''Gamja-tang'' * () or pork back-bone stew is a spicy Korean

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...

made from the spine or neck bones of a pig. It often contains

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es,

cellophane noodles Cellophane noodles, or fensi (), sometimes called glass noodles, are a type of transparent noodle made from starch (such as mung bean starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch, tapioca, or canna starch) and water. A stabilizer such as chitosan ...

, dried

radish The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an Eating, edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman Empire, Roman times. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, be ...

greens,

perilla ''Perilla'' is a genus consisting of one major Asiatic crop species ''Perilla frutescens'' and a few wild species in nature belonging to the mint family, Lamiaceae. The genus encompasses several distinct varieties of Asian herb, seed, and vegeta ...

leaves,

green onions "Green Onions" is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Described as "one of the most popular instrumental rock and soul songs ever" and as one of "the most popular R&B instrumentals of its era", the tune is a ...

hot peppers Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for t ...

and ground

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

seeds. The vertebrae are usually separated with bits of meat clinging to them. The vertebrae are boiled at high temperatures to soften the meat. To remove the meat, one must use an instrument such as a chopstick. The meal is usually served with

kimchi ''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including ''gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), sprin ...

and a bowl of rice. This food is served as a lunch or dinner and often as a late-night snack, as well. The soup base is a deep red colour from the red hot peppers. The soup is now common in Korean restaurants outside

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, including the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

History

Gamjatang originated in the southern

n province of

Jeolla Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in today Southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as wel ...

. The main industry of Jeolla Province was agriculture, and hogs were widely raised and used for food. The origins of gamjatang can be traced back to the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

era when South Jeolla farmers raised hogs in greater numbers than in most of the rest of Korea. It's said to Go Yujeong is the creator of gamjatang, but there is no reference about this claim. Since cattle were the backbone of farming then, used both for their manure and plowing, cattle were much more valuable than hogs. Slaughtering hogs for feasts and special occasions was much more common than slaughtering beef, which helps explain the dish's pork origins. When

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

harbor opened, many people migrated to Seoul and its surrounding area from Jeolla Province, as well as from other parts of the country. When construction of the Gyung-ui Railway began in 1899, laborers started working around Incheon, and gamjatang become popular among them because it is cheap and nutritious, and its high fat content provided the calories they needed. As time passed, gamjatang became one of the iconic foods of

History

See also

References

External links