Another year older (and hopefully wiser) as defined by the tradition of eating a bowl of ddukguk on Lunar New Year. Today's post features two of my favorite Seollnal foods: jeon and ddukguk. Happy (belated) Seol, y'all!
Jeon
While exploring Korean markets, I learned that there is truly no shortage of things that can be dipped in eggwash and fried to make jeon. Even so, of these things, heopa (lung) caught me and Youn by surprise during our rounds at Tongin Market. An assortment of rectangular and triangular pieces of dark meat fried in eggwash identified by a red “Seochon heopa jeon“ (서촌허파전) sign stood out among a variety of jeon on display. After sampling a piece, we bought a styrofoam container full of heopa jeon and took to the streets, where we stood and finished all save a couple of pieces. It’s become one of my favorite kinds of jeon, which include the kkochi-jeon more commonly found on the Seollnal table.
Ddukguk
Though its exact origin remains unknown, the tradition of eating ddukguk on Seollnal is documented in definitive texts such as the Dongguk Saesigi and the Yeoryang Saesigi ㅡ two 19th century books detailing Korea’s annual traditions and customs. Dduk represents longevity and eating a bowl of soup full of them on the first day of the new year signifies that you’ve aged another year. Historically, pheasant (꿩) was the choice game for the broth, making it a delicacy enjoyed on special occasions; the common people used chicken, beef, or other more accessible alternatives.
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