Juansang(liquor table) is a table set with liquor and side dishes, that is, a drinking table. In the Joseon Dynasty, a juansang was set with liquor and side dishes when a welcome guest came, or when a family or the country was celebrating a special occasion. This article will introduce the dishes that our ancestors served on juansang in the Joseon Dynasty.

Source. Rural Development Administration 

Accompaniment Served by King Sejo Cucumber Kimchi

Cucumber was a valuable ingredient that appeared as a gift to the king in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty until the 19th century.
King Sejo used to serve cucumber kimchi as a side dish to prime ministers who were exhausted from the heat.

Ingredients : 10 cucumbers, 400 g sea salt, 200 g chives, 10 tbsp red chili powder, 4 tbsp chopped green onion, 2 tbsp chopped garlic, 1 tbsp chopped ginger, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp salt, water
How to make it
① Cut the washed cucumber into 5-cm pieces, leave 1 cm on both ends, and put a cross cut in the middle.
② Soak cucumbers in salted water for 2 hours, then rinse in cold water and drain.
③ Cut the chives into 1 cm-length pieces, mix with red chili powder, water, chopped green onion, chopped garlic, chopped ginger, sugar, and salt.
④ Put the kimchi stuffing of ③ inside the cut cucumber, and put it in the kimchi container one by one.
⑤ In a bowl that mixed ③, add 1 tbsp of salt and 2 cups of water to make kimchi broth, and then pour it into the kimchi container. Pour into a jar and cool overnight.

The Story of Chunhyang Galbijjim 

In <The Story of Chunhyang>, the juansang that Wolmae, who acknowledged Yi Mongryong as her son-in-law, prepared is described in detail. One of the dishes served at the luxurious juansang is garijjim, and this garijjim is galbijjim(braised beef short ribs).

Ingredients : 500 g beef short ribs, 100 g radish, 100 g carrot, 100 g onion, 100 g green onion, 4 dried golden oak mushrooms, 1 chestnut, 8 eunhaeng(maidenhair tree) nuts, 10 g garlic
Marinade: 50 g soy sauce, 8 g chopped garlic, 12 g chopped green onion, 27 g onion juice, 27 g pear juice, 12 g sugar, 8 g sesame oil, 4 g sesame salt, pepper, water 
How to make it
① Soak beef ribs in cold water for 1 hour to drain the blood.
② Put the ribs in a pot, pour water to cover them, add onions, green onions, and garlic, and boil them for about 40 minutes. Remove the ribs, and filter the boiled broth once with a cotton cloth.
③ Make cuts on the boiled ribs and put them in a pot, and then put in about 2/3 of the 200 g marinade first, and then pour the broth that boiled the ribs so that the ribs are half-covered. When the broth starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium, put the chestnut in, cover the lid and simmer it for 40 minutes.
④ When the broth is boiled down to half of its original volume, add the rest of the marinade, radish, carrots, golden oak mushrooms, and eunhaeng nuts, and boil once more over low heat.

That Makes Appearance Even in the Royal Literature Sinseollo

Sinseollo(royal hot pot) was originally the name of a pot, and the dish cooked in it was called “yeolgujatang.” It rose to the ranks of royal cuisine after making its first appearance in the royal literature, <Wonhaeng Eulmyo Jeongri Uigwe>. Next, it gradually became popular, and spread to private houses. 

Ingredients : 150 g beef, 60 g white fish, 60 g minced meat, 2 golden oak mushrooms, 30 g tofu, 4 eggs, 12 eunhaeng(maidenhair tree) nuts, 1 tsp pine nuts, salt, pepper
How to make it
① Season the white fish, coat it with flour and egg, and cook it in a pan.
② Mix the minced meat and mashed tofu, form balls with a 1-cm diameter, coat them in flour and egg, and cook them in a pan.
③ Separate the egg white and yolk, and fry them in a pan to make a garnish.
④ Roast the eunhaeng nuts in a hot pan, and rub them with a dry cloth to remove the inner skin.
⑤ Boil the radish and carrot, and cut into 4×3×0.2 cm pieces along with the prepared fish jeon and egg garnish.
⑥ Boil the beef to make the broth, and place the boiled beef and golden oak mushrooms flat on the bottom of the sinseollo. 
⑦ Place the cut ingredients in a circle according to the color, and add the meat balls, eunhaeng nuts, and pine nuts on top.
⑧ Pour the boiling beef broth into the sinseollo.

Recorded in Ancient Documents Gujeolpan

It was in the 1900s that gujeolpan(platter of nine delicacies) began to be recorded in the literature. When you look at the records, you can see that the ingredients placed in gujeolpan had changed little by little over time. In <Joseon Yoribeop>, a crepe, made with buckwheat powder and rumen, omasum, kidney, radish, bean sprout, water parsley, golden oak mushroom, and wood ear mushrooms, was stir-fried and placed in the container. In <Joseon Yorihak>, a crepe was made with flour, and the beef, rumen, water parsley, golden oak mushroom, bean sprouts, radish salad, and egg white and yolk garnish were added. 

Ingredients : 120 g beef, 16 g dried golden oak mushroom, 4 g dried wood ear mushroom, 150 g bean sprouts, 3 eggs, 100 g carrot, 100 g cucumber, 100 g flour, water, oil
Sauce: 30 ml soy sauce, 5 g chopped garlic, 10 g chopped green onion, 10 g sugar, 2 g sesame seeds, 15 ml sesame oil 
How to make it
① Soak the dried golden oak mushroom and dried wood ear mushroom in lukewarm water, squeeze out the water, and cut into thin slices.
② Make a sauce marinade. Use its half to marinate the beef cut into 5-cm slices, and the other half to marinate the golden oak mushroom. 
③ Cut the cucumber into 4-cm lengths, peel them while rotating them, and cut the skin into thin slices and pickle with a little salt. Slice the carrots into 4-cm lengths, wash the bean sprouts in water, and then remove both ends.
④ Separate the egg whites and yolks, fry each part, and then cut into thin slices.
⑤ Stir-fry the squeezed cucumber, carrot, bean sprouts, marinated beef, golden oak mushrooms, and wood ear mushroom separately. 
⑥ Mix and sift the flour, water, and a bit of salt, and make a thin flour crepe by dropping one tbsp of the batter into the pan and spread it evenly. 
⑦ In a gujeolpan plate, place the stir-fried ingredients around the flour crepe in a circle.