JEJU-DO—The sun is broiling, the humidex is high, and in Korea that means it’s time for a nice, hot bowl of chicken soup. Just as people in the West associate certain foods with holidays, so do Korean people enjoy special meals during particular seasons. July 19 in Korea was Chobok, the first day of Sambok, a period that spans the three 복날 (pronounced “bok-nal”), or “dog days,” which Koreans believe are the hottest of the summer, and which are usually spent eating things that most North Americans would consider perfect fare for a cold winter night.
The consumption of hot dishes to beat hot weather is tied to Asian medicine, which suggests eating hot foods causes perspiration, cooling the outside of the body, while warming and rejuvenating the inside, thereby fighting fatigue brought on by the scorching heat. The Sambok tradition dates back hundreds of years to the dynastic period, when farmers believed that exhaustion caused by working too hard in the heat would lead to a bad harvest; they took the Sambok period off to vacation in a cooler locale, often somewhere in the mountains or by the seaside.
In Korea’s current workaholic climate, there’s little time for leisurely summer getaways, especially ones as long as Sambok — Jungbok (the middle dog day) comes ten days after Chobok on July 29, and Malbok (the last dog day) follows on August 8. (These dates are based on the lunar calendar, and the belief is that after Malbok, which comes at the end of monsoon season, the heat should start to ease off a little.) The faith in hot food as a tonic, however, remains widespread, and these days everyone is out eating dishes renowned for their revivifying properties, hoping to get a little extra stamina with which to brave the Seoul subway system, cram for their next exam or, in Jeju, surf the mighty waves pile-driving Jungmun beach.
The runaway favourite is Samgyetang (삼계탕), which consists of a whole young chicken stuffed with rice, ginseng, jujube dates and garlic, boiled in a mild, milky broth and served in a big stone bowl as a single serving. It’s forcefully hearty, and tends to make me feel as if I’d inflated my stomach with a high-pressure air pump, but Korean people swear by it; on Bongnal days, there are often lineups outside Samgyetang restaurants. I’ve yet to indulge this summer, but it’s not exactly as if I or any of my like-minded North American friends can claim the heat thing is weird or off-putting, given the amount of time we spend hunched over flaming grills, trying not to sweat on our tenderloins.
Other Korean foods to fight summer sluggishness include 장어구”, or grilled eel, said to be good for the skin; red bean porridge; and the ever controversial 보신탕 (Bosintang), or doggie soup, the name of which translates literally as something like “healthy stew” or, according to my woefully stupid and apparently semi-Ebonic Mac translator widget, “self-protection thang.” (BTW, the term “dog days” has nothing to do with eating Rover and co.; it originated with the Romans, who liked making up stories about the stars.)
In the meantime, for those who just can’t wrap their heads around the heat-on-heat approach to cooling off, there’s additional good news: once again, it’s Pat Bing Su season. Nothing says cool like a heaping bowl of ice chips, red beans, milk, kiwi syrup, corn flakes, corn kernels, sugar-coated jujube cubes, sprinkles and tomatoes. Mashikke tuseyo!
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