Seolleongtang


Seolleongtang or ox bone soup is a Korean tang made from ox bones, brisket and other cuts. Seasoning is generally done at the table according to personal taste by adding salt, ground black pepper, red pepper, minced garlic, or chopped spring onions. It is a local dish of Seoul.
Seolleongtang is typically simmered over a low flame over a period of several hours to an entire day, to allow the flavor to be gradually extracted from the bones. It has a milky off-white, cloudy appearance and is normally eaten together with rice and several side dishes; the rice is sometimes added directly to the soup.

History and etymology

In the Joseon period, Koreans regularly made nationwide sacrifices to their ancestors, such as Dangun. The nationwide sacrifice was called sŏnnongje, and the altar for the sacrifice was called sŏnnongdan, which dates back to the Silla period.
King Seongjong had visited the sacrifice himself, and had eaten a meal with the people of Joseon. To increase the food supply in Joseon, King Seongjong ordered them to invent dishes that could feed the maximum number of people using the fewest ingredients, and seonnongtang was one of these.
Another historical opinion precedes the Joseon period concerning the origin of seolleongtang. According to this, the food was originated by the Mongolian invasion of Korea during the 13th century. The Mongolian food sulen is sliced and boiled beef with green onions, which developed into seolleongtang in Korea.
Seonnongtang is now called seolleongtang for easier pronunciation. The phonetic values have changed as follows:
  • Seonnongtang > seollongtang > seolleongtang
The first change is a consonant liquidization making the two "N" sounds into softer "L" sounds for easy pronunciation. The second change is a vowel harmonization of the "O" sound affected by the "Ŏ" sound.
Among common misbeliefs related to the dish, the name may come from its snowy white color and hearty taste, so seolleongtang was "雪濃湯" in Hanja. Therefore, several Korean dictionaries say that the Hanja spelling such as 雪濃湯 is an incorrect usage for the dish. Nevertheless, the misspelling is used to refer to the soup in Hanja.
The oldest extant restaurant in South Korea, Imun Seolnongtang, serves the dish. The restaurant's name contains an archaic spelling of seollongtang.