Dotori-muk

Dotori-muk
* () or acorn jelly is a Korean food which is a jelly made from acorn starch. Although "'' muk''" means "jelly", when used without qualifiers, it usually refers to ''dotori-muk''. The practice of making ''dotori-muk'' originated in mountainous areas of ancient Korea, when abundant oak trees produced enough acorns each autumn to become a viable source of food. Dotori-muk does not spoil easily, so it was used as a lunch box when traveling a long way.

Production

Despite being a rich source of starch and proteins, acorns contain large amounts of tannins and other polyphenols, which prevent the human body from digesting them properly. Harvested acorns must be properly leached of the tannins prior to consumption.

Acorns are either collected directly from the ground or knocked off the tree branches. The acorns are opened and the nutmeat ground into a fine orange-brown paste. The paste is then stirred into vats of water and the acorns' fiber is separated from the starch through sieving and settling. The starch-water mixture is collected and allowed to sit so that the tannins in the starch diffuse into the water, which is changed several times. The overall soaking time depends on the amount of tannins in the paste.

The now-tannin-free starch-water suspension should have an off-white colour. This starch is allowed to completely settle at the bottom of the vat, the water drained away and the paste collected in trays to dry. The dried starch cake is then pulverized and packaged for sale. ''Dotori-muk'' is also commercially available in powdered form, which must be mixed with water, boiled until pudding-like in consistency, then set in a flat dish.

Serving

Like other '' muk'', ''dotori-muk'' is most commonly eaten in the form of ''dotori-muk-muchim'' (도토리묵무침), a side dish, a "muk alley" took shape around the popular muk restaurant 'Grandma's House' (할머니집), which was founded in the late 1960s. At Expo '93 in Daejeon, Gujeuk dotori-muk was designated a representative local food and became nationally known. Muk Cooking made by a woman started attracting people's attention. In particular, ''Muk-mari'' is made of salted seaweed (chopped seaweed powder) with its rich texture and is made of dried acorn.

File:Korean acorn jelly-Dotorimuk-02.jpg, ''Dotori-muk-muchim'' (acorn jelly salad)

History

During the first of the Japanese invasions of Korea in the Joseon Dynasty, King Seonjo took refuge in the north. Food shortages due to the invasion made it difficult for the villagers to find something to serve the king and his entourage, so they hurriedly made them dotori-muk. Later, even after returning to the palace, King Seonjo often ate dotori-muk as a sign that he would not forget the hardships of the war.

See also

*''Nokdumuk'' – made from mung beans
*''Hwangpomuk'' – a yellow-colored jelly made from mung beans
*''Memilmuk'' – made from buckwheat
*''Konjac'' – a Japanese jelly

References

External links

Muk page
*{{cite web
, title = ''Dotorimuk muchim'' recipe
, work
Visitkorea :The Official Korea Tourism Guide Site
, publisher = Korea Tourism Organization
, url = http://english.tour2korea.com/05food/LocalFood/gw_08.asp?kosm=m5_3&konum=7
, accessdate = 2007-01-19
, archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070814062201/http://english.tour2korea.com/05food/LocalFood/gw_08.asp?kosm=m5_3&konum=7
, archive-date = 2007-08-14

Seasoned Acorn Jelly (Dotori Muk Muchim) recipeBlog showing the commercial process for grinding, detoxifying, straining starch to make dotorimukBlog showing the process at home for grinding, detoxifying, straining starch to make dotorimukAnother blog showing the process at home for grinding, detoxifying, straining starch to make dotorimukBlog showing cleaned acorn starch being dried
Muk (food)
Korean cuisine
Ancient dishes
Gelatin