[우리문화신문=김슬옹 교수]  

1670년(현종 11년)경 안동에 살았던 사대부가의 장계향 선생이 딸과 며느리를 위해 우리나라 첫 한글 요리책 《음식디미방》을 펴냈다. ‘음식디미방’에는 ‘음식의 맛을 아는 방법’이라는 뜻이 담겨 있는데, 17세기 우리 조상들의 식생활을 알 수 있는 의미 있는 책이다. 경상도 양반가의 음식 조리법과 식품 보관법 등을 소개하고 있으며, 국수, 만두, 떡 등의 면병류를 비롯하여 어육류, 채소류 등 다양한 음식을 소개하고 있다.

그 가운데 숭어만두를 만드는 법을 소개하면 다음과 같다. “신선한 숭어를 얇게 저며 가볍게 칼집을 넣는다. 기름지고 연한 고기를 익혀 잘게 두드려 두부, 생강, 후추를 섞어 기름간장에 많이 볶는다. 볶은 재료를 저민 생선 위에 놓고 잘 싸서 단단히 말아 허리가 구부정하게 만두 모양을 만든다. 녹말가루를 만두의 온몸에 묻혀 새우젓국을 싱겁게 타서 푹 끓여 5–개씩 대접에 뜨고 파를 곁들여 낸다.”

Publication of the First Hangeul Cookbook, Eumsik Dimibang

In around 1670 (the 11th year of King Hyeonjong’s reign), Jang Gyehyang, a lady from a noble family living in Andong, published Korea’s first Hangeul cookbook titled Eumsik Dimibang. The title of the book can be translated to “The Methods of Knowing the Taste of Food,” and it provides invaluable insight into the dietary practices of the 17th-century Korean people. This cookbook includes various recipes, focusing on traditional foods of the Gyeongsang Province, where Jang Gyehyang resided. It covers a wide range of dishes, including noodles, dumplings, rice cakes, as well as recipes for fish, meat, and vegetables. One such recipe in Eumsik Dimibang is for making sungo mandu (dumplings with mullet).

The recipe reads as follows: “Slice fresh sungo (bass fish) thinly and lightly score it with a knife. Cook some fatty, tender meat, finely pound it, and mix it with tofu, ginger, and pepper. Stir-fry these ingredients well in oil and soy sauce. Place the stir-fried mixture on top of the sliced fish and wrap it tightly into a dumpling shape, bending it slightly. Coat the dumplings with starch powder and cook them in lightly salted shrimp paste broth. After boiling, serve 5-6 pieces in a bowl, garnished with green onions.” This cookbook not only highlights the food culture of the time but also illustrates the daily life of noble families and their culinary practices, making it an important historical document for understanding food preservation and cooking methods of the period. It also reflects the increasing literacy of women in the Joseon Dynasty, as Eumsik Dimibang was written in Hangeul, making it accessible to a wider audience than would have been possible with Classical Chinese.