''Dotori-muk'' * () or acorn jelly is a Korean dish. It is a jelly made from

acorn The acorn is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), en ...

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diet ...

. Although "'' muk''" means "jelly", when used without qualifiers, it usually refers to ''dotori-muk''. The practice of making ''dotori-muk'' originated in mountainous areas of ancient Korea, when abundant

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

trees produced enough acorns each autumn to become a viable source of food. Dotori-muk does not spoil easily, so it was used as a lunch food when traveling a long way.

Production

Despite being a rich source of

and

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

s, acorns contain large amounts of

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

s and other

polyphenol Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring phenols. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of which have been used historically as ...

s, which prevent the human body from digesting them properly. Harvested acorns must be properly leached of the tannins prior to consumption. Acorns are either collected directly from the ground or knocked off the tree branches. The acorns are opened and the nutmeat ground into a fine orange-brown paste. The paste is then stirred into vats of water and the acorns'

fiber Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...

is separated from the starch through sieving and settling. The starch-water mixture is collected and allowed to sit so that the tannins in the starch

diffuse Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical p ...

into the water, which is changed several times. The overall soaking time depends on the amount of tannin in the paste. The now-tannin-free starch-water suspension should have an off-white colour. This starch is allowed to completely settle at the bottom of the vat, the water drained away and the paste collected in trays to dry. The dried starch cake is then pulverized and packaged for sale. ''Dotori-muk'' is also commercially available in powdered form, which must be mixed with water, boiled until pudding-like in consistency, then set in a flat dish.

Serving

Like other '' muk'', ''dotori-muk'' is most commonly eaten in the form of ''dotori-muk-muchim'' (), a

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.Daejeon Daejeon (; ) is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of nearly 1.5 million. Located in a central lowland valley between the Sobaek Mountains and the Geum River, the city is known both as a ...

, a "muk alley" took shape around the popular muk restaurant 'Grandma's House' (), which was founded in the late 1960s. At

Expo '93 Taejon Expo '93 was a three-month international exposition held between 7 August 1993 and 7 November 1993 in the central South Korean city of Daejeon (at the time spelled "Taejŏn"). Theme The theme of the exposition was "The Challenge of a N ...

in Daejeon, Gujeuk dotori-muk was designated a representative local food and became nationally known. Muk Cooking made by a woman started attracting people's attention. In particular, ''Muk-mari'' is made of salted seaweed (chopped seaweed powder) with its rich texture and is made of dried acorn.

History

During the first of the

Japanese invasions of Korea Japanese invasions of Korea may refer to: *Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) *Donghak Peasant Revolution ** Japanese occupation of Gyeongbokgung *Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fou ...

in the Joseon dynasty, King

Seonjo Seonjo (; 6 December 1552 – 6 March 1608), personal name Yi Yeon (), was the 14th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was known for promoting Confucianism and attempting reforms at the beginning of his reign. However, he later gained ...

took refuge in the north. Food shortages due to the invasion made it difficult for the villagers to find something to serve the king and his entourage, so they hurriedly made them dotori-muk. Later, even after returning to the palace, King Seonjo often ate dotori-muk as a sign that he would not forget the hardships of the war.

References

External links

Muk page
*{{cite web , title = ''Dotorimuk muchim'' recipe , work = Visitkorea: The Official Korea Tourism Guide Site , publisher =

Korea Tourism Organization The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO; ) is an organization of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It is commissioned to promote the country's tourism industry. The KTO was established in 1962 ...

, url = http://english.tour2korea.com/05food/LocalFood/gw_08.asp?kosm=m5_3&konum=7 , accessdate = 2007-01-19 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070814062201/http://english.tour2korea.com/05food/LocalFood/gw_08.asp?kosm=m5_3&konum=7 , archive-date = 2007-08-14
Seasoned Acorn Jelly (Dotori Muk Muchim) recipeBlog showing cleaned acorn starch being dried
Muk (food) Korean cuisine Ancient dishes Jams and jellies Acorns

Production

Serving

History

See also

References

External links