TOP 10 CHUSEOK FOOD 

Chuseok (추석), also known as Hangawi, is a significant mid-autumn harvest festival, a three-day holiday celebrated in South Korea on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month on the full moon. Chuseok's literal translation is "autumn twilight," and known outside the country as the Korean Thanksgiving. Families come together to honor their ancestors and celebrate the harvest with a delicious buffet that includes several traditional delicacies including Songpyeon, a rice cake shaped like a half-moon, Galbijjim, and Japchae.

So, lets go to the important part, the delicious delicacies you can enjoy on this important day for Koreans! 

Yukjeon (육전)

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It is a customary holiday or celebration dish in which thinly sliced beef is seasoned and coated with wheat flour and egg wash, used to make the jeon (pan-fried battered dish) known as yukjeon (a term used for a variety of jeon made of meat).

Guljeolpan (구절판)

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Gujeolpan is a traditional dish from the Joseon Dynasty that has eight delicate fillings, which include different namul (seasoned leaf vegetables), meats, mushrooms, and seafood dishes, are divided by color and ingredient. Miljeonbyeong, a type of miniature jeon (Korean-style pancakes) prepared with wheat flour, are stacked in the middle of the tray to accompany the fillings.

Galbijjim (갈비찜)

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In traditional cooking, galbijjim, which is typically produced from just the center of a calf's ribs while the rib ends are utilized to make soup stock, is traditionally consumed at Chuseok. The ribs are combined with soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions, minced garlic, pepper, ground sesame with salt, ginger juice, and sugar and cooked slowly at mid-heat.

Japchae (잡채)

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Popular in Korean cooking, japchae is a meal of stir-fried veggies and glass noodles that is savory and just a little bit sweet, commonly cooked with dangmyeon, a type of sweet potato starch-based cellophane noodle that is mixed with various meats, veggies, and mushrooms before being seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil.

Nukdujeon (녹두전)

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Nukdujeon, also known as Bindaetteok is a traditional holiday dish, and a popular street food. It is a form of buchimgae (Korean pancake) made by pulverizing soaked mung beans, which are very nutrient-dense and have numerous health advantages. They are well recognized as a detoxifying cuisine in Korea, and they are made by pan-frying meat and veggies into a flat, rounded shape.

Kkaennip Jeon

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In this form, it is stuffed before being covered in egg batter. The strong flavor of the perilla leaves contrasts nicely with the light filling and makes for a delectable combination. You can put zucchini or green chili peppers in case you don't have or can’t find any perilla leaves.

Muguk Soup

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It is considered a comfort food and traditional in Korean homes that can be enjoyed with rice and kimchi. It is prepared with beef and Korean radish, or mu, in a mild broth with garlic and fish sauce as flavorings. Soegogi muguk, which means "beef radish soup" in English, is the dish's full name. In Korean, guk signifies soup.

Youngyang Chaltteok (영양 찰떡)

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Chaltteok, also known as chapssal garu, is the name given to sticky, chewy rice cakes prepared from glutinous rice (sweet rice). Additionally, it goes by the abbreviated form youngyang tteok (or dduk). Along with the traditional variety, such songpyeon for Chuseok, Korean houses bake a variety of rice cakes for special occasions.

Modeumjeon

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Modeumjeon is basically any combination of jeon dishes (pan fried battered food) so with this one you can feel fry to choose the ingredients you love the most. To produce a soft skin, tiny ingredient bits are individually pan-fried in egg batter. The latter has numerous varieties, like fish (saengseonjeon), zucchini (hobakjeon), shrimp (saewoojeon), perilla leaf (kkaennip), oysters (guljeon), mushrooms (beoseotjeon), chili pepper (gochujeon), etc.

Songpyeon (송편)

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A Korean Chuseok treat known as songpyeon, also known as a half-moon-shaped rice cake, is composed of rice powder, loaded with a sweet filling (soybeans, cowpeas, chestnuts, jujubes, dates, red beans, sesame seeds, or honey) and typically steamed over a bed of pine needles. The word song in the name of the dish signifies pine tree. It is a well-known representation of conventional Korean culture and first mentioned in documents from the Goryeo era.

Shall we try doing these delicious half-moon-shaped rice cakes at home? Below is the recipe to enjoy it with your family and friends.

Songpyeon Recipe (from Maangchi)

Ingredients

• 3¼ cup short grain rice flour
• Rice flour
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 teaspoons yellow water from gardenia fruits
• Hot water
• Kosher salt
• Honey/Sugar
• ¼ cup fresh beans (cranberry beans or any fresh beans)
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 3 tablespoons Toasted Sesame Seeds
• Pine needles
• 1 tablespoon Sesame Oil

Directions

Author: SUJI SOHN

About the author: Suji was studying in London in the year 2019 and, although being separated from her family, her passion for Korea was growing. She noticed that a lot of her close friends loved Korean culture, food, music, and dramas and gradually started to fall in love with Korea, but there weren't many opportunities to actually "experience" this wonderful nation!

Suji was aware of what she needed to do to introduce Korea to her friends' lives and, conceivably, to those of everyone else who was curious about a piece of Daehan Min-guk.