ANDREW FARRELL explains the delights of haejangguk - Korea’s top hangover cure
Love it or loathe it, there’s little chance of being able to survive here in South Korea without enjoying spicy food – or, as in my case, adapting your tastes so a night’s dinner doesn’t become boiled rice and a glass of water. When eating out, the decision is normally one of the following: chicken, pork, beef or duck. After that, it’s about balancing the right flavours and spices to accompany the meal.
As a result, it comes as a great pleasure when you discover something new. Even after nine months, I am still being introduced to the unique delights of Korean cuisine – and this is where haejangguk comes into play.
It’s unsurprising that a country which loves to drink so much should have a dish whose name is best translated as ‘soup to chase a hangover’. This delicious, beefy broth is so popular, in fact, it’s even served in my school (a glimpse into the future for our children, perhaps?).
Oddly, I haven’t been nursing a hangover any time I’ve opted for this wonderful meal. But scanning the restaurant floor can be an amusing exercise in speculating on the health of the diners. You often find groups of three or four young men sitting away from the sunlight and the TV, with just a bowl in front of them and little conversation.
Look the other way and you might see a family out for a meal, the mother chatting loudly with her children while the father takes shots of soju (Korea’s equivalent of vodka) between his spoons of soup – surely prepping for a bowl of haejangguk in the morning.
As for the famed hangover cure itself, it’s believed that it owes its origins to a broth known as Seon Ju Tang during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), which roughly translates as ‘soup to get sober’. The dish is also represented in many paintings and poems during the long-running Joseon Dynasty, which ended after the Japanese occupation in 1910.
As for the ingredients, haejangguk usually consists of three or four bones of pork, some dried cabbage, vegetables, and congealed ox blood all served in a splendid broth. Rice often accompanies the meal, plus peppers, kimchi, and assorted extras which are normally untouched as attention moves quickly to the soup.
Using your spoon and chopsticks, spend about five minutes shifting through the bones, tearing off the meat; the pork is so tender and soft that little effort is required. Once you’re done with that, dump the bones onto one of your side plates. The broth is usually boiling when it arrives, so time taken to strip all the meat is well spent. Once it’s cooled a little, sit forward and enjoy – try dipping your rice into the broth to really bring out the extraordinary flavour.
Haejanghuk is one of those dishes that leaves you with that feeling of always wanting more. You might even find yourself breaking the bones to find that little piece of pork that eluded you in your chopstick massacre. For just 5,000 won (€3.50), this is simply as good as it gets.
Perhaps there is an equivalent in another country, but there is something almost legendary about this scrumptious hangover cure – and it’s part of what makes Korea so special to me.
Andrew Farrell is working as an English language teacher in Korea
