Jeongol

Jeongol is a Korean-style hot pot in which meat, seafood, mushrooms and vegetables are simmered in a shallow pot with a small amount of broth at the table. It belongs to the family of Korean stews, but unlike jjigae, which is usually named after a single main ingredient, jeongol combines several.

History

Sources link jeongol to the tables of the Korean upper class and the royal court, whereas jjigae was the simpler everyday stew of commoners. A late Joseon-era book, the Manguksamulkiwon Yeoksa, gives a traditional account of its origin: soldiers in wartime, lacking cooking utensils, supposedly cooked their food in their iron helmets. This is presented as tradition rather than documented fact.

Other Joseon-era records, such as the Kyeongdo Jabji, mention that the dish was cooked in a vessel called jeolliptu, a name said to resemble a soldier's helmet. Older recipes describe thinly sliced seasoned beef cooked in a pot and dusted with pine nut powder, sometimes with bamboo shoots, baby octopus and oysters.

Culture

Jeongol is cooked in a jeongolteul, a wide, shallow pot, and eaten communally, with diners adding ingredients as the meal progresses. It is made with a little broth, sliced beef or seafood, vegetables, mushrooms and seasonings, and sometimes mandu dumplings are added. Depending on the recipe it may be spicy, with gochujang or chili powder, or mild.

There are several versions named after their dominant ingredient: haemul jeongol with seafood, nakji jeongol with baby octopus, sogogi jeongol with beef, dubu jeongol with tofu, beoseot jeongol with mushrooms, gopchang jeongol with beef offal and mandu jeongol with dumplings. Sinseollo, a dish once served at the royal court, is the version with the greatest historical prestige.