Gujeolpan is one of the preeminent dishes of Joseon court cuisine. It's made with eight ingredients, including vegetables and meat. All the ingredients are designed to be wrapped with a thinly fried pancake made from flour and with a dipping sauce made from either mustard or soy sauce with vinegar.
The name gujeolpan (구절판, 九折坂) actually means "a plate with nine sections," which later became the name for the dish itself.
The name has very deep meaning. The word gu (구, 九) means the number nine. For many people, nine represents everything, fullness or perfection. For example, the gujok (구족, 九足) means the members of the whole family, or all the people. Gujungcheon (구중천, 九重天) means the universe. Likewise, gujeolpan holds the meaning of harmony, as all the different ingredients create harmony together.
Gujeolpan is characterized by the harmony between the five directional colors -- yellow, white, black, blue and red -- created by the natural colors of the ingredients. It's served with small, round pancakes decorated with each of the thinly sliced ingredients displayed by color. As it takes a lot of time and effort to prepare, it's always served for important guests or at banquets. As it's colorful and wonderfully garnished, it's believed to make the table setting more beautiful. It was also considered one of the best-loved dishes for many people when they go out to eat.
What’s more, as gujeolpan is made with various ingredients, the dish provides a balanced, abundant amount of nutrition. As it's light and not very oily, people from all around the world who wish to pursue both taste and health at the same time can enjoy the dish.
** Ingredients
100 grams beef (top round)
10 grams (2 sheets) brown oak mushrooms
Seasoning sauce for beef, shitake mushrooms:
1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce (25.5 grams)
1 tablespoon of sugar (13 grams)
1 tablespoon of chopped green onion (10 grams)
1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic (5 grams)
1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil (6 grams)
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper (1 gram)
1/3 cucumber (200 grams)
1/3 carrot (100 grams)
200 grams of bean sprouts (shrimp or bamboo shoots can also be used)
1/2 teaspoon of salt (3.5 grams)
1 teaspoon of sesame oil (4 grams)
4 shitake mushrooms (25 grams)
10 grams of rock mushrooms
4 eggs (220 grams)
Wheat flour pancake:
1 cup of wheat flour (100 grams)
1 cup of water (200 grams)
1/2 teaspoon of salt (2.5 grams)
Mustard dipping sauce:
3 tablespoons of fermented mustard (32.4 grams)
3 tablespoons of vinegar (45 grams)
2 tablespoons of sugar (26 grams)
2 teaspoons of salt (10 grams)
1 tablespoon of broth (15 grams)
3 tablespoons of condensed milk (45 grams)
** Recipe
1. Clean the blood off the beef with a cotton cloth. Shred the meat into strips that are 5-6 centimeters long, 0.2 centimeters wide and fairly thick. Season it all with half of the seasoning sauce. Preheat the frying pan and oil and stir-fry the beef.
2. Cut the carrots and cucumber into strips 5 centimeters long, and peel and slice them into thin slices. Add the salt to the carrots and cucumber pieces and remove any water by squeezing them dry. Fry the carrots and cucumbers with cooking oil in a frying pan. Remove the heads and tails of the bean sprouts. Put the bean sprouts into boiling water for a few seconds with a pinch of salt. Season the bean sprouts with a bit of salt and sesame oil.
3. Soak the shitake mushrooms in water for about one hour. Remove their heads and stems and slice them into thin pieces. Season the mushrooms with seasoning and fry them in a pan preheated with cooking oil. Soak the rock mushrooms in hot water and wash them. Shred them into thin strips and fry them with a pinch of salt and some sesame oil.
4. Fry the egg yolks and whites separately, and slice them very thinly, like the carrot slices.
5. Sieve the flour and mix it with a bit of water. Knead the flour to make pancake dough. Preheat the frying pan with oil. Fry the flour pancakes and make round-shaped dough cakes about 6 centimeters in diameter.
6. Place the pancakes in the middle of the platter and decorate them with the prepared ingredients all around the platter, matching colors. Serve with the mustard dipping sauce.
Managed by Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Jeon Han Korea.net Photographer
In cooperation with the Institute of Traditional Korean Food (ITKF)
arete@korea.kr
The name gujeolpan (구절판, 九折坂) actually means "a plate with nine sections," which later became the name for the dish itself.
