Seolleongtang
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Seolleongtang
Korean name
Hangul 설렁탕 Hanja 先農湯 Revised Romanization Seolleongtang McCune- Reischauer Sŏllŏngt'ang

Seolleongtang is a Korean soup made from the bones of the four legs of an ox. But, the front legs gives better taste. Generally, only salt and welsh onions are used as seasoning. Usually, ground black pepper is served with the dish. It is typically cooked 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 and several side dishes; the rice may be added directly to the soup.

Etymology

In the Joseon dynasty, Koreans regularly made nationwide sacrifices to their ancestors, such as Dangun (the legendary founder of the kingdom of Gojoseon). The nationwide sacrifice was called Seonnongje (hangul: 선농제; hanja: 先農祭, Seonnong meaning "venerated farmer"), and the altar for the sacrifice was called Seonnongdan (hangul: 선농단; hanja: 先農壇), which dates back to the Silla Dynasty.[1] King Sejong of Joseon had visited the sacrifice himself, and had eaten a meal with the people of Joseon. In order to increase the food supply in Joseon, King Seongjong ordered them to invent dishes that could feed the maximum number of people using the least amount of ingredients, and seonnongtang (tang meaning "soup") was one of these. The sole ingredient used in the preparation of seolleongtang is the leg bones of an ox. At that time, this food was called seonnongtang, and it is now called seolleongtang for easier pronounication. 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.

It has also been proposed that the word seolleong derives from the Mongolian word sju-ru or sjullu, which means "broth."¹

Among common mis-beliefs 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 (literally "snowy thick soup"). Therefore, several Korean dictionaries say that the hanja spelling such as 雪濃湯 is an incorrect usage for the dish.^{234 5} Nevertheless, the misspelling⁶ is used to refer to the soup in the Chinese language.^78910111213

Recipe

1st. The legs of cattle is immersed in cold water for about 3 hours in order to remove blood from the legs.

2nd. The legs prepared from the 1st step is added to boiling water, and continue to boil primarily for about 30 mins. You should not add the legs into cold water to boil it.

3rd. Dispose the primary boiled water, and then wash the legs very clean. The steps 2nd and 3rd can be processed for more times if you want.

4th. The legs is boiled for about 6 hours or more until the water is changed into white color.
When oil is floated to the boiling water, the oil must be removed by spoon or Hanji (Korean paper art).
If the color of broth is changed into dark yellow, you cannot eat it. The quality of the legs is bad.

5th. If the water color is changed into dark white, the broth is put in a large bowl.

6th. The broth is ready to served, but sliced onion, salts, ground black pepper, steamed rice and several side dishes should be served together. Dadaegi can be served if you like.

References

See also

• Korean cuisine

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