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''Yaksik'' () or ''yakbap'' () is a sweet
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...
dish made by steaming
glutinous rice Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals. Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also hav ...
, and mixing with chestnuts,
jujube Jujube (UK ; US or ), sometimes jujuba, scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'', and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused wit ...
s, and
pine nut Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), or pignoli, are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are traded locall ...
s. It is seasoned with
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
or
brown sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...
,
sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. ...
,
soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...
, and sometimes
cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...
. It is traditionally eaten on
Jeongwol Daeboreum Daeboreum () is a Korean holiday that celebrates the first full moon of the new year of the lunar Korean calendar. This holiday is accompanied by many traditions. Origins The record about the origin of Daeboreum is recorded in the book ''Samg ...
(), a Korean holiday which falls on the 15th day of the 1st month of the
Korean calendar Throughout its many years of history, various calendar systems have been used in Korea. Many of them were adopted from the Lunar calendar, lunar Chinese calendar system, with modifications occasionally made to accommodate Korea's geographic locat ...
(
lunisolar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, that combines monthly lunar cycles with the solar year. As with all calendars which divide the year into months, there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of months ...
), but also for weddings and
hwangap In the Sinosphere, one's sixtieth birthday has traditionally held special significance. Especially when life expectancies were shorter, the sixtieth birthday was seen as a symbolic threshold for reaching old age and having lived a full life. Th ...
festivities.Yaksik
at Britannica Korea


Etymology

''Yaksik'' got its name due to the use of honey in its ingredients. According to the etymology book ''A-eon Gakbi'' () written in early 19th century
Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...
, it is noted that honey was commonly called as ''yak'' (medicine). Thus honey buckwheat wine was called ''yakju'' (), honey rice was called ''yakban'' (약반, old word for ''yaksik''), and fried honey ricecake was called ''yakgwa'' ().Yaksik
at Korean Culture Encyclopedia


History

Records of ''yaksik'' can be found in the historical text ''
Samguk yusa ''Samguk yusa'' (; ) or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, d ...
'', written in the 13th century. According to the legend entitled Sageumgap (), King Soji the 21st ruler of
Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...
headed on a journey to Cheoncheonjeong in the 10th year of his reign. on 15 January, 488, when a crow and mouse alerted him of danger. The mouse spoke to King Soji in his native language telling him to follow the crow. The King of Silla ordered a servant to follow the crow which took him to a pond. It was here where an old man rose out from the pond handing the servant an envelope. Written on the envelope was "Two people will die if you open this. If you don't open it, only one person will die." After being informed by his servant that the envelope was in direct reference to the king, The King of Silla opened the envelope. Inside the envelope was a letter with the writing, "Go back to the palace and shoot an arrow into the box that holds a six-stringed zither". The King of Silla complied, he shot an arrow into the box discovering a monk and concubine awaiting to assassinate the king (Korean recipes: Sweet rice with nuts and jujubes, yaksik (), 2016). The King saved himself from a potential revolt thanks to the crow's warning and the day of January 15 was designated as a day of remembrance thereafter. Originally, this day was known as Ogiil.
Glutinous rice Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals. Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also hav ...
was put up as an offering to the crows as a way to give thanks for saving King Silla's life during the commemorative rites, which became the origin of ''yaksik''. Although, there are many variations of this legend passed on through the South Korean people, such as a tale consisting of the Suh family. The legend of Sageumgap is the most known. The adding of pine nuts, chestnuts, jujubes, honey, and oil were added in the
Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...
era. ''Yaksik'' is also mentioned in various books from the
Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...
period such as ''
Dongguksesigi () is a Korean language book from the Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by ...
'' (Record of Seasonal Customs in Korea) (), ''Yeolyang Seisigi'' (), '' Donggukyeojiseungram'' (). In ''Yeolyang Seisigi'', it is said that envoys to China shared ''yaksik'' with the people in Yeonkyung, and most enjoyed the dish. It is also said that Heo Guyn a politician, poet, scholar and writer annotated in his book Domundaejak that the Chinese people loved yakban; known to them as Goryeoban. From the Gyuhap Chongseo, (규합총, Women's Encyclopedia, 1809) Although this dish was shared with neighboring China, the consumption of yaksik on the first lunar month is a traditional custom specific to Korea.


