when he was alive.

"Shut up, my mom must have already died some decades ago...maybe my brother and sister will tell me for sure. What do you want to have today?"


"Makguksu with Dongchimi and steamed pork please, sir."

Dongchimi (동치미). Makguksu is originally buckwheat noodle in cold Dongchimi soup :) 

"Mr. Roh. Can I ask you something? I don't know why I haven't asked you this so far"

"What is that, young man?"

"Why did you start making Makguksu? Grandpa once told me that you were a farmer in N.Korea before the Korean War."

"Yeah...you are right. I was a farmer before I joined the Korean War.."


He took out buckwheat dough from his kitchen and started to press a bunch of noodles out of the noodle machine. I can see thick steam from boiling buckwheat noodle with the smell of buckwheat :)

White Kimchi and chopped sweet-sour radish. Typical Makguksu banchan (side dish).

Sliced steamed pork and chopped spicy radish. They are usually eaten with Makguksu in Korea.

"But why Makguksu? Is that your favorite menu?"

"It was my mom's best menu."

Mr. Roh answered with sweat on his forehead. Soon, a large bowl of Makguksu and sliced steamed pork came to the table.

"In North Korea, we used to eat cold Makguksu in winter...my dad usually asked my mom to bring a bowl of Dongchimi from crocks at the front yard and he pressed buckwheat noodle out of his noodle machine at the kitchen. Then they throw buckwheat noodle into a bowl of Dongchimi, that's Makguksu."

Actually, Makguksu means 'A noodle that has just been made'. 'Mak' means 'Just' and 'Guksu' means 'Noodle' in Korean.

"Oh....you must miss your parents and their Makguksu."

"Yeah...I miss my mom's Dongchimi and dad's buckwheat noodle...haha..."

He started his talk quietly as he sat in front of me with a smile.

"..........One day.....long time ago, when I wore younger man's clothes....it was a very peaceful day before they conscripted me into the N.Korean Army..."

"I never thought you were conscripted by the N.Korean Army, Mr. Roh. I thought you were a refugee from N.Korea..."

"Oh, well. I don't like to talk about it much because I hate the communist army. I'm never proud of it. Anyway, that's not the point. I thought I would just go for army training for 3 or 4 weeks so I was thinking about eating Makguksu after completing it. On that day, I left my home, and mom asked me 'What do you want to have after training?' and I answered her 'Your Makguksu, mom'."

Buckwheat noodle

Dongchimi soup

Original Makguksu that has been eaten in N.Korea might look like this: just noodles and Dongchimi soup :)

"But....the Korean War broke out as history tells."

"Yeah....(sniffle).....that was the last time I ever saw my family in my life. The N.Korean Army invaded S.Korea after a few days and I fought against S.Korea and the U.N.'s Army. However, thank God, I became a prisoner of war in S.Korea and survived....but I couldn't ever return to my hometown .....and couldn't taste her Makguksu either...ever..."

I also 'quietly' swallow Makguksu with cold soup as I wait for him to continue his story.

"Later, I settled down in Sokcho where I could be closest to N.Korea, where I could go faster than anyone when the day of reunification comes....I missed my family's Makguksu so much, it is unforgettable...how can I forget...? I still remember the whole recipe.. and that's why I started Makguksu restaurant..."

He wiped tears from his cheeks. Hm....I began to feel sorry that I pushed his 'tear' button. I didn't want to sink into a sad mood with him...;;

"Uhm, Mr. Roh, when is the day of inter-Korean separated family reunion?"

"Yes, reunion! Haha, next month! The red cross guys told me that my sister and brother are still alive...."

Phew, now he is in a happy mood. I didn't know that Mr.Roh has this sad story.

"Then you can complete your original Makguksu as you had eaten when you were a kid."

"Yeah, I hope they still remember mom's recipe...haha.."

There is a calendar on the wall of his restaurant, and I can see a big red circle on the day of inter-Korean reunion next month. That day must be the day that Mr.Roh will meet his N.Korean family for the first and last time in his life.

Mool Makguksu (Original Makguksu)

Bibim Makguksu (Makguksu with spicy sauce)

"I'm leaving Mr. Roh. Thank you for your story and for Makguksu: please tell me more about your family when I visit you next month...I look forward to eating your Makguksu again."

He nodded with a big grin.

"Come again, young man. I will let you taste my perfect Makguksu, haha.."


"Yeah, please let me taste it..."

Instant Makguksu noodle

I’ve heard from the news that there are still millions of separated families in North and South Korea who haven't met since the Korean War. I hope Korea will be reunited again soon and all families will see their lost members again :)



Bon appétit!

[Food] Bibimbap (비빔밥, Korean Mixed Rice)

[Food]

[Food] Bibimbap (비빔밥, Korean Mixed Rice)

"Mom....? are you there?"

I see nothing but hear the sound of a freezer and boiler - a small engine-like sound with its vibration tapping my eardrums. The smell of spicy kongnamul guk (Korean bean-sprout soup) and darkness fill the empty space of the kitchen. I remember coming to mom's house this morning, but I quickly fell asleep on my bed because of fever - serious overworking and a sudden cold are the causes, I think.

Don't worry, I took some meds from a pharmacy (before I slept) and I'm feeling very well now...except that I'm sweating and am hungry. I quickly found the light switch and turned it on.

My instinct tells me that there is a lot of food in the kitchen. I'm looking for anything to eat ...okay...there's some rice in an electric rice cooker and.....

Inside a typical Korean freezer with many plastic containers of a family's favorite side dishes.

