A Literature Review on the Type of Joseon Dynasty Jwabans

Abstract

This article examines the types of Jwabans as recorded in 21 old books of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1909). The ingredients used in Jwabans during the Joseon dynasty were root vegetables, sea algae, seeds nuts, bird, meat, and fish. In the early, middle, and late eras of the Joseon dynasty, 10, nine, and 181 kinds of Jwabans were prepared, and two, one, and seven kinds of Jwabans were prepared using root vegetables (根菜類). During the early and late eras of the Joseon dynasty, one and 14 kinds of Jwabans were prepared using sea algae (海藻類), respectively, and four kinds of Jwabans were prepared using seeds nuts during late eras of the Joseon dynasty (種實類). During the early, mid and late eras, one, two, and 17 kinds of Jwabans were prepared using bird (鳥類), three, one, and 47 kinds of Jwabans were prepared using meat (肉類), and one, five, and 81 kinds of Jwabans were prepared using fish (魚類). The frequency of the Jwabans ingredients in order were fish (30.5%), meat (23.5%), pheasant (7%), root vegetables (5%), abalone (全鰒) (5%), laver (海苔) (4%), shellfish (貝類) (3%), fish eggs (魚卵) (2.5%), fleshy prawn (大蝦) (2.5%), sea tangle (昆布) (2%), dried tangle (海草) (1.5%), sparrow meat (雀肉) (1.5%), and etc during the Joseon dynasty. It seems that the appearance and supplementation with different ingredients increased throughout the Joseon dynasty. This may be associated with the commercial industrial development that prevailed during the late Joseon dynasty. Further study will be conducted on recipes and ingredients recorded in these old books to develop a standardized recipe to globalize Jwabans.