Memil-muk


Memil-muk or buckwheat jelly is a light gray-brown muk made from buckwheat starch. It is commonly served as banchan as well as anju.
In post-war Korea, from the mid to late-20th century, memil-muk along with chapssal-tteok was widely served as yasik by street vendors. In modern times, it is popular as a diet food.
Along with other buckwheat dishes, it is a local specialty of Gangwon Province, especially Bongpyeong Township in Pyeongchang County.

Preparation

Unhulled whole buckwheat grains are soaked in water. Soaked grains are then ground in maetdol and sieved. The skins are discarded, and the remaining liquid is set aside to allow it to separate into layers. The upper layer, consisting of clear water, is discarded. The lower layer, consisting of settled buckwheat starch, is boiled with constant stirring. When cooled, the mixture sets to form a jelly-like substance, muk.
Memil-muk is most commonly eaten as memil-muk-muchim, a banchan in which chunks of memil-muk are mixed with chopped kimchi, ground toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce. In Gangwon Province, memil-muk is used in jesa for deceased ancestors. In summer, memil-muk-sabal is made with cold kimchi broth, while in winter, memil-muk is served in hot jangguk.
In Yeongju, some houses are still made in the traditional way and eat Muk-bap.

In folklore

In ancient times, memil-muk was thought to be irresistible to dokkaebi.
Memil-muk is offered in dokkaebi-gut, a gut for chasing away dokkaebi, which were believed to be the causes of contagious diseases. Other rituals with similar purpose, such as dokkaebi-je, a jesa, and dokkaebi-gosa, a gosa, also include the offering of memil-muk.

In popular culture

In the manhwa Dokebi Bride, the use of memil-muk to call on dokebi is an important plot device.

Gallery