With a Lunar Calendar there are three hot days during summer. Koreans call them Chobok, Joongbok, and Malbok which are defined as first hot day, middle hot day and last hot day. This year, those days were July 19, July 29, and August 8. Koreans are served precious food such as Samgyetang (chicken stew) and Choouhtang (mudfish) to strengthen the body which is weakened by the hot weather.
Samgyetang is chicken stew which consists of ginger. Other medicinal herbs like wolfberry and angelica sinensis could be inserted. The young chicken, which can serve one person, can be used for Samgyetang. Like a turkey dish on Thanksgiving Day, all of the ingredients has to be inserted into the chicken’s cavity and you must close the flaps over the cavity (sew with thread or use a skewer). Afterwards, place the chicken in a pot, about half filled with water, and boil it for several hours. It is served with salt and pepper. Hot red chili pepper paste can be inserted to enrich its flavors and taste to one’s preference. Samgyetang is a symbolic food in Korea during the summer.
Choouhtang is also one of the Korean traditional health foods for the summer time with rich flavors. The rich soup stock boiled with grinded mudfish (sometimes whole mudfish can be used) and tofu, dried Chinese cabbage, beef and mungbean sprouts will provide sensational tastes and flavors. Mudfish has high protein content and excellent amino acids composition. Also, it is rich in calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin B, and vitamin D. Slippery mucus increases protein absorption and creation. Because Chyeotang uses the entire mudfish including its inner organs and bones, it is a good food for growing children and middle-aged women who are worrying about osteoporosis due to the lack of calcium. It is served with Chinese pepper powder, whole green pepper, and minced red peppers.
Why do Koreans eat a warm dish like Samgyetang or Chyeotang during the summer? When people sweat, internal body temperature significantly decreases and this makes harmful effects to the stomach and liver. Koreans say that people eat the hot dish to prevent that and also to improve one’s appetite in the warm weather.
John J. Lee is a freelance writer and developer for a Korean restaurants network.
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