Korean temple cuisine


Korean temple cuisine refers to a type of cuisine that originated in Buddhist temples of Korea. Since Buddhism was introduced into Korea, Buddhist traditions have strongly influenced Korean cuisine as well. During the Silla period, chalbap yakgwa and yumilgwa were served for Buddhist altars and have been developed into types of hangwa, Korean traditional confectionery. During the Goryeo Dynasty, sangchu ssam, yaksik, and yakgwa were developed, so spread to China and other countries. Since the Joseon Dynasty, Buddhist cuisine has been established in Korea according to regions and temples.
On the other hand, royal court cuisine is closely related to Korean temple cuisine. In the past, when the royal court maids called sanggung, who were assigned to Suragan, where they prepared the king's meals, became old, they had to leave the royal palace. Therefore, many of them entered Buddhist temples to become nuns. As the result, culinary techniques and recipes of the royal cuisine were integrated into Buddhist cuisine.

Dishes by region

Baek kimchi to which pine nuts have been added, bossam kimchi, and gosu kimchi are famous in Buddhist temples of Gyeonggi and Chungcheong Province. In Jeolla Province, godeulppagi kimchi, gat kimchi, and juksun kimchi, all of which include deulkkaejuk as an ingredient, are famous. None of these varieties of kimchi contain garlic, scallions, or jeotgal, as foods in the genus Allium are generally avoided by traditional Buddhist monks and nuns of China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan.

Dishes by temple

located in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province is known for its dureup muchim, pyeogobap, nokdu chalpyeon are well-known dishes as well as kimchi, saengchae, twigak, and jeon made with young shoots of Toona sinensis. The species is called chamjuk, literally meaning "true bamboo" in Korean because its shoots can be eaten like bamboo shoots. However, the dishes are prefixed with either chanmjuk or "gajuk" according to region.
Haeinsa, located in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, is not only famous for the Tripitaka Koreana but also specialty of the temple cuisine such as sangchu bulttuk kimchi, gaji jijim, gosu muchim, sandongbaekip bugak, meouitang, songibap, solipcha.