Experiencing Royal Court Food

The Korean government has established multicultural centers in Seoul and all over Korea to provide learning and cultural experiences to its expat community. Through these multicultural centers, I’ve learned the Korean language and making Korean food for free ~ like in my latest experience when I got to be “Jang Geum”.
Our Royal Court Food class started with a short lecture about the Royal Court Kitchen near the National Royal Palace Museum located just outside exit 5 of Gyeongbokgung Station on subway line 3. It was a free class offered by the Dongdaemun-gu Multicultural Family Center.

After that short lecture, our lecturer started to demonstrate how to cook two Royal Court dishes: 초교탕 (cho-gyo-tang) made with chicken and beef and 상추겉절이 (sang-chu-keot-jo-ri) or lettuce salad.
We got to try making those two dishes after the demonstration and even though I didn’t understand Korean perfectly, I was able to follow the instructions pretty well. Of course, I worked with my friends who also attended the lecture.
The food we made turned out so well and I’ll be trying the new recipe for my husband and my in-laws when they visit.

How to make “Chogyotang”

(This is a light soup that is perfect for the hot summer weather. It’s truly tasty and perfect with rice.)
Ingredients:
chicken, 1/2 (about 400 grams)
ginger, 1 small piece
water, 6 cups
bellflower root (도라지 – doraji), 50 grams
Korean parsley (미나리 – minari), 30 grams
ground beef, 50 grams
dried shiitake mushroom, 1 piece
flour, 2 tablespoons
egg, 1 piece
Marinade for the chicken:
salt, 1/2 teaspoon
minced green onion, 1 teaspoon
minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon
sesame oil, 1 teaspoon
a dash of ginger juice
a pinch of white pepper powder
Marinade for the beef and mushroom:
light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon
minced green onion, 1 teaspoon
minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon
a dash of sesame oil
a dash of black pepper powder

Procedure:
1. Boil the chicken in six cups of water and ginger. When the chicken is done, drain the soup and set aside. Shred the chicken into small pieces.
2. Cut the bellflower root for about 4 cm long and reduce the bitterness by sprinkling salt. Wash and squeeze out the water. Cut the Korean parsley into 4 cm length and blanch in hot water.
3. Marinade the bellflower root, Korean parsley and the shredded chicken together. Set aside.
4. Slice the shiitake mushroom and mix with the ground beef and marinade.
5. Add flour and egg to the marinated chicken. Add the ground beef and shiitake.
6. Boil the chicken soup and add the marinated chicken and ground beef by the spoonful.
7. Serve hot with rice and kimchi.

How to make “Lettuce salad”

Ingredients:
Lettuce, 200 grams
Cucumber, 1/2
Onion, 30 grams
Sauce:
Dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons
sugar, 1 tablespoon
red pepper powder, 1 teaspoon
minced garlic, 1 teaspoon
minced green onion, 2 teaspoons
sesame salt, 1 teaspoon
a dash of sesame oil
vinegar, 2 tablespoons

Procedure:
1. Wash the lettuce and drain.
2. Cut the lettuce by hand.
3. Cut the cucumber in half (lengthwise) and slice into 2 mm pieces.
4. Slice the onion and let sit in cold water for ten minutes. Drain.
5. Mix the sauce, adding the vinegar last.
6. Toss all ingredients and add the sauce. Serve.
We ate the food we made with rice and 열무김치 (radish tops kimchi). We also had watermelon for dessert and it was perfect on a hot summer day.

If you want to try making Royal Court Food, check out this information from VisitKorea’s site ~ Royal Court Food Cooking Experience at the National Palace Museum.