K-FOOD STORY

  Could Today's Bibimbap Have Begun on the Jesa Table? When people think of Bibimbap today, they usually picture a beautiful bowl filled with colorful vegetables, beef, and a perfectly placed egg. But whenever I see that image, one thought always comes to my mind. Could the Bibimbap we know today have begun on the Jesa table? Of course, this is only my personal thought. Let me tell you why I feel that way.   My father was the second son in his family, but our family still held Jesa, which was somewhat unusual. Traditionally in Korea, Jesa is usually hosted by the eldest son. Jesa is a traditional ceremony in which families prepare food, gather together, and pay their respects to their ancestors. Today, many families keep it much more simply, and some no longer practice it at all. But when I was growing up, Jesa was one of the biggest family events of the year. Ironically, while it was a lot of hard work for the adults, it felt like a festival for...

  Bibimbap Was Never a Special Dish to Me When I think of Bibimbap , I don't picture a beautifully arranged bowl filled with colorful vegetables. The first thing that comes to my mind is a big stainless steel mixing bowl. When I was a child, we didn't have a dining table. Like most Korean families back then, we sat on the floor around a small round table for every meal. Now that I'm used to eating at a table, sitting cross-legged for long feels uncomfortable. But in those days, it was simply how everyone ate. Whenever Doenjang-jjigae was served for dinner, my father would quietly bring out the big mixing bowl. Looking back, it almost felt like an unspoken family tradition. He would scoop in some rice, add a little Doenjang-jjigae, toss in whatever was already on the table—usually Yeolmu-kimchi or shredded radish. And the ending was always the same. Gochujang. Sesame oil. That is the Bibimbap I remember. When people think of Bibimbap today, they ...