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When Samgyeopsal meets lettuce

Posted February. 11, 2017 07:06,   

Updated February. 11, 2017 07:16

한국어

King Yeongjo is the longest-reigning monarch of Joseon who governed the nation for 52 years. When he was crown prince, he served his stepbrother, King Gyeongjong, gejang (marinated crab) with raw persimmon to arouse the appetite.

Five days later, Gyeongjong passed away after suffering from severe stomachache and diarrhea. It was only four years and two months after he ascended the throne.

It is the story of the talk of the poisoning Gyeongjong. Yeongjo argued his innocence by stating that the royal table that his stepbrother was treated had nothing to do with him in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty 31 years later. Gejang and persimmon are strongly incompatible with each other and cause abdominal pain and diarrhea, when taken together.

Doenjang (fermented soybean paste) and chives, pork and pickled shrimps, and beef liver and milk create a good harmony when they are cooked or eaten together. They are called as compatible foods. The word martial compatibility comes from four pillars of destiny. A fortune teller predicts whether or not a couple would be a good match by interpreting their date and time of birth as well as Chinese zodiac signs and yin and yang. Even though we do not believe his or her prediction, it is natural that we feel uncomfortable when the fortune-teller told a poor marriage compatibility. Now, such compatibility is applied to the parent and child relations as well.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced its research result on Wednesday that onion greatly reduces the level of Benzopyrene (Group 1 carcinogens) generated when grilling meat. Also, lettuce and garlic are found to reduce toxicity of grilled meat considerably. Lettuce is the most effective to contain cancer-causing agent, followed by black tea, onion, and celery. We often eat meat together with some vegetables served by restaurant employees without thinking and they are turned out to complement each other. Such scientific analysis on that is nothing new but still refreshing.

"Mariage" in French refers to both marriage and wind and food matching. For instance, white wine with fish and red with meat set a good atmosphere and they are good for your body as well. Red wine contains toxic substances produced when splitting fats. Studies on finding combinations between foods and ingredients, say, the intake of broccoli with tomatoes increases anti-cancer effect, are continued. Figuring out the best match of foods in our daily lives is almost impossible and troublesome. One way to do that is to have a balanced diet based on the table of our ancestors that they completed after undergoing numerous trials and errors.