Near Anguk Station (line 3) is the Korean Temple Food Culture Experience Center. On weekends special cooking classes are offered, but for those who don't have time to sign up or are unfortunate in signing up too late for the limited 20-person participation per event, then just popping into the center to see the spectacular food display is educational in itself!
The food is displayed by seasonal foods and festive event foods. However, it's important to say that Korean Buddhist food is (1) based on the whole and nature food concepts valued in current society (making it very popular), (2) it's based on vegetarianism and the concept of living in harmony with the animal world and not having a hierarchical food chain, and (3) it has limitations on five foods (onions, garlic, chives, green onions and leeks) that excite the senses and affect those in the early stages of cultivation.
Natural food ingredients:
- Soy sauce, soybean paste, red pepper paste, and salt are often used to create the salty taste of temple food.
- Honey, brown sugar, white sugar, and starch syrup are used for sweetness.
- Spicy flavors are provided by ginger, red pepper powder, red peppers, green peppers, piperitum leaves or powders, and occasionally black pepper and mustard.
- Some of the condiments used include: vinegar for the sour taste; sesame seeds, perilla seeds, sesame oil, perilla oil, and soybean oil for savoriness.
- Kelp, shitake mushrooms, dried Cedrela sinensis branches, and white radish are flavor enhancers.
- Chinese pepper, bang-a (Korean mint), and perilla seeds improve and balance flavors.
Three Merits and Six Tastes:
Traditionally temple food should have three merits and six tastes. The three merits are: purity (referring to cleanliness and freshness of ingredients), flexibility (from the tenderness of food); compliment tastes of all ingredients used.
The six tastes are: saltiness, sourness, sweetness, bitterness, spiciness, and astringency, all of which must be in harmony.
However, the tastes and aromas of temple food are unavoidably limited, as the usage of meat and the five pungent vegetables (onion and onion family) are prohibited. Buddhist monks and nuns have overcome this challenge by developing a variety of natural seasonings and spices. These natural seasonings and recipes created in each temple, and passed down orally, have resulted in the establishment of a unique culinary tradition.
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| NEW YEAR'S EVE: braised shitake mushroom with white radish yaksik seasoned white radish kimchi dumplings japchae On New Year's Eve, all-night prayer and practice, courageous waking meditative practice, or a Dharma assembly marking the New Year are commonly held at Buddhist temples --- though events vary by temple. On this special day, yaksik (literally "medicinal food") or sweet rice with nuts and jujubes, dumplings, assorted side dishes made of white radish, and japchae (stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables) are enjoyed. |
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| SEOLAL (LUNAR NEW YEAR'S DAY): Monastics at mountain hermitages prepare and exchange offerings to each other. Dumplings, rice cakes, and gangjeong (deep-fried rice puff) are commonly shared. Samja (deep-fried sweet rice cookies) and gangjeong are made by frying glutinous rice dough in boiling oil |
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| SPRING: deep-fried assorted mushrooms with sweet and spice sauce stir-fried noodles and spring vegetables temple-style vegetarian dumplings cherry tomatoes pickled in Korean raspberry marmalade gardenia fruit rice shepherd's purse soybean paste stew |
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| SPRING: stir-fried glass noodles and bamboo shoots seasoned Kalopanax sprouts fried dried ??? braised banga (Korean mint) leaves Fischers ragwort Kimchi mugwort rice shepherd's purse and bean sprout soup |
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| BUDDHA'S BIRTHDAY: water parsley ganghoe glutinous rice cakes parched beans shredded white radish water parsley bibimbap spinach soybean paste soup On Buddha's birthday, songpyeon (half-moon rice cakes), black beans, water parsley, and seasoned vegetables were often prepared to welcome temple visitors, as the eighth day of the fourth lunar month was a widely celebrated folk holiday even outside of Buddhist communities. Bibimbap, water parsley ganghoe, and roasted beans are also offered to visitors at Buddhist temples on Buddha's birthday. |
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| SUMMER: Fresh ginseng and vegetables rolled with sliced zucchini stir-fried sliced potatoes with perilla seeds stuffed summer squash sichuan pepper leaf and young summer radish kimchi steamed butterbur with perilla seeds green tea leaf rice soybean paste sauce |
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| SUMMER: stir-fried dried acorn jelly potato porridge chilled ginger and eggplant salad seasoned Korean melon pickled radish seasoned thistle with rice butterbur perilla seed soup |
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| SAMBOK (the hottest period of summer): watermelon dipped in soybean paste lettuce kimchi zucchini pancakes lotus flower tea piperitum jangajji noodles in cold soybean and pine nut soup Temple monastics endure hot weather by eating cold noodles in thick soybean soup, which not only helps beat the heat, but also provides sufficient water and nutrition. Possible stomachaches arising from watermelon, another temple thirst-quencher, are avoided by slightly dipping the watermelon in soybean paste. |
