Tangpyeongchae

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Tangpyeongchae

Korean name

Hangul	탕평채 or 묵청포
Hanja	蕩平菜 or 묵淸泡
Revised Romanization	Tangpyeongchae / Mukcheongpo

Tangpyeongchae (IPA: [tʰaŋ pʰjʌŋ ʨʰɛ]) is a Korean dish that was part of the Korean royal court cuisine. It is made with shredded nokdumuk (mung bean starch jelly), mung bean sprouts, watercress, red pepper, and seaweeds. Tangpyeongchae is seasoned with soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil and is most often eaten in late spring and summer.

[edit] History

According to Dongguk sesigi (hangul:동국세시기, hanja:東國歲時記), a book written in 1849, tangpyeongchae derived from a political situation.^[1]. King Yeongjo of Joseon dynasty concerned about severe conflicts between political parties. Therefore, he tried to resolve the problem that was caused by major four parties. So he frequently held many feasts to make friendly mood. This is regarded as one of his great achievement, Tangpyeong policy (hangul:탕평책, hanja:蕩平策) which literally means the policy for "harmony" and "meditation". He selected people regardless of the name of their party.

At the beginning of the feast, the king presented Tangpyeongchae before the government officers and other politicians, and then said, “As you see, there are 4 different ingredients (nokdumuk, gim , beef and dropwort) that have 4 distinguishable colors and flavors. But they are harmonized well so make beautiful taste.” His mention was a great lesson to all of them who participated in that party.^[2]