Vegetarian restaurants aren’t common in Korea. Even kimchi has got fish sauce in it. So when my vegetarian friends visit me in Seoul wanting to try Korean food, I have one choice! Korean temple food.
Sanchon is in the old part of town in Insadong and serves Korean vegan temple food.
And although there are lots of tourists in the area at this time of year, the restaurant is down an alley away from the crowds and it was quiet when we got there for a late lunch (they serve lunch until 4pm).
Directions: from exit 6 Anguk station (Line 3) go straight down the main shopping road through Insadong and turn left at the curly yellow ice cream cone shop. There is a small sign here for the restaurant.
TEMPLE FOOD PHILOSOPHY
When I think of temple food, I think of very subtle dishes without strong flavours like garlic and chilli.
Sure enough, the info on the menu states that temple food does not contain 5 stimulants: onions, green onions, baby garlic, green peppers, and honggo.
But there is a note explaining that this restaurant does use these ingredients (for added flavour). So if you want a more authentic experience you have to say this when you order.
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SEASONAL DISHES
The ingredients change throughout the year depending on the season. For an up-to-date menu and price, see the Sanchon restaurant homepage
Our first course came with a pot of mulberry tea. 💕
Dishes included jellied acorn with seaweed, sticky rice with leaves marinated in soy sauce, yam with seaweed, deep fried kelp, and ‘dhania‘ leaves (aka cilantro/coriander). I was surprised to see coriander as I didn’t think they were used in Korean cooking.
This course was served with pine tea which had a strong aroma and is ‘slightly alcoholic‘.
Next came savoury pancakes (전), a salad of various spring leaves and mushroom, and two potato dishes.
The restaurant uses wooden bowls and cutlery (like they use in the temple) rather than the usual metal utensils found in regular restaurants. I love the colours of the dishes especially the pancake with a touch of purple from an edible flower.
For the next course we were served various side dishes of namul spring greens and kimchi.
See my care package of spring greens from my mother-in-law in Korea
See how we make kimchi every November
The greens included spinach and minari (water dropwort). The lightly blanched vegetables are seasoned with bean paste or salt and sesame oil. The rice was a mix of white rice and sticky rice and beans.
Some of the flavours were quite strong, particularly the leek which had been thoroughly marinated in soy sauce and garlic. A whole garlic bulb marinated in soy sauce was good too, as well as the fried glutinous mushrooms in a spicy seasoning.
A Korean meal wouldn’t be complete without a soup or stew and so this course came with a large pot of Korean bean paste stew with tofu. All the portions came in one pot with a ladle, so someone has to be Mother!
Although this is temple food, alcohol is available and we managed to get through a couple of bottles of makgeolli too before moving onto a dessert of light, sweet rice cakes served with sujeonggwa (Korean Cinnamon tea).
Related Posts:
What’s the difference between sesame and perilla?
posts on Korean Buddhism and temples
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