우관의 한국사찰음식 Wookwan’s Korean Temple Food

About the book

“As the many waters of the world flow into the ocean to become one taste, all the flavors in the world merge to become one taste of enlightenment.”

And so begins Wookwan’s volume of Korean Temple Food.

Buddhist nun and chef Wookwan breaks the boundaries of spiritual exercise and culinary practice in this first-of-its-kind cookbook of Korean temple cuisine.

As the first volume of temple cuisine published in English, Wookwan herself has written a meditative, elegant volume that introduces the reader to Korean temple food, including what it means to care for the ingredients at each step of preparation, following the three key principles of cooking temple food, interspersed with her own accounts and tips among the recipes. With her mastery of the ingredients and with the experience of having shared Korean temple cuisine all over the world, Wookwan is able to connect with the preparer, gently guiding at each step.

Korean temple food has been practicing what we now call the “farm-to-table” concept, using ingredients that are only homegrown or naturally cultivated, combined with an eco-friendly, clean eating mindfulness with a history of over 1500 years. It is also mindful vegetarian cuisine; it does not use any animal products save for some dairy ingredients, nor does it use the “five spicy vegetables,” green onions, garlic, chives, leeks, and onions that are thought to distract the mind; instead, flavors are precisely crafted by thorough understanding of the ingredients and their natural aromas.

Temple cuisine holds at its very core a reverence for life, and Wookwan’s 41 meticulous recipes embody her philosophy and conscientiousness for nourishing the not only the body, but the soul. Techniques such as fermentation and creating natural extracts and broths are included in this cookbook, as well as ways to substitute ingredients that are more readily found to recreate the very flavors of the Dorak Mountains right at home.

대표적인 채식 요리이자 슬로푸드인 한국사찰음식을 주제로 한 최초의 영문 입문서이자 요리책

사찰음식은 우유와 유제품을 제외한 동물성 식품과 오신채(매운맛을 내는 다섯 가지 채소)인 파, 마늘, 부추, 달래, 흥거를 사용하지 않는다. 또한 곡식 한 톨에 담긴 자연과 농부의 노고에 고마움을 느끼며, 음식을 몸을 유지하는 약으로 여겨 적절한 양만 덜어 먹기에 잔반이 생기지 않는다. 이를 통해 절약 정신을 기를 뿐 아니라 환경오염도 줄일 수 있다. 이러한 사찰음식은 한국의 전통 식문화와 접목되어 내려온 자연식이자 건강식이며 수행식이다.

우관의 한국사찰음식은 영문으로 소개되는 최초의 요리책인 만큼 한국사찰음식의 특징, 역사, 양념 등에 대한 설명을 담았다. 또한 지난 10년 이상 한국과 전세계 각지의 초청을 받아 한국사찰음식을 선보여온 한국사찰음식의 대가, 우관의 깨달음의 맛에 대한 철학이 고스란히 담겨있는 41개의 요리법을 소개한다. 요리법별로 주요 식재료에 대한 특징과 언제 어떻게 먹는 것이 좋은지에 대한 우관만의 팁도 함께 들어있으며, 특히 Part 3에서는 동서양이 함께하고 사람과 사람이 함께한다는 취지로 서양 식재료에 한국식 발효 양념을 사용하여 누구나 집에서 간단하게 요리할 수 있는 손쉬운 조리법을 소개하였다.

Table of Contents

PREFACE

What is Korean Temple Food?

Three Principles in Cooking Temple Food

Characteristics of Korean Temple Food

History of Temple Food

Story of Seasoning

Measurements

Part 1. WOOKWAN’S TASTE OF OFFERING from a pure mind

Part 2. WOOKWAN’S TASTE OF SHARING from a sincere heart

Part 3. WOOKWAN’S TASTE OF HARMONY from coexistence of humans and nature

Part 4. KNOW ONE, KNOW ALL all life springs from the same root

Index

Acknowledgements