'Jang' becomes gateway to connect with different cultures

Participants of the "one-day food tour" held under the theme of "Get to Know Korean Jang" look at mashed "meju," or fermented soybean brick, taken out from a traditional earthenware at Korea House in central Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Food tour invites participants on journey to traditional Korean culinary method of fermentation

By Park Han-sol

It isn't an exaggeration to say that much of the standard Korean cuisine ― from soups, stews, stir-fried food, side dishes to even dipping sauces ― starts with the ingredient "meju."

A brick-shaped compressed block of soybeans that have been crushed and dried is the magic ingredient behind iconic Korean condiments known as "jang."

A combination of meju and salt water left to ferment for several months in a traditional earthenware pot can give birth to both "doenjang" (soybean paste) made with the wet mashed lumps, and "ganjang" (soy sauce) made with the remaining liquid.

And if meju is instead mixed with red chili powder, rice paste, barley malt and salt, it transforms into "gochujang" (red pepper paste).

"If you've ever tried Korean food, you cannot not know the taste of jang, even if you might not have been aware of its presence. It's what gives that signature savory flavor that fills our dining tables," Hong Shin-ae, a chef and food researcher, said on a warm, breezy morning on Monday.

Seen above is meju fermented inside a traditional earthenware pot. The wet mashed lumps of meju turn into "doenjang" (soybean paste), while the remaining broth can be made into "ganjang" (soy sauce). Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Her voice echoed throughout the yard of Korea House, a former reception hall built back in 1957 for foreign VIPs and now a traditional culture complex in central Seoul, as she began a special day-long cooking class for 20 participants ― all from the United States, France and Japan.

Hong's class is a part of this year's "one-day food tour" organized for people of foreign nationality under the theme of "Get to Know Korean Jang." Co-hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korean Food Promotion Institute, the program invites Michelin-starred chefs, food researchers and "jongbu" (eldest daughter-in-law of the clan's head family) to share centuries-old regional jang culture of Chungcheong, Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces, as well as on Jeju Island.

Monday's class was dedicated to jang produced from Damyang in South Jeolla Province.

"Since the methods and additional ingredients included in jang recipes vary by region across the Korean Peninsula, the resulting tastes are different as well," Hong told The Korea Times. "But I would say jang from the Jeolla region, an area characterized by temperature and geographical features suitable for fermentation, has become the most standardized, widespread version in present-day Korea."

Since Jeolla's condiments are what commonly fill the supermarket shelves and restaurant inventory, their tastes are naturally more familiar to novices in Korean food as well, she explained.

Chef Hong Shin-ae presents a plate of "galbi," or marinated beef short ribs, to her class during a one-day food tour at Korea House, Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The choice of dishes made with jang that she showcased to the class reflected this element of familiarity as well ― "galbi" (marinated beef short ribs), whose sauce is made by mixing ganjang with "cheongju" (refined rice wine) along with other ingredients, and "gochujangtteok," a chewy pancake primarily made with red pepper paste.

After Hong's 50-minute introduction session, it was now time for the students to busy themselves with cooking their own versions of gochujangtteok.

A dish of "gochujangtteok," a chewy pancake primarily made with red pepper paste / Courtesy of Korean Food Promotion Institute

Moroccan YouTuber and singer Kim Miso, whose real name is Harakat Ibtissam, said the dish reminded her of a more popular Korean food, "pajeon" (scallion pancake), and was surprised at how quickly it could be made.

"It was really good and easy to make. I think I need to make this for one of my best friends, who's in Korea now because of me," the 28-year-old told The Korea Times.

"Moroccan people, when they make food, it takes like two good hours. Literally, we would start cooking from 10 a.m. and would be done by 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. The thing that I'm surprised by in Korea is that a lot of the food can be made so quickly ― in like 15 or 30 minutes."

She added that Korean food shares similarities with some of the dishes from her motherland, especially in terms of their harmony between sweet and spicy flavors.

Since her arrival here in 2018, Harakat has been producing and sharing videos about her life in Korea, which she calls her "second (home) country." Her channel, which caters mainly to the audience in the Arab region, grew quickly, with now over 1.18 million followers.

Moroccan YouTuber and singer Kim Miso, center, tries a dish of galbi during a one-day food tour at Korea House, Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Harakat wasn't the only one who thought of pajeon when cooking the gochujangtteok.

Andrew Anderson-Sprecher, one of the staff members at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, said that gochujang was a new element for him to witness as a main ingredient for a pancake: "It was very good nonetheless."

Having been in Korea for around three years, he said the class helped him finally figure out what meju was, an item he passed by from time to time when he would go shopping in Gyeongdong Market in Seoul's Dongdaemun District.

"I had seen them before in the market, but I never knew what they were. And I didn't know they used the soybeans to ferment and make the sauce. That was new," he noted.

Staff members from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul pose with their own dish of "gochujangtteok" during a one-day food tour at Korea House, Monday. Courtesy of Korean Food Promotion Institute

For some of the foreign exchange students at Yonsei University, the fermentation process that forms the essence of Korean flavor was what caught their eyes.

"One thing that always shocks me about Korean cuisine is the fermentation process," Gavin, a 20-year-old student from California, said.

"It's in all the sauces, so it's in the flavor you taste. I think that in the U.S. especially, it's just unheard of to ferment so many different vegetables (and condiments) ... I think it's really cool that that goes into almost all Korean food because it shows that you really can eat anything."

Sofia, 21, from North Carolina, echoed the sentiment.

"One of the things that really caught my attention was how long the ingredients here have been fermented. I've never really heard about that. And I'm Hispanic, so our foods are just like, as soon as you get the ingredients, you make it," she said.

"We do not like delayed gratification … But for these ingredients, they really put the time in for it to get that taste. It's nice because it shows that it's worth the wait."

The one-day food tour themed around jang culture will continue until June 13 in Gyeongsang Province, with the last session scheduled to bring in dishes based on the recipes from the oldest surviving cookbook in the country, the nearly 500-year-old "Soowoonjapbang."

"The language barrier isn't a problem when sharing food. Culinary diplomacy and cultural diffusion through food have become especially important now," Yim Kyeong-sook, head of Korean Food Promotion Institute, emphasized, as her organization is proceeding to apply for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage designation of jang culture.