Book of Days Tales

Today is Hangul Day in South Korea, marking the anniversary of the publication of the principles of the Korean alphabet, now called Hangul, by king Sejong the Great in 1446. Until the development of Hangul, Korean had to be written using Chinese characters  which was such a complex system that only highly educated elites were literate.  Although the development of a new writing system was formally proposed  by Sejong,  it was Jiphyeonjeon  “The Hall of Worthies” who did the actual work because the development of Hangul involved complex and protracted linguistic work by its initial inventors.

Bibimbap (비빔밥) is a signature Korean dish suitable for the celebration of Hangul Day. The word literally means “mixed rice,” which is a good description — a bowl of warm rice topped with stir fried and seasoned vegetables, plus some spicy, hot sauce.  Bibimbap may also include sliced meat and a raw or fried egg.  It is served with the rice on the bottom and the other ingredients on top, but then guests swirl everything together before eating. Here is a recipe in Korean, using Hangul (just for the sake of it). It’s not that complicated to understand with a translating program.  If you get that far you will see that this is an especially healthy version.

관련 문서: 요리법/요리

주요 채소 재료: 콩나물, 오이, 고사리, 당근, 버섯, 양파, 무우(생채), 도라지, 시금치 등 각종 나물 등. 채소는 먹고 싶은 것을 다 넣자.

양념: 고추장, 쇠고기, 참기름, 볶음고추장

냉장고를 열어 나물류를 비롯한 있는 반찬을 꺼낸다.

밥을 퍼서 큰 그릇에 담는다.

꺼낸 반찬을 모두 밥 퍼놓은 그릇 위에 얹는다.

고추장(매운 거 싫어하는 사람이면 간장이나 된장이나 쌈장도 좋다)과 참기름을 한 큰술씩 넣는다. (고추장은 고봉 없이 평펑하게 한 큰술. 고추장 외의 장은 조금 더 넣어야 할 수 있다.)

소고기를 볶다가 고추장을 넣은 볶은 고추장은 비빔밤의 맛을 한층 업그레이드해주니 참고.

취향에 따라 계란 프라이도 하나 넣는다.

열심히 비빈다. 맛있는 비빔밥 탄생.

A variation of this dish, dolsot bibimbap (돌솥비빔밥), dolsot meaning “stone pot”), is served in a very hot stone bowl with a raw egg in the middle.  The egg cooks when the ingredients are all stirred against the sides of the bowl. The bowl is so hot that anything that touches it sizzles for minutes. Before the rice is placed in the bowl, the bottom of the bowl is coated with sesame oil, making the layer of the rice touching the bowl golden brown and crisp.