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Get to know Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving
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Jeon is prepared for Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. (Shutterstock/Byungsuk Ko)
A
holiday to celebrate the main harvest and abundance also takes place in Korea. Every fall, Koreans observe Chuseok, which falls on Sept. 24 this year.
On this day, Korean families gather to share food and stories and give thanks to their ancestors. It is a time when Koreans return to their hometowns to spend quality time with family and friends.
During Chuseok, a memorial service called charye to honor ancestors takes places. Freshly harvested rice, alcohol and songpyeon (half-moon shaped rice cakes) are served as an offering. Charye is then followed by a family feast.
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Jakartans who are interested in Korean dishes may treat themselves to a Chuseok feast at Anigre restaurant at the Sheraton Grand Jakarta, Gandaria City mall. The restaurant is offering a Chuseok thanksgiving buffet on Sept. 25. A buffet offered on Sept. 23 was fully booked.
Different colored songpyeon were placed in a corner. These half-moon shaped rice cakes are made of rice flour and filled with sesame seeds, red bean or chestnuts.
Anigre, which consulted with the Korean Embassy in Jakarta prior to holding the feast, said in a press release that making songpyeon as a family on the eve of Chuseok was a Korean tradition.
Another significant aspect of the Chuseok feast is jeon, made of sliced fish, meat and vegetables lightly fried in a batter of flour and eggs. These savory Korean pancakes are paired with traditional liquor.
The rest of Anigre’s Chuseok buffet appeared as if a Korean guest chef worked in the kitchen to help with the preparation. However, the Sheraton Grand Jakarta employs an all-Indonesian kitchen team.
While the Korean Embassy lent ornaments to decorate the buffet, Anigre’s team did its own research for the recipes.
“We were also assisted by our Korean sales manager, who tastes our cooking so that the flavors are the same as the real [Korean food]. There are also items that we serve according to what’s available in the Korean market such as Myeongdong [in Seoul]. There are so many Korean snacks [in Myeongdong], street foods,” said Anton Sulistiawan, chef de cuisine at the Sheraton Grand.
More food items to be found in Anigre’s Chuseok buffet include gimbap (Korean sushi filled with sweet marinated chicken, beef, vegetables), Korean barbeque, kimchi, tteokbokki (rice cakes) and oden (one pot dish that includes boiled eggs, tofu, fish cakes).
Patbingsu, a popular Korean shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings is also available. Each ingredient is displayed separately so that guests can build their own patbingsu according to personal preferences. (mut)
