Traditional Korean Jongga House and Meal
If you’re at all interested in traditional Korean eating, you should watch this episode from Netflix’ Korean TV show (The Hungry and The Hairy). It’s in Korean, but Netflix supplies excellent subtitles. I found it very compelling because they show glimpses of how Korean nobility must have eaten hundreds of years ago.
I know I kind of ragged on this show a bit by implying it was boring- and to be completely honest, it’s best watched while scrolling through your newsfeed lol. But this episode had me completely hooked.
GyeongJu, South Korea
Every (or every other) episode features a different region in Korea. This one is in GyeongJu, what used to be the capital of the Kingdom of Silla (57BC~935AD). As one of the hosts (Rain) reminisces, it’s a popular destination for school trips in Korea. History is kept alive here, preserved with care alongside modern day amenities like the huge theme park they also visit, GyeongJu World.
What does Jongga mean?
No, it’s not just a brand of Kimchi.
The episode begins in the morning as they wake up in a Jongga house. Jongga refers to a family that can trace its family lineage directly to one single ancestor through its male heirs. The house and grounds shown have been lived in and maintained by the same family for over 600 years. Isn’t that mind blowing??
This family’s ancestor is identified as Seo Hui, born to nobility and a powerful and effective politician and diplomat (source) who worked under King Taejong’s rule (source). Distraction: If you’re into historical dramas, you may like The King of Tears (trailer is on Youtube) and you' can see what these Jongga houses would have looked back in the day as well as royalty, loyalty, betrayal and mayhem.
Anyway, the man who lives there now is the 8th generation descendant of Seo Hui, who was an important dude in history. There is also an editorial produced by The Korea Foundation where I got the quote above from. The Korea Foundation states they are an organization devoted to promoting better understanding of Korea and to enhance friendship and goodwill with the… world. It’s a pretty interesting read, you can take a sneak peek on Issuu for free (like I did teehee).
Traditional Korean Meal Preparation
Back to the food. In the scenery shots you’ll see clay pots called Hangari 항아리 or Onggi 옹기. Those giant clay pots contain Jang (Korean seasonings) like Ganjang (soy sauce), Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste) and Doenjang (Fermented soybean paste) because Jongga families have to make many things from scratch (it’s part of the deal in “maintaining” inherited history).
You’ll notice that there is an open fire heating up a mega-sized pot. This pot is called Gamasot 가마솥. The rice will be cooked here but it can be used for all kinds of cooking. Like an old-school Always Pan (use one one pan for everything!) 🤣.
You may also want to read the blog post “10 Korean Food Shows on Netflix”.
Rice Water Uses in Korean Cooking
You know how rinsing hair with rice water was a TikTok thing not too long ago? In addition for using it for beauty, Korean often use rice water to cook. The first and second rinses are to get rid of impurities, and during the third rinse, you want to gently rub together the grains or massage them to get flavourful, cloudy water. You can use this water (instead of plain water) to make Kimchi Stew or Doenjang Soup.
The lady of the house explains you can use rice water when making steamed eggs and she also adds some to a Doenjang seasoning mixture to thin it out. Basically, put that sh*t in everything.
I’ve personally never seen Gamasot cooking, so I found everything fascinating. Many Koreans have a nostalgia for Gamasot rice as it apparently tastes better, you can replicate it with the individual cast-iron Gamasot they sell online.
Sample Traditional Korean Meal
간장 Ganjang (Soy Sauce): They scoop some soy sauce from a clay pot that was made that year ( =young- soy sauce flavours get better with age), which is referred to as Het-Ganjang 햇간장. Omg homemade soy sauce.
계란찜 Gyeran Jjim (Steamed eggs): She adds only soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and rice water to make steamed eggs. We only add salted shrimp and water (Steamed Egg blog post + video). The point is to water down the eggs and add savoury components.
깻잎찜 Kkaetnip Jjim (Steamed Perilla Leaves): You layer each leaf with seasoning and steam it, here’s Maangchi’s recipe.
생선구이 SengSon Guee (Grilled Fish): Koreans usually eat whole fish, skin on with bones intact. If you do swallow a small bone, eat a scoop of plain rice to push it through. This is not medical advice and I’m only sharing old wives’ tales so enjoy the story, mmmkay?
떡갈비 Tteok Galbi (Burger Sliders): Here’s Futuredish’s recipe. I like their site because they explain the backstory- apparently the King enjoyed ribs but it was thought to be demeaning to use his hands to eat it so the royal chefs created this clean dish. Fun, huh? This family adds persimmon for sweetness. Always interesting to see household variations in recipes.
Watching episode: I can only begin to guess that they’re wearing ski googles when cooking to avoid smoke in their eyes.
누릉지 Nurungji (Scorched Rice): This is the rice left at the bottom of the pot after cooking. After scooping out the hot, fluffy rice at the top (to eat during the meal), Nurungji will be scraped out for later. It should be crispy and golden, not actually burnt!
You can break some off and just eat it as a crunchy snack, you can make a tea with it or you can turn add it to warm soup. People love this by-product so much I see it at the grocery store now, crisped up and ready to eat!
육계장 Yukgae Jang (Spicy Beef and Veg Soup): This recipe is from My Korean Kitchen, I like her blog because she makes new dishes approachable by offering substitutions and hacks. This is OPPA’s hangover food of choice. The point is to eat it extra hot (temperature-wise) without burning your tongue.
There is steamed beetroot leaves to eat Ssam in, they’ve made their own ssamjang by adding stuff to Doenjang (Korean Bapsang’s DIY Ssamjang recipe here).
So there you have it. The components of a traditional Korean meal: Soup, Rice, Fish/Meat dish and Banchan (side dishes). And in this case, Ssam as well. I really don’t think they’d eat like that every day. Just watching them prepare that one meal made me tired.
How beautiful was that though? It looked so wholesome and healthy to me, I really loved it and wish someone would cook like that for me.
How about you? Have you ever added potatoes when cooking rice?