''Jeok'' () is a

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

meat dish served with

skewer A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roasting ...

s. Jeok is typically made with a large variety of meats, vegetables and mushrooms and is usually served on special occasions such as

birthdays A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many rel ...

( hwangap) and wedding ceremonies. Jeok comes in multiple varieties, including ''

sanjeok ''Sanjeok'' () is a type of '' jeok'' (skewered food) in Korean cuisine. It is usually made by placing seasoned slices of beef with vegetables on a skewer and grilling them. All the ingredients are sliced into long pieces. Unlike other ''jeok'' d ...

'' and '' nureum-jeok''.

Origin

Jeok is from Maekjeok (맥적; 貊炙). It is discussed in the book ''

In Search of the Supernatural The ''Soushen Ji'', variously translated as ''In Search of the Sacred'', ''In Search of the Supernatural'', and ''Anecdotes about Spirits and Immortals'', is a Chinese compilation of legends, short stories, and hearsay concerning Chinese gods, ...

'' (搜神記) written during the Jin dynasty of China. In a letter Maek (貊) refers to the Yemaek people, the tribe believed to be the ancestors of modern Koreans. The book says " Qiang simmered dish and

Yemaek Yemaek or Yamaek () was an ancient tribal group in the northern Korean Peninsula and Manchuria who are regarded by some scholars as the ancestors of modern Koreans. They had ancestral ties to various Korean kingdoms including Gojoseon, Buyeo, Go ...

roast are barbarian's foods. Since the beginning of China, they are prized by nobles and rich people" (羌煮,貊炙,翟之食也。自太始以來,中國尚之。貴人,富室,必留其器) where Yemaek roast is Maekjeok. According to another record ''

Shiming The ''Shiming'' (), also known as the ''Yìyǎ'' (逸雅; ''I-ya''; ''Lost Erya''), is a Chinese dictionary that employed phonological glosses, and "is believed to date from ''c''. 200 E. This dictionary is linguistically invaluable because it ...

'' (釋名), "Maekjeok is a whole pig that is barbecued, from which pieces of meat are sliced off by each individual participating in the meal. It derives from Yemaek." (貊炙,全體炙之,各自以刀割,出於胡貊之為也) While the ancient descriptions of Maekjeok is different from

Bulgogi ''Bulgogi'' (불고기; ; from Korean ''bul-gogi'' ), literally "fire meat", is a ''gui'' (구이; Korean-style grilled or roasted dish) made of thin, marinated slices of meat, most commonly beef, grilled on a barbecue or on a stove-top grid ...

, some theorize that Maekjeok ultimately evolved to modern day Bulgogi. Outside of the nobility, ordinary people also enjoyed jeok and similar grilled dishes without skewers, such as

bulgogi ''Bulgogi'' (불고기; ; from Korean ''bul-gogi'' ), literally "fire meat", is a ''gui'' (구이; Korean-style grilled or roasted dish) made of thin, marinated slices of meat, most commonly beef, grilled on a barbecue or on a stove-top grid ...

and

galbi ''Galbi'' * (), ''galbi-gui'' (), or grilled ribs, is a type of ''gui'' (grilled dish) in Korean cuisine. "''Galbi''" is the Korean word for "rib", and the dish is usually made with beef short ribs. When pork spare ribs or another meat is us ...

Variety

Depending on the ingredients and preparation methods, the exact names become ''

'', '' nureum-jeok''(누름적), along other variations. The three main categories of jeok are fish, vegetable and meat. Vegetables served with jeok include spring onions, carrots, broad bell flowers and most notably, mushrooms. These are foods that are widely found available in the local areas where the cuisine first became popular.Making Sanjeok
/ref> As jeok consists of several ingredients, from vegetables to meat, the dish has a high nutritional balance and unlike many Korean dishes, does not include rice.

Notes

Sources

* (Korean) Han Chun Seop, Lee Soon ok, 2012, Nutritional balanced food made of mushroom * (Korean) Jeon Sung Hee, 2008, Jeon 50(전50) {{barbecue Ancient dishes Korean meat dishes Skewered foods

Origin

Variety

See also

Notes

Sources