''Seolleongtang'' * () or ox bone soup is a

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 ...

n broth tang (soup) made from ox bones (mostly leg bones),

brisket Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectora ...

and other cuts. Seasoning is generally done at the table according to personal taste by adding

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

, ground black pepper, red pepper, minced garlic, or chopped spring onions. It is a local dish of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

. ''Seolleongtang'' is typically simmered over a low flame over a period of several hours to an entire day, to allow the flavor to be gradually extracted from the bones. It has a milky off-white, cloudy appearance and is normally eaten together with

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

and several side dishes; the rice is sometimes added directly to the soup.

History and etymology

In the

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and r ...

, Koreans regularly made nationwide sacrifices to their ancestors, such as

Dangun Dangun (; ) or Dangun Wanggeom (; ) was the legendary founder and god-king of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, around present-day Liaoning province in Northeast China and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. He is said to be the "gran ...

(the legendary founder of the kingdom of

Gojoseon Gojoseon () also called Joseon (), was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary founder named Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean P ...

). The nationwide sacrifice was called ''Sŏnnong''je (hangul: 선농제; hanja: 先農祭, ''Sŏnnong'' meaning "venerated farmer"), and the altar for the sacrifice was called ''Sŏnnong dan'' (hangul: 선농단; hanja: 先農壇), which dates back to the

Silla Dynasty Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of Ko ...

.Seonnong dan
at Doosan Encyclopedia King Seongjong had visited the sacrifice himself, and had eaten a meal with the people of Joseon. To increase the food supply in Joseon, King Seongjong ordered them to invent dishes that could feed the maximum number of people using the fewest ingredients, and ''seonnongtang'' (''tang'' meaning "soup") was one of these. Another historical opinion precedes the Joseon dynasty concerning the origin of seolleongtang. According to this, the food was originated by the Mongolian invasion of Koryo during the 13th century. Mongolian food "Sulen" is sliced and boiled beef with

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 ...

, which developed into seolleongtang in Korea. ''Seonnongtang'' is now called ''seolleongtang'' for easier pronunciation. The phonetic values have changed as follows: * Seonnongtang (선농탕, Sŏnnongt'ang) > Seollongtang (설롱탕, Sŏllongt'ang) > Seolleongtang (설렁탕, Sŏllŏngt'ang) The first change is a consonant liquidization making the two "N" sounds into softer "L" sounds for easy pronunciation. The second change is a vowel harmonization of the "O" sound affected by the "Ŏ" sound. Among common misbeliefs related to the dish, the name may come from its snowy white color and hearty taste, so ''seolleongtang'' was named " 雪濃湯" in

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

(literally "snowy thick soup"). Therefore, several Korean dictionaries say that the

spelling such as 雪濃湯 is an incorrect usage for the dish. Nevertheless, the misspelling is used to refer to the soup in

."Regional specialities: Seoul: Seolleongtang"
''Korea Tourism Organization''. 9 January 2006. Retrieved 2012-04-12

References

{{reflist, 2 Korean soups and stews

History and etymology

See also

References