Nurungji
Encyclopedia
Nurungji is a traditional Korea
n food made of scorched rice. After boiling and serving rice, a thin crust of scorched rice will usually be left in the bottom of the cooking pot. This yellowed scorched state is described as 'nureun' (눌은) in Korean and nurungji derives from this adjective.
Nurungji can be eaten in its crisp state as a snack or as an aftermeal rice tea by adding hot water or reboiled with water to make nureun bap (눌은밥) or nurungji bap (누룽지밥). Nurungji in its broad sense also refers to the crisp crust that forms at the bottom of the pots and pans when cooking various rice dishes such as dolsot bibimbap
(돌솥 비빔밥) and bokkeumbap
.
Nurungji is traditionally known for its medicinal attributes. According to records in the 17th century medical book Dongui Bogam, nurungji was called chwigunban (취건반, 炊乾飯) and considered as a remedy "when food does not swallow easily, upsets the stomach and induces vomiting". It is also being lauded as a well-being food in South Korea
.
South Korea
n companies made nurungji available in a various pre-packaged forms around the mid-2000s. Besides sweet fried nurungji snacks and instant nurungji to make nureunbap, many nurungji flavor products were also developed such as candies and tea. Nurungi is also being used as an ingredient for a variety of new dishes like nurungji baeksuk
and nurungji pizza
.
Mentions of nurungji in folklore is common, the most famous being a folk song recognizing the difficulties of memorizing the Thousand Character Classic
. The lines are changed from the original chant to a clever rhyme that loosely translates into "sky cheon (天), earth ji (地), nurungji in the gamasot (cauldron pot)". (Korean: "하늘 천, 따 지, 가마 솥에 누룽지").
In Chinese cuisine
, a very similar dish is called guoba
; in Vietnamese cuisine, cơm cháy; in Japanese cuisine
, okoge ; in Indonesian cuisine is called rengginang.
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n food made of scorched rice. After boiling and serving rice, a thin crust of scorched rice will usually be left in the bottom of the cooking pot. This yellowed scorched state is described as 'nureun' (눌은) in Korean and nurungji derives from this adjective.
Nurungji can be eaten in its crisp state as a snack or as an aftermeal rice tea by adding hot water or reboiled with water to make nureun bap (눌은밥) or nurungji bap (누룽지밥). Nurungji in its broad sense also refers to the crisp crust that forms at the bottom of the pots and pans when cooking various rice dishes such as dolsot bibimbap
Bibimbap
Bibimbap is a signature Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed meal." Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul and gochujang . A raw or fried egg and sliced meat are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating...
(돌솥 비빔밥) and bokkeumbap
Kimchi bokkeumbap
Kimchi bokkeumbap is a variety of bokkeumbap , a popular dish in South Korea. Its name literally translates as "Kimchi fried rice"...
.
Nurungji is traditionally known for its medicinal attributes. According to records in the 17th century medical book Dongui Bogam, nurungji was called chwigunban (취건반, 炊乾飯) and considered as a remedy "when food does not swallow easily, upsets the stomach and induces vomiting". It is also being lauded as a well-being food in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
.
South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n companies made nurungji available in a various pre-packaged forms around the mid-2000s. Besides sweet fried nurungji snacks and instant nurungji to make nureunbap, many nurungji flavor products were also developed such as candies and tea. Nurungi is also being used as an ingredient for a variety of new dishes like nurungji baeksuk
Baeksuk
Baeksuk is a Korean culinary term referring to dishes made by boiling or steaming meat or fish to be cooked thoroughly without seasonings. Baeksuk is made with chicken or pheasant with plenty of water for several hours...
and nurungji pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
.
Mentions of nurungji in folklore is common, the most famous being a folk song recognizing the difficulties of memorizing the Thousand Character Classic
Thousand Character Classic
The Thousand Character Classic is a Chinese poem used as a primer for teaching Chinese characters to children. It contains exactly one thousand unique characters. It is said that Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty commissioned 周興嗣 to compose this poem for his prince to practice calligraphy...
. The lines are changed from the original chant to a clever rhyme that loosely translates into "sky cheon (天), earth ji (地), nurungji in the gamasot (cauldron pot)". (Korean: "하늘 천, 따 지, 가마 솥에 누룽지").
In Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
, a very similar dish is called guoba
Guoba
Guoba , sometimes known as mi guoba is a Chinese food ingredient consisting of scorched rice. Traditionally guoba forms during the boiling of rice over direct heat from a flame. This results in the formation of a crust of scorched rice on the bottom of the wok or cooking vessel...
; in Vietnamese cuisine, cơm cháy; in Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...
, okoge ; in Indonesian cuisine is called rengginang.