North Korea – Gujeolpan (Platter of Nine Delicacies)

by Eveyln Brutz

This dish is not actually one dish, it is a platter of nine different traditional dishes of Korea. A box is used as a platter to serve these 9 delicacies of Korean tradition. It is a wooden or maybe light metal made up of a box which is divided into 9 parts in an Octagonal shape. On these partitions, dishes are served. They have many different colorful dishes from vegetarian to non-vegetarian dishes.

Word GU means ”Nine”

Word JEOL means ”sections”

Word PAN means ”plate”

So the word ”GUJEOLPAN” means 9 section plate or you can say plate.

This dish has addition of various Namul ( leafy vegetables ), Mushrooms, Meat, Seafood, small Jeon ( pancakes ), Millijeonbyeong, etc.

History of the dish

This is a very old delicacy of Korean cuisine which is old as about the 14th century. This is associated which the Korean Dynastic kingdom. This is the assumption of that time, the plate must be looks like a flower. So this plate originated which is somehow looks like flowers having nine petals. So from this plate, people used to add different dishes to the same plate and that created a tradition.

This plate named as Gujeolpan which is the most colorful and beautiful looking plate till now. The main thing to attarct is the colorful impact of dishes which is looking like a flower.

Dishes of gujeolpan

There are many different dishes made up from meat, vegetables, some dessert, snacks, and starter are served like mushrooms, fish, carrots, potatoes, shrimp, chicken, beef, pancakes, tortillas, etc

This platter looks so beautiful by using colorful ingredients like : Yellow bell pepper, green cucumber, Mushrooms, beefs etc.

Following are nine delicacies of Gujeolpan

1. Beef strips (Kalbi )
2. Sauteed Mushrooms
3. Carrots
4. yellow bell pepper
5. Zucchini
6. Boiled eggs
7. Fried shrimp
8. Pancakes
9. Dipping sauce

BEEF STRIPS/ Kalbi

Korean Barbecued short beef ribs. This is one the top delicacy of Gujeolpan. It has following ingredients

1. Korean style beef short ribs : 2 pounds
2. Soya sauce : 1 cup
3. Mirin : 0.5 cup
4. Brown sugar : 4 tablespoons
5. garlic chopped : 6 cloves
6. Sesame seeds : 4 tablespoons

Cooking method of making these beef kalbi

1. To cook this dish we have to mix all the ingredients together to make a thick paste-like texture.
2. Now take the beef ribs and put them into that mixture of marination.
3. Now let it sit for 20 minutes and the spices with all the taste combined with these beef ribs.
4. Now preheat the oven and let these ribs grilled over there for 20 minutes at 120 degrees.
5. We have the sauce thick marination left beside the beef.
6. Put this mixture into the pot and cook for 5 minutes until the thickness of the sauce appeared
7. After grilling, put this thick sauce over the beef and serve on one of the sections of Gujeolpan.

MUSHROOMS

Grilled mushrooms are best to serve in the Korean delicacy because of its texture, flavors and taste.

Following are the ingredients of making these amazing delicacy

1. Shiitake mushrooms : 4 ounces
2. soya sauce : 2/3 cup
3. Sake : 4 tablespoons
4. Sesame oil : 3 teaspoons
5. red pepper : 1 teaspoons
6. salt : a pinch

Cooking method of making mushrooms

1. To make these, add sesame oil with mushrooms into pot and bring them to heat.
2. Now after some time of simmering, add soya sauce, sake with salt and pepper into pot.
3. Than let it rest with them.
4. Grill these sauteed mushrooms in oven for 5 minutes and served on the octagonal platter.

DIPPING SAUCE

Ingredients of this sauce is given below

1. Mustard sauce : 1 cup
2. Hot sauce : 1/2 cup
3. Soya sauce : 1/2 cup
4. Rice vinegar : 1/4 cup
5. Brown sugar : 2 tablespoons

Method of making this sauce

Mix all the ingredients and stirr until sugar dissolves properly and serve.

Korean gujeolpan pancakes

These pancakes are savoury pancakes only made up from flour salt and water. They are known as pancakes becausethe batter is made first and than put up on to the pan to cook.

Following are the ingredients

1. Plain flour : 2 cups
2. Water : 1.5 cups ( to make a thin liquid paste )
3. Salt : 1 teaspoon
4. Butter : 2 tablespoons

Direction to make this pancakes

1. To make these pancakes, We have to mix all three ingredients like plain flour, salt and water.
2. Make a thin paste, now heat up the pan and add little butter on the pan.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of that paste to the pan and spread it evenly.
4. Cooked it from both sides and serve it on the gujeolpan platter.

Juliene Cut Carrots

Juliene Cut Zucchinni

Juliene Cut cucumber

Thinly cut Eggs strips