Madame Yi’s Ch’ilhyang-gye (Seven-Scent Chicken)
There is a saying that goes, “food is the window to the soul,” but what about food being a window to the culture? More specifically, how about it being a window into late Choson Korean culture? It is my hope that as you explore this blog, you will leave with a better understanding of the expertise required to create a Korean staple and its impact on Korean culture.
“...Consider the extent of the labor involved and where the food came from. This food is gained through laborious efforts… meals are made possible through the help of the ancestors.”
The Idea
When forming an idea of how civilizations functioned and what people were like, we often think of what people wore, how they spoke, and what they did routinely. The same thought was carried over into this project, as the cuisine of the culture and the commentary surrounding it can give insights to just how important the role of food was at the time.
The topic of female craft was particularly interesting to me because it is a perspective that is often lacking from historical text. So, for my term project, I wanted to reproduce a dish from one of the female-authored primary sources we read in this course. I ultimately settled on Madame Yi’s work: The Encyclopedia of Daily Life (The Encyclopedia for short) because of her impact on the culture.
Although Madame Yi’s text was not the first female-authored practical guidebook, it differs noticeably from what was seen from earlier texts. One such example is the difference between The Encylopedia and Ŭmsik timibang by Lady Chang. Chang’s text centers on instructing women on how to conduct themselves, whereas Yi’s text has open application to men and women. This is important because many women in Choson Korea were illiterate, and of the female authors, many of them wrote guides for female behavior but stayed away from medicine. In Madame Yi’s The Encyclopedia, we see her stray from the pre-existing prototype for early Korean women writers in how she makes scientific assertions, shares personal commentary, and provides insights into an array of craft.
Although Madame Yi’s The Encyclopedia covers multiple topics, for my term project I decided to replicate a dish — Ch’ilhyang-gye, which is also referred to as “Seven-Scent Chicken.“ The appeal was its interesting name, ingredient list, and the fact that chicken was an accessible protein for many people during the Choson period.
The Dish
What’s in a name?
Ch’ilhyang-gye (Seven-Scent Chicken) gets its name straight from the ingredient list.
“Seven-Scent” refers to the seven added flavors: Korean green onion, ginger, Sichuan peppercorn, sesame oil, aged soy sauce, vinegar, and balloon flower root*.
To make this dish, I consulted Madame Yi’s text as well as a youtube video posted by the channel, “Go K-food by Professor Yoon.” With the help of my course professor, I found the video to be an acceptable guide for this replication, as the ingredient list and method of preparation were almost identical to what was found in Madame Yi’s writing. The main difference was that Madame Yi lacked units that translated to modern measurements, and the Youtube video provided them.
Recipe & Methods
The recipe according to Madame Yi’s The Encyclopedia is as follows:
“Scald a fat old hen, remove the intestines, and clean the insides thoroughly. Add a total of seven ingredients such as a boiled bellflower root, four or five pieces of ginger, a pinch of green onion, a pinch of Korean peppercorn, one small bowl of soy sauce, one small bowl of oil, and half of a small bowl of vinegar. Put the chicken and the rest of the seasonings in an earthenware pot, bind the mouth with oil paper, cover with a porcelain dish, and cook in a double boiler.”
While the actual steps of the process are not particularly laborious, the preparation work is. Those who made this dish during the late Choson period would have had to properly kill the chicken, remove the feathers, and clean the insides of it—both a time-consuming and laborious task. The other element of preparation that would make this dish a challenge is the cooking time. It takes, at minimum, two hours of cook-time for the chicken, though it is not a process that must be watched closely.
Fully stuffed, blanched, but raw cornish hen in stainless steel bowl just before cooking.
For my project, I made a couple of modifications:
For easier handling and time constraints, I used a pre-gutted cornish hen.
The raw, unstuffed hen was blanched by submerging it into boiling water, and taking it out after the water returned to a vigorous boil.
I did not have a proper double boiler so I placed the stuffed hen in a small stainless steel bowl, which I placed in a larger pot that contained water and covered it with a lid.
Sichuan peppercorn was substituted in place of Korean peppercorn.
Balloon flower root was completely omitted due to it being unavailable.
I used 1.5 tbsp of each liquid included in the recipe.
I did not tie the legs of the hen.
Finished Product
“…Pinches, pieces, and handfuls.”
First Impressions & Flavor
When I read the ingredients list and methods for preparation, my initial concern was that the chicken would be bland. For a meat that was supposed to be boiled, there was no mention of brushing the skin with any type of seasoning, and the ingredient list consisted of some mild flavors; however, I found the meat to the fragrant, flavorful and extremely tender. The appearance of the final product was on par with what I expected from boiled meat. There is some color though, which comes from the soy sauce and peppercorns.
The tenderness, I fully attribute to the boiling method. The key to the flavor infusion and moisture of the chicken lies in the technique. Instead of just placing the chicken in the water to boil, the double boil method was implemented to maintain flavor and texture.
Limitations
With the exclusion of balloon flower root, I felt that the dish was missing a bitter element. I am unsure of how exactly it would have impacted the flavor, but I assume it would have balanced out some of the sweetness and strength provided by the soy sauce, ginger, and rice vinegar.
No exact units of measurement were provided from Madame Yi. While Madame Yi’s translated text includes both a glossary and a guide to units of measurement, this particular recipe did not specify any units. Amounts of ingredients to be added were expressed either by the size of the bowl or in pinches, pieces, and handfuls.
Food for Thought
“Consider food as good medicine and have it cure the pains of one’s body.”
I mentioned earlier that in her encyclopedia, Madame Yi provided her own expertise on foods and their effect on the body and often references the Bencao, a Chinese medical encyclopedia. However, in reading The Encyclopedia and preparing this dish, I noticed a possible point of disagreement. It was interesting that Madame Yi would include a point from the Bencao, which warns against eating green onions with chicken.
I found this to be interesting because in Madame Yi’s book, that inclusion from the Bencao immediately follows the Seven Scent Chicken recipe which contains green onions in it. I speculate that there is an unspecified threshold for the amount of green onion that is acceptable with chicken. Further close reading did not clear that addition up for me, but it was definitely an interesting catch and a branch for further contextual research in the future.
Thanks for reading!
References:
Andong Chang ssi (1598–1680), Ŭmsik timibang: kyugon siŭibang (Seoul: Kungjung Ŭmsik Yŏn'guwŏn, 2000). (Modern Korean translation).
“Chilhyang-gye and Dalk-anshim-seon,“ YouTube video, 11:53, posted by “Go K-food by Professor Yoon,“ February 24, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly3w8Hn1pAM.
Li Shizhen, Compendium of materia medica (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2003).
Yi Pinghŏgak 憑虛閣李氏 (1759–1824), The Encyclopedia of Daily Life: A Woman's Guide to Living in Late-Chosŏn Korea. Translated by Michael J. Pettid and Kil Cha. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2021).
