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The goguryeo people gained energy from “bapsim”

  There is a common saying that Koreans gain energy by “bapsim,” the power of rice. As such, rice is indisputably staple food for Koreans. In order for them to eat well every meal, they had to cook rice well with grains. To do so, “siru (steamer)” was used in Goguryeo. Siru is a cooking utensil that was often used in the Gojoseon period that is effective in cooking various ingredients by supplying abundant steam and heat. Siru cooked grains evenly while preventing earthy scent to permeate into rice from cooking with pottery cookware. It was frequently used before gamasot (Korean traditional pot) became popular.

  The mural of the kitchen in Anak Tomb No. 3 includes scenes that seem to portray Goguryeo people cooking rice with siru(Figure 1). The women in the kitchen are starting a fire in the agungi(Korean traditional firebox), arranging the dishware, and using a spatula to stir inside the siru coupled with a caldron. Among them, the woman with a spatula seems to be mixing the top and bottom of the rice before serving rice or steaming for the rice to be cooked evenly. The reason the cooking equipment on top of the buttumak (where a cauldron is placed) is identified as a siru is because of the red line on top of the fire inside the agungi below the vessels connected to the siru(Figure 2). The Goguryeo people used siru in various ways to make different food. Accordingly, the size or shape of the bottom holes varied. Holes on the bottom of the excavated siru varied from small uniformed holes in size and numbers that were densely pierced or had large holes(Figure 3).

  It is presumed that the Goguryeo people consumed a considerable amount of rice at their meals and the size of the bowls excavated at various historical sites supports this presumption. The size of bowls they used was substantial and the amount of rice at each meal in these bowls was significantly more than what today’s adults consume(Figure 4). Goguryeo originally had a “custom to eat food sparingly” but the amount of food the Goguryeo people ate revealed by their bowls demonstrates why the word “bapsim” was formed.

Siru, the prerequisite item of the Gogureyo people for fermented food, rice, and rice cakes

  Meals were always important to the Goguryeo people but rice was even more special. Eating rice was considered a source of pride as it showed the nobility and wealth of their status. It was even recorded on the Deokheungri Tomb Mural that “Rice was eaten every day.” Siru cooked not just rice. It was used to steam rice cakes as well. There would have been rice cakes made with steamed rice or various grains that were pounded with a rice-cake mallet, made by grinding grains and adding beans or red beans, or rice cakes covered in bean powder. Rice cakes made with pulse crops are assessed to have influenced the “daedubyeong” (soybean siru-tteok) and “sodubyeong” (red bean siru-tteok) recorded in the document of Shosoin Shoso in Japan. Pulse crops in Goguryeo, particularly soybeans, were recognized for their outstanding quality. In Qimin Yaoshu, grains from Goguryeo was referred to as hwanggoryeodu and heukgoryeodu. Rice cakes made with these beans were enjoyed by the Goguryeo people due to their great taste and nutrition and even influenced Japan. The popularity of the rice cakes of Goguryeo can be seen from it being recorded as “bakbyeong” in Japan. “Bak” in Japanese means “koma.” The word koma is the anicent Japanese name for Goguryeo. Thus “bakbyeong” means Goguryeo’s rice cakes.

  Siru also plays a major role in making liquor and si (block of fermented soybeans) which are fermented food known to be well-made by the Goguryeo people. Firmly steamed rice is essential in making good liquor. Steamed rice mixed with malt is the raw ingredient to make liquor with a rich taste. The Goguryeo people who have made and drunk jiju (liquor made in a jar buried underground) from an early age were able to make superb liquor with good steamed rice made with siru. It is important to cook beans well to make soybean paste like “si of Chaeksung” that was valued by the Goguryeo people and the Balhae people who succeeded Goguryeo. Si made by steaming high-quality Goguryeo beans not only fed the Goguryeo people but also was the ethnic identity of the Balhae people of Goguryeo descent.

Many food made by steaming in siru enriched the taste and lives of the Goguryeo people and have deeply influenced the dietary life of Koreans today.