Sanga Yorok facts for kids
Sanga Yorok (hangul:산가요록, hanja:山家要錄) is a very old and important Korean cookbook. It was written around 1459 by a royal doctor named Jeon Soon. This book isn't just about cooking; it also shares tips about farming! The name "Sanga Yorok" means "records for farming villages," showing how useful it was for people living in the countryside.
Contents
What is Sanga Yorok?
This special book is one of the earliest Korean cookbooks we know about. It was written in hanja, which is a traditional writing system using Chinese characters. Imagine a book from over 500 years ago that teaches you how to cook and farm!
Who Wrote Sanga Yorok?
The author, Jeon Soon, was a doctor for the royal family during the Joseon Dynasty. He worked for kings like Munjong and Sejo. Besides Sanga Yorok, he also wrote another important book called Sikryo Chanyo. This was the first Korean book ever written about using food to help people stay healthy.
What Recipes Are Inside?
Sanga Yorok is packed with 239 different cooking methods! It covers many traditional Korean foods. You can find recipes for:
The book also has many recipes for traditional Korean drinks.
Kimchi and Other Specialties
One of the most amazing things about Sanga Yorok is how many recipes it has for kimchi. It describes 38 different kinds of kimchi! This shows how important kimchi was even back then. The book also shares recipes for 63 traditional ways to make fermented drinks.
For a dish called shikhye (a sweet rice drink), the book lists 7 different versions. These versions use interesting ingredients like fish, pork rinds, bamboo shoots, bellflower, and even pheasant!
Why is Sanga Yorok Important?
This ancient book helps us understand what Korean food was like in the 15th century. It gives us a peek into the culinary culture of that time. But it's not just about food! Sanga Yorok also includes descriptions of how to design a greenhouse. This shows that people were thinking about growing food in special ways even hundreds of years ago.