Cooking

Glutinous rice Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals. Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also hav ...
is steamed and mixed with honey, brown sugar, and ''
ganjang Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' Aspergillus sojae'' molds. It is ...
'' to colorize the rice. Soft-boiled chestnuts, pine nuts,
sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. ...
and quartered jujubes with the seeds removed are added to this mixture with the entire mix is resteamed. The ''yaksik'' is then put into desired shapes such as flat squares and left to cool before eating.Yaksik
at
Doosan Encyclopedia ''Doosan Encyclopedia'' () is a Korean-language encyclopedia published by Doosan Donga (). The encyclopedia is based on the ''Dong-A Color Encyclopedia'' (), which comprises 30 volumes and began to be published in 1982 by Dong-A Publishing (). ...
Over time, South Koreans have developed more modernized ways of cooking yaksik such as utilizing a rice pressure cooker. Yaksik is typically eaten at room temperature and can be kept in cooler conditions for about a few days. For longer periods of storing, keep in the refrigerator or freezer.


Gastronomic Culture

In Korean culture the idea of Yak Sik Dong Won(약식동원,藥食同源) is commonly believed. This idea describes that health treatment begins with healthy foods then medical treatment if there is no improvement. This belief also emphasizes a common practice that food is not eaten to become full, rather to be consumed for health reasons such as disease prevention. The Korean Gastronomic culture has been developing for hundreds of years and scientific findings concur that preparation and ingredients has proven most Korean foods to be healthy (Oktay & Ekinci, 2019). Yaksik is commonly believed among South Koreans to be beneficial to those undergoing digestive problems and frequent heartburn. Another ingredient in yaksik, Jujube is believed to aid with nervous tension, anxiety and
insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...
. The Chestnuts in yaksik contain important vitamins C and Bs that improve ailments such as diarrhea.


See also

*
Daeboreum Daeboreum () is a Korean holiday that celebrates the first full moon of the new year of the lunar Korean calendar. This holiday is accompanied by many traditions. Origins The record about the origin of Daeboreum is recorded in the book ''Sam ...
*
Namul ''Namul'' () refers to either a variety of edible greens or leaves or seasoned herbal dishes made of them. Wild greens are called ''san-namul'' (), and spring vegetables are called ''bom-namul'' (). On the day of Daeboreum, the first full moo ...
*
Songpyeon ''Songpyeon'' () is a traditional Korean food made of rice powder. Its shape resembles a half moon and it is a representative rice cake of Korean holidays and traditional culture. It is a type of ''tteok'', small rice cakes, and variety of filli ...


References

*
Yaksik
at
Doosan Encyclopedia ''Doosan Encyclopedia'' () is a Korean-language encyclopedia published by Doosan Donga (). The encyclopedia is based on the ''Dong-A Color Encyclopedia'' (), which comprises 30 volumes and began to be published in 1982 by Dong-A Publishing (). ...

Yaksik
at Digital
Gangneung Gangneung (; ) is a list of cities in South Korea, municipal city in Gangwon, South Korea, Gangwon province, on the east coast of South Korea. It has a population of 213,658 (as of 2017).Gangneung City (2003)Population & Households. Retrieved Ja ...
Culture Almanac
Yaksik
at Korean Culture Encyclopedia


External links


Recipe: Yaksik (Sweet Rice with Nuts & Jujubes)
at The Seattle Times, 2006-01-04
Yaksik, tasty and healthy treat
Paik Jae-Eun, Professor of Food & Nutrition, Bucheon University. Koreana magazine Winter 2008. {{Korean food and drink Korean cuisine Glutinous rice dishes