Po (food)
is thin strips or sheets of dried meat and fish used in Korean cuisine. Po, which is made from meats including beef, pork, venison and poultry; and seafoods including whitefish, eel, squid, octopus, shrimp and crab; is eaten as snack food, banchan or anju. Po is prepared for traditional occasions such as pyebaek and jesa.
Name
The Sino-Korean word can be written with the hanja, which in other East Asian languages and cuisines can also mean preserved fruit.History
History of po is thought to date back to pre-historic hunter-gatherer societies.According to the 1145 historical text Samguk sagi, in the 2nd month of 683, the King Sinmun of Silla sent 135 carts of rice, wine, oil, honey, jang, vinegar, and po to Kim Heum-un's house for his daughter's wedding.
Northern Song Chinese scholar Wu Ji described Goryeo-era Koreans seasoning with cinnamon.
During the Joseon period, po made in governmental offices was called . Among them, large that was made in Bongsangsi for was called . Geonpo used for jehyang was called . At Korean New Year, it was common for provincial officials to send to their relatives and officials in the central government. Extravagant banquets were referred to as, literally meaning "po mountains, meat forests". Beef po was also often used to make, a kind of dasik. The 18th-century book Sasojeol, which was written by the Joseon scholar Yi Deok-mu, states; "Do not frequently smell fish or seafood po"., made from meats marinated for a day in wine, vinegar, and salt, was prepared for long journeys.
Varieties
Meat or fish that is thinly sliced and dried is usually called, while meat that is pounded flat and dried is called . Dried meat in general can be referred to as, with meaning "meat", while the differently ordered compound refers to dried beef slices. Dried fish is called with meaning "fish".When the meat is seasoned with salt and pepper, it is called, while the dried meats seasoned or marinated with soy sauce-based seasonings are called,,, or, according to the methods.
Meat
- – venison
- – Siberian roe deer venison
- – pork, salted and dried, parboiled in diluted wine, and dried again
- – beef
- – thinly sliced beef or pork, seasoned and dried on on fire
- – seasoned with aged soy sauce, massaged, and dried
- – thick slices of lean meat is repeatedly grilled to sear skin, beaten with bats, and seasoned with aged soy sauce, until thoroughly cooked
- – meat is pounded flat with knife, and dried
- – meat sliced into pieces and sun-dried
- – meat is thinly sliced, seasoned with soy sauce, oil, sugar, and pepper, massaged, and dried on ''sokuri''
Poultry
- – goose
- – wild goose
- – pheasant
Seafood
- – squid
- – thinly sliced fish
- – fiddler crab meat
- – fish
- – shrimp, halved, marinated, dried and grilled
- – thread-sail filefish, dried and pressed
- – giant octopus, dried and pressed
- – squid, dried and pressed
Others
- – snake meat, eaten as folk remedy in the past
Uses
Po made from various meats, fish, and seafood are eaten as snack food, banchan or anju. Salted and dried meat po are eaten as, a salty banchan. Crab and other seafood po are beaten, puffed, seasoned with soy sauce and oil, and eaten as muchim. Fish po are seasoned with soy sauce or gochujang and are grilled as gui.Po are one of the foods prepared for traditional occasions such as pyebaek and jesa. Po and sikhye used for jesa is called . Often, po is put on the left side of the jesasang and sikhye is put on the right; this is referred to as, literally meaning "left po, right sikhye". Another related term is, literally meaning "wine, fruit, po, sikhye", which refers to simple offerings for jesa.