Gujeolpan (Korean cuisine) : The gujeolpan is a flat Korean composed of eight ingredients finely cut out, cooked and seasoned, then placed in a flat with nine compartments; the center compartment contains cakes de wheat flour. This is also the name of this dish with nine compartments. The Korean name is composed of three hanja words: gu (구, "nine"), jeol (절, "rays") and pan (판, "plate").
Foods are separated based on their color and ingredients and are composed of namuls (leafy vegetables) seasoned, meat, champignons as well as sea food. We have in the center of flat a pile of small jeon (pancakes Korean), made with wheat flour, called miljeonbyeong (밀전병).
The gujeolpan, as an object to be used, is also used as an object decorative.
History and appearance: The gujeolpan dates back to the XNUMXth century and is linked to the Joseon dynasty.
The octagon/octagonal dish can be made of wood or plastic and is divided into eight exterior compartments and a central compartment, the design formed by the nine compartments recalling a flower. It can be engraved, encrusted with precious stones, or be the support for elaborate designs.
Gujeolpan is considered one of the most popular Korean dishes. colorful. The nine compartments are filled with ingredients so as to obtain a appearance colorful and aesthetically appealing. It is reported that the American writer Pearl S. Buck (*), impressed by the beauty of the gujeolpan, could not bring herself to eat so as not to “destroy such a beautiful thing by eating it”.
(*) Pearl Sydenstricker (wife Buck), born in Hillsboro (West Virginia) on June 26, 1892, and died on March 6, 1973 in Danby (Vermont), is an American woman of letters. She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938.
Consumption : Formerly reserved for Korean nobility, gujeolpan can be eaten today in places offering cuisine Korean traditional. It is also served sometimes for meal de wedding.
Each of the exterior compartments is filled with different kinds of meat, vegetables minced ou worked aesthetically: carrots, champignons, germs de mung bean, leek, radish...
The central compartment contains cakes de wheat flour, Finnish like paper, called miljeonbyeong. These miljeonbyeong are filled with ingredients present in the other compartments of the gujeolpan before being eaten.