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| AUTUMN: deep-fried ginseng deep-fried mushroom with sweet and spicy sauce steamed burdock oyster mushroom and radish salad perilla leaf chili paste pancakes rice mushroom and sichuan pepper leaf soup with perilla seeds |
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| AUTUMN: grilled burdock lotus root and green laver pancakes mushroom and radish dumplings diced radish kimchi salted seaweed deodeok rice taro soup |
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| CHUSEOK (KOREAN THANKSGIVING): three-colored songpyeon three-color dasik (tea cookies) sweet rice punch Oryeo sonpyeon (half-moon rice cakes made of early-ripening rice), sweet rice punch made of newly harvested rice, and newly harvested fruits are used in Chuseok ancestral rites. At Buddhist temples, rice cakes, fruit, cinnamon punch, sweet rice punch, and tea (like the 6 offerings to the Buddha) are offered to the Buddhist altar for prayers. Mungbean pancakes and songpyeon are especially significant offerings during the Harvest Moon Festival. |
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| WINTER: deep-fried lotus root stuffed with tofu whole pear stuffed with white kimchi jujube and tofu dumplings seasoned dried persimmon watery seaweed salad gulfweed and hijikia rice dried zucchini stew |
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| WINTER: stir-fried mushroom and assorted vegetables with soybean paste deep-fried neungi mushroom with sweet and spicy sauce braised dried radish greens with soybean paste seasoned walnut and sinchuan pepper leaf with spicy sauce pickled radish fermented with gardenia fruit steamed sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves pine mushroom soup |
Foods developed by various temples:
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| Baekyang Temple: Cedrela pancakes steamed tofu topped with water parsley sedum water kimchi stir-fried lotus root and walnuts seasoned dried radish shitake mushroom and tofu rice battered aralia sprouts and bean soup |
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| Yeongseon Temple: stir-fried noodles and chili pepper seasoned sliced potato grilled perilla leaves pickled radish sauteed beans seasoned with sauce rye rice butterbur stem soybean paste stew |
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| Unmun Temple: seasoned radish leaves deep-fried shepherd's purse mugwort pancakes seasoned day lily seasoned whiteman's foot peanut glutinous rice mugwort soup |
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| Koun Temple: seasoned buckwheat radish leaves seasoned with rich soybean paste braised burdock leaves acorn jelly braised peanuts rice with assorted nutritious ingredients taro soup |
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| Jinkweon Temple: grilled deodeok seasoned with soy sauce kimchi braised tofu pickled cedrela prickly ash pepper soy sauce millet rice neungi mushroom soup |
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| Baekheung Hermitage: braised tofu and chestnuts kimchi with chili pepper seeds grilled burdock coated with sticky rice porridge kohlrabi salad pickled ogapi radish rice Chinese cabbage and bean powder soup |
OTHER FOOD CULTURES: |
| Mugwort Gathering Day: mandarin oranges gimbap (seasoned rice rolls) When traveling to nearby mountains for gathering mugwort, gimbap (seasoned rice rolls), mandarin oranges, and cucumbers (all regularly found in temple kitchens) are packed. |
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| TONSURE DAY FOOD: laver tofu pancakes cooked glutinous rice seaweed soup Buddhist monks and nuns take the tonsure twice each month of the lunar calendar -- on the 14th day and the second to last day of the month. They regain energy lost due to tonsure by eating cooked glutinous rice, laver, tofu pancakes, and seaweed soup. |
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| A monk's breakfast table: steamed tofu roots pine nut porridge steamed sweet potatoes simple meals, such as porridge or steamed vegetables, are often served on a monastic's breakfast table, as a heavy breakfast could hinder spiritual studies. |
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| Raw food: Eminent Buddhist monks traditionally ate a variety of raw foods when engaged in intensive meditation or during waking meditative practice. Non-glutinous rice and glutinous rice are soaked in water a day prior to serving so that they may be easily chewed. Iron is received from pine needle powder, heat from honey and jujubes, energy from Chinese matrimony vines, protein from black beans, and carbohydrates and fiber from chestnuts ... thus all essential nutrients are provided. |
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| Good foods for fighting colds: bonnet bellflower root jangajji white radish jangajji stir-fried radish greens kimchi and bean sprouts porridge neungi mushroom soup Neungi mushroom soup, and kimchi and bean sprout porridge are good for preventing or fighting colds as they help raise body temperature. |
