Che-yook Pokkam

Che Yook Pokkam - Korean Food

 Living in South Korea for four years introduced me to various forms of spicy, hot and marinated forms of food. Che-yook pokkam is one of my favorite Korean dishes. Like most Korean dishes it is made of pork. It is mainly made of marinated boneless pork. The pork is marinated in soy sauce, chilly paste and other spices. Then stir fried with little bit of gravy left in it. It is eaten with rice served in a small bowl.

Che-yook pokkam is usually accompanied with a wide range of side dishes that are supposed to enhance the aroma and the taste of the main dish. In some cases, in my experience the bland, cool or dry side dishes act as a tongue and palate saviour. The side dishes include ham omlette which is completely bland, a cool tangy leafy soup to cool the effect of the hot, spicy pork, sea weeds known as 'kimm', yellow soy bean soup and the dish ends with another cooling rice stew.

My favourite place for ‘che-yook pokkam’ was a nearby eating place around the campus in the city where I used to live, Daejeon. There was this tiny eating joint called 'Miru-Namu-Jib' (trans. Miru-Tree-House Restaurant) that served the best che-yook ever. The aroma that filled that place was mouth-watering. The days we went there to have lunch and had skipped breakfast due to an early class, the wait after ordering was excruciating. The aroma made our stomach's grumble loud enough for the ajuma to hear in the kitchen. In Korean everyone calls married ladies 'ajuma'. That's the replacement for 'aunty'. This lady cooked the most amazing food. The meat was minced, marinated to perfection. The pork was soft enough to melt in your mouth with the sauces tingling the taste buds, you could actually feel the juices flowing out of the meat as you slowly sink your teeth in it as you chew. meat was cooked just well enough, not to become mashed and unrecognizable but to melt in your mouth with ease. The gravy was blended with perfection to a golden rust colour with a reddish tinge in it. And she served it piping hot, just out of the boiling pan.

Most Indians travelling or studying in South Korea complain about the food. They find it difficult to adjust with the different aroma, way of preparation and most importantly the ample use of meat in every dish. I personally feel I am lucky to have adapted so well. I loved exploring so many different types of Korean delicacies. It gave me an opportunity to know the country well and the people even better. I was the only Indian eating 'che-yuk pokkam' regularly at the Miru-Tree-House Restaurant almost every weekend. The only problem was that they serve only for two people or more, one order has to be for at least two people, that is how they serve the quantity of the dish. So unfortunately, I could not go there to eat alone, but always had to look for a companion. The desire to eat this was so strong that I actually had to bear some of the worst companions in order to eat 'che-yuk pokkam' at Miru-Namu-Jib, but who's complaining. It was totally worth it.