"Jackpot! Mhahahaha!!!"

I'm extremely happy - like a pirate who finally found his or her legendary treasure chest. The freezer has all of my favorite side dishes that mom cooked :D and there is Korean chili paste and sesame oil in the cupboard.

Guess what I will do next :) Now I have rice, Korean vegetables, meat side dishes and Korean chili paste.....the answer is....

A typical Korean home-style Bibimbab (비빔밥, Korean Mixed Rice)

Bibimbap! Rice, chili paste and any side dish can be turned into a great meal of the day :) As quickly as possible, I start to pick out my favorite side dishes from my mom's freezer and toss them onto a table. Then I scoop a bowl of rice and chili paste into a round and large bowl. Now what? It's time to throw all the side dishes into the bowl and mix!

Korean Mixed Rice with various vegetables and Doenjangjjigae. Yum! :q

As I do munch and crunch with bibimbap, it jogged my memory being in Jinju, home to one of Korea's most famous bibimbap. Some Korean cities are famous for its unique bibimbap: Jeonju (S.Korea), Jinju (S.Korea), Andong (S.Korea), Pyeongyang (N.Korea) and Haeju (N.Korea). The interesting thing is that no one knows the exact origin of bibimbap because it has been eaten by Koreans for a long time - since at least 500 A.D. Bibimbap officially appears in a cuisine book of Chosun dynasty (1500 A.D. of Korea).

Let's take a look at ingredients that we put into a traditional bibimbap in Korea.

Vegetables, herbs and mushrooms

Chopped and seasoned raw beef

Mung bean jelly

These are 'traditional', not 'compulsory', ingredients. You can put in whatever ingredients you want to eat for your bibimbap, it's totally up to you :) If you want to put in the tomato pasta you had last night or french fries or meatballs, just do it :) but you do so at your own risk, hahahahaha!! 

Sunny-side up egg and Korean chili paste are popular topping for bibimbab today :)

The 5 cities' bibimbaps that I mentioned above differ in toppings and ingredients. Then you might ask 'what are these differences?' Here's the answer :)

1. Jeonju Bibimbap

A traditional Korean house village in Jeonju

A street in a traditional Korean house village

A Jeonju bibimbab 

Jeonju put in a lot of bean sprouts, some fresh vegetables, an egg yolk, chopped mung bean jelly and seasoned raw beef into bibimbap. The interesting thing is that Jeonju bibimbap uses a rice cooked in beef stock which gives a deeper and saltier taste to the rice (moreover, each rice grain is coated with oil from beef stock which gives it smoothness and a unique taste of gravy). And it is served with plain kongnamul guk (bean-sprout soup) :)

Beef stock

Plain kongnamul guk. It should be neither salty nor spicy, otherwise it will spoil the taste of Jeonju bibimbap :(

2. Jinju Bibimbap

Jinju bibimbap's rice (character) is 'plainness and mildness'. It uses parboiled and chopped vegetables without egg yolk :) It is served with ox blood soup (I can see you grimace and think it might taste yuk but it is great, trust me :) )

Jinju city is famous for its Oil Lantern Festival :)

A bibimbab restaurant in Jinju

Jinju bibimbab

Ox blood soup, that red lump is clotted ox blood :)

3) Andong Heotjesabab (Andong-style bibimbab)

'Jesabab' of 'Heotjesabab' means a meal that eat after any 'Jesa' (Korean ancestral rites) but this 'Heot' means 'something that doesn't exist'. So 'Heotjesabab' means a meal that eat 'like' after any 'Jesa' (Korean ancestral rites), so you can eat dishes that Koreans would serve for the ancestral rites if you go any 'Heotjesabab' restaurant.

A traditional Korean village in Andong

A night view of the Wallyeong bridge in Andong

Andong's Heotjesabab with tangguk (Korean beef radish broth - a traditional Southern Korean dish). You put rice into a vegetable bowl then put in soy sauce to add flavor :)

Unlike other bibimbap, Heotjesabab uses soy-sauce rather than chili paste. And it is served with tangguk (Korean beef radish broth, a traditional Korean dish of Southern Korea).

4) Pyeong and Haeju Bibimbab (North Korean Bibimbaps)

Morandae and Neungra Island of Pyeongyang in 1921 A.D.

A square in Pyeongyang

I can't find any photo of North Korean bibimbabs... :( but I can tell you what they are like... :)

Pyeongyang bibimbap doesn't use any raw meat - unlike South Korean bibimbaps - but uses fully cooked (omelette-like) and chopped egg with mung bean sprouts. Haeju bibimbap is like fried rice. In Haeju, they stir-fry rice onto a pan and add stir-fried pork and chicken onto the rice (Yum! :q). Alas, I'm so sad that I can't show you any pictures ;( there's none on Google...

Anyway...I've nearly finished my-style bibimbap :) I have put in some kimchi, soy-sauced beef, spinach, stir-fried carrots, chili paste and sesame oil :)

Jeonju bibimbap with various side dishes

Bibmbap with Bulgogi in it :)

Bibmbap with some lettuce :)

Bibimbap with young radish kimchi :)

Bibmbap is also eaten in the Korean army as a combat ration :)

What ingredients would you put in for your-style bibimbap? :) Whatever you put, I hope it tastes great :)

I think that bibimbap can be a symbol of peace and harmony. It is a very interesting food with each ingredient having a different flavor and taste but it is so delicious when they are mixed and harmonized with others...I hope that mankind can also be like bibimbap...we are all different but we can make great harmony and peace :) Am I being way too philosophical...? Anyway....:)

Bon appétit!