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Hanjeongsik

Hanjeongsik (Korean table d’hôte, called han-jeongsik (한정식; 韓定食)) is also known as a Korean-style meal, Korean set meal. “Set meal” means full seat. The royal cuisine, which was eaten by the king, was later imitated by the scholar-officials with the unique local diets of various places. Hanjeongsik with great taste is the pinnacle of Korean cuisine.

Hanjeongsik inherits the court cuisine of the Joseon Dynasty. Various side dishes are placed on the table. Except for kimchi, no chili powder is added, which distinguishes it from ordinary Korean food. The main dishes are cooked in various ways, such as steaming, roasting, blanching, mixing, etc. The materials, seasonings, color matching, and various tricks make the dishes extremely rich. Since Korean cuisine pays attention to visual aesthetics, when a full set of Hanjeongsik is on the table, just looking at it is enough to make your mouth water.

Although the main course of Hanjeongsik will vary depending on the restaurant and price, there will always be a “ninefold board” made of wheat pancakes wrapped in meat, eight kinds of vegetables, and meat, fish, vegetables, Mushrooms and other stewed hot pot “Shenxian Furnace”. By tasting Hanjeongsik, you can experience the essence of real Korean cuisine.

Origin

The origin of Hanjeongsik originated in the end of the Han Dynasty, when a dining table was sold in a Korean-style restaurant that sold Korean food. The original Korean table is based on one table per person. In this way, the Korean-style dining table provided by the Korean-style restaurant began to be called “Korean-style set meal”. The early Korean-style set meals were not set out in sets according to the time like the set meals in Western countries, but they were set out at the same time.

There are two views on the emergence of the concept of Hanjeongsik:

1. Explain the origin of Korean-style set meal in the restaurant culture during the Japanese occupation of imperialism. A wait-order adept refers to a male chef who was ordered by the state to cook food and drink in the palace with skilled craftsmanship during the Joseon Dynasty. Just like today’s ‘home cook’. Ahn Suk-hwan, a familiar hand favored by Emperor Gojong, said that he was the boss of the Jeonsan Division in the palace of the Korean Empire at that time. With the disappearance of the inside of the palace, those who followed him opened the legendary restaurant Myongwolkan in 1908, which was left in Korean history. Only those in high-ranking positions at that time or businessmen with a little money could come to Mingyuekan to taste the tender sashimi dishes made by the experts.

Mingyueguan is not only a place for cooking, on the other hand, it is a place that will forever remain a page in history, that is, it is not an exaggeration that the politics of the old society was formed here. That is, Myungwol Pavilion is a place that is considered to symbolize the early Korean political model called Ryojeong Politics, and is considered to be a secret and mysterious world of nebula just like the political attributes that ordinary people cannot understand.

As I heard, the Korean-style set meal at Myungwolkan is also a fantasy food. Through the diet that contains the essence of imperial cuisine, ordinary people began to experience imperial cuisine from the increase of restaurants like Mingyueguan, and ordinary people also began to taste the taste of imperial cuisine. The background of the traditional Korean set meal started from the restaurant.

Second, it comes from the theory of the dining table of the scholar-officials. The luxurious dining table of local literati can be roughly divided into two types, one is the ‘Namdo Korean-style meal’ developed through Jeolla-do, and the second is the ‘Kaesong Korean-style meal’ that inherits the gorgeous food culture of the Goryeo period. In the whole country, there are many brands of Korean-style set meal with Jinju (place name).

Just like the saying “Eight flavors of Jinju”, Jinju is famous for its food ingredients. Jinju is located in the center of Jeolla-do, surrounded by a large area of ​​rice fields, so there are abundant grains and marine products, fresh fish, various fish pastes, mountain vegetables, etc.

Along with the women’s cooking skills, a variety of diets can be easily developed. In addition, the beauty and elegance of Jinju Korean-style food, which is soaked in the solemn and warm hospitality culture, are connected with the romantic food. The general traditional Korean set meal is to look around the table full of food and taste its delicious food. There are countless types of food on the table, and it is not necessary to pick out the best food among all Korean dishes and fill the table with a set meal, which can be called “Korean set meal”.