The name has very deep meaning. The word gu (구, 九) means the number nine. For many people, nine represents everything, fullness or perfection. For example, the gujok (구족, 九足) means the members of the whole family, or all the people. Gujungcheon (구중천, 九重天) means the universe. Likewise, gujeolpan holds the meaning of harmony, as all the different ingredients create harmony together.
Gujeolpan is characterized by the harmony between the five directional colors -- yellow, white, black, blue and red -- created by the natural colors of the ingredients. It's served with small, round pancakes decorated with each of the thinly sliced ingredients displayed by color. As it takes a lot of time and effort to prepare, it's always served for important guests or at banquets. As it's colorful and wonderfully garnished, it's believed to make the table setting more beautiful. It was also considered one of the best-loved dishes for many people when they go out to eat.
What’s more, as gujeolpan is made with various ingredients, the dish provides a balanced, abundant amount of nutrition. As it's light and not very oily, people from all around the world who wish to pursue both taste and health at the same time can enjoy the dish.
Gujeolpan is a platter of nine delicacies made from eight ingredients that are wrapped with a flour pancake. It's a popular dish to serve to important guests or at banquets, as it's colorful and light in taste.
** Ingredients
100 grams beef (top round)
10 grams (2 sheets) brown oak mushrooms
Seasoning sauce for beef, shitake mushrooms:
1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce (25.5 grams)
1 tablespoon of sugar (13 grams)
1 tablespoon of chopped green onion (10 grams)
1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic (5 grams)
1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil (6 grams)
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper (1 gram)
1/3 cucumber (200 grams)
1/3 carrot (100 grams)
200 grams of bean sprouts (shrimp or bamboo shoots can also be used)
1/2 teaspoon of salt (3.5 grams)
1 teaspoon of sesame oil (4 grams)
4 shitake mushrooms (25 grams)
10 grams of rock mushrooms
4 eggs (220 grams)
Wheat flour pancake:
1 cup of wheat flour (100 grams)
1 cup of water (200 grams)
1/2 teaspoon of salt (2.5 grams)
Mustard dipping sauce:
3 tablespoons of fermented mustard (32.4 grams)
3 tablespoons of vinegar (45 grams)
2 tablespoons of sugar (26 grams)
2 teaspoons of salt (10 grams)
1 tablespoon of broth (15 grams)
3 tablespoons of condensed milk (45 grams)
The main ingredients of gujeolpan are beef, eggs, carrots, cucumbers, bean sprouts, shitake and rock mushrooms, and flour.
** Recipe
1. Clean the blood off the beef with a cotton cloth. Shred the meat into strips that are 5-6 centimeters long, 0.2 centimeters wide and fairly thick. Season it all with half of the seasoning sauce. Preheat the frying pan and oil and stir-fry the beef.
2. Cut the carrots and cucumber into strips 5 centimeters long, and peel and slice them into thin slices. Add the salt to the carrots and cucumber pieces and remove any water by squeezing them dry. Fry the carrots and cucumbers with cooking oil in a frying pan. Remove the heads and tails of the bean sprouts. Put the bean sprouts into boiling water for a few seconds with a pinch of salt. Season the bean sprouts with a bit of salt and sesame oil.
3. Soak the shitake mushrooms in water for about one hour. Remove their heads and stems and slice them into thin pieces. Season the mushrooms with seasoning and fry them in a pan preheated with cooking oil. Soak the rock mushrooms in hot water and wash them. Shred them into thin strips and fry them with a pinch of salt and some sesame oil.
4. Fry the egg yolks and whites separately, and slice them very thinly, like the carrot slices.
5. Sieve the flour and mix it with a bit of water. Knead the flour to make pancake dough. Preheat the frying pan with oil. Fry the flour pancakes and make round-shaped dough cakes about 6 centimeters in diameter.
6. Place the pancakes in the middle of the platter and decorate them with the prepared ingredients all around the platter, matching colors. Serve with the mustard dipping sauce.
Managed by Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Jeon Han Korea.net Photographer
In cooperation with the Institute of Traditional Korean Food (ITKF)
arete@korea.kr
Slice each ingredient -- the beef, cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms, eggs -- as thinly and evenly as possible.
Fry each of the thinly sliced ingredients with cooking oil.
To make gujeolpan a bit more enticing, it's important to make the flour pancakes extremely thin and round. All the other ingredients need to be shredded into thin strips.
Gujeolpan is best served with a mustard sauce, as it creates a light and pleasant taste thanks to the various ingredients. Bamboo shoots, shrimp, abalone or sea cucumber can also be added to the dish.
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