리틀팍스

There are so many famous korean dishes, like kimchi, bulgogi, kalbi, and bibimbap. These are the representive foods of korea, but there are also many foods that only korea has but not very widespread.
The unusal korean dish I pick is "Acorn jelly(Dotorimuk)".

Korea is almost the only country that has the acorn jelly dish. Acorn jelly is not very popular since it's not very delicious. But acorn jelly contains nutritions like Tannins, dietary fiber, and carbohydrates and is a low calorie food. 100g of acorn jelly has about 40 to 47 kcal of calories.

To make acorn jelly, you only need acorn powder, water, salt, and perilla oil. First, mix all the ingridients in a large bowl. There shouldn't be any lumps. Second, pour the mixture in a pot and keep mixing in high heat. Third, When the mixture starts boiling, reduce the heat in the low heat and mix 10-15 minutes more. Fourth, pour the done mixture into a square container or frame and hit it on the floor to get rid of the air. Sixth, after cooling the mixture in room temperature, put it in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours to make it stiff. Lastly, after the acorn jelly is stiff, cut it into pieces and eat! Or you can make it into a Acorn Jelly Salad(muchim), Acorn Jelly Rice, Acorn Jelly Soup, or Pan-fried Acorn Jelly(jeon, buchimgae).

Then how did this 'Acorn Jelly' become a indigenous, traditional food?
There is a story that during the Josun dynasty, because of the Imjin War, king Seonjo fled to the north and in that time, the region where seonjo went called the oak tree an acorn tree. In the midst, there was nothing to eat during the war, but because the village people had to serve the king something to eat, they made acorn into a jelly and served the king. Since there was nothing to eat, the acorn jelly tasted fantastic. Later, when Seonjo returned to his castle, he told the servants to put acorn jelly on the table, which meant he wouldn't forget the labor of that day. Because of this, acorn jelly became a precious food which only kings can eat.

Acorn jelly is not a very popular and well-known food, but it is a traditional korean food. Though it does not taste very good, it has many nutritions that is good for your body. How about trying some?