Temple Food: Why the Sacred Art of Eating Simply Keeps Growing in Korea

Growing up in a Korean household,  I (or at least my palate) was shaped by the loudest declarations of my culture’s cuisine: scalding chili-laced stews, the penetrating punch of fermented roots and vegetables aged over weeks to months, seafood so fresh that it only stopped moving after being dipped into a garlic-laden dish of chamgireum (roasted sesame oil) and ganjang (Korean soy sauce.)

But defining Korean food only by its spiciest and boldest examples ignores a long, rich history dating to the introduction of Buddhism to Korea during the Three Kingdoms period (4th century C.E.). This was a period when simplicity, meditation and harmony with nature became the foundation of flavors and ingredients still found in Korea’s most renowned and flavorful dishes today.

If you’re looking for something gentler on the plate while you’re visiting, consider Korean temple food when you’re visiting the country. Combining wild foraged vegetables and herbs sourced from local mountains with cultivated staples, this approach to Korean cuisine is gentler on the palate while also committed to seasonality, the antithesis of the highly processed foods that modern Koreans often consume.

Instead, ingredients such as mushrooms, perilla seed, soybean paste, soy sauce, red pepper paste, vinegar, rice punch and pine needle are used harmoniously alongside leafy greens, roots, and fruits to replenish mind, body, and soul.

Buddhist teaching frowns on gluttony, but if you were to overindulge in this fare, it would be safe to say you’d feel full but not weighed down with regret.

The pungent vegetables are out

Along with being vegetarian (only the inclusion of honey prevents this cuisine from being labeled vegan), Korean temple food has this unique characteristic: It cuisine steers clear of the “Five Pungent Vegetables”: onions, garlic, chives, green onions, and leeks.

According to Korean Buddhism, these alliums, bulbous herbs of the amaryllis family arouse the emotions and inhibit focus. It’s also possible this rule was enacted upon noting that meditating in a room for hours without the pungent presence of garlic, onions, or chives on the breath might be desirable.

Korean temple cuisine relies on fermented, steamed, dried and occasionally lightly fried foods to coax out flavors that are more a whisper than the scream of some popular Korean dishes. In transforming something as humble as a radish or a modest soybean into something reflective of its connection to the soil and seasons, Korean temple cuisine is just as much a philosophical and spiritual practice as it is a gustatory one.

A symphony of tastes and textures

Don’t mistake simplicity for blandness. Temple cuisine offers an astonishing range of flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami, often layered to reveal itself with every chew.

A medley of fermented foods, such as pickled radishes or soy-paste-marinated leaves, is used sparingly to add the punctuation of sharp, tangy notes.

A bowl of mandu (dumplings) filled with tofu, mushrooms and perilla greens might seem straightforward but carries the earthy depth of the forest floor. A dish of bibimbap — a medley of seasoned vegetables and rice — paired with temple-made gochujang (red pepper paste) fermented in large earthenware called onggi makes a hearty, nutritious meal.

Absent strong flavors, Korean temple food elevates texture: fibrous stir-fried wild bracken fern, the crunch of lightly battered fried perilla leaves, the sticky chew of rice squares adorned with nuts and fruits.

The farm-to-table movement before it was cool

Forget Instagrammable farm-to-market restaurants. Monastic communities were doing farm-to-table centuries before it became trendy.

The nuns at Baekyangsa Temple in South Jeolla Province, for instance, grow crops as diverse as perilla leaves and daikon radishes in the temple gardens. Every ingredient is treated with respect, whether it’s a hand-harvested shiitake mushroom or a handful of rice grains that have been blessed and rinsed like precious jewels.

Renowned nun-chef Jeong Kwan, widely recognized as the unofficial ambassador of temple cuisine, has brought this humble tradition to the world stage. If her name sounds familiar, it might be because she was featured in a now-famous episode of Netflix’s “Chef’s Table,” showcasing her harmoniously prepared menu.

 Similarly, the culinary-nun-author Venerable Dae-Ahn of Guemsuam Temple on Mount Jirisan shares her divinely inspired dishes for international consumption.

Why the world is waking up to temple food

In recent years, Korean temple cuisine has undergone something of a renaissance.

Part of its allure is rooted in its earthy ingredients and preparation, particularly in an age when many Koreans are looking to balance indulgence with well-being. Temple cuisine’s emphasis on fresh produce and foraged ingredients makes it a clean, restorative way to eat.

Moreover, temple food’s inherent sustainability aligns with growing concerns about the environmental impact of modern diets, an ethos that offers sustenance for mind, body and soul.

Where to try temple cuisine in Seoul and beyond

You can’t always drop into a temple for dinner, but several restaurants in Seoul bring the idea of monastic dining into the city.

Sanchon, nestled in the heart of Insadong and opened by a former Buddhist monk and author of three cookbooks about vegetarian cuisine, is a romanticized traditional decorated restaurant dedicated  to temple-inspired dishes that include pine mushroom soup and steamed wild greens. Live music performances further transport diners from the bustle of modern Seoul to something akin to a mountain village eatery.

Balwoo Gongyang: Near Jogyesa Temple, this Michelin-annointed restaurant serves tasting menus designed to mimic the ceremonial meals served in temples and to represent the Buddhist values of balance and harmony. Think lotus root pancakes, burdock tea (burdock is said to be a digestive aid) and delicate tofu skin wraps.

Osegyehyang: A vegan restaurant catering to the tenets of temple food. The restaurant’s bibimbap (rice with meat and vegetables) with soybean paste and house-made soft tofu come highly recommended as an introduction to the cuisine.

And if you’d like to experience a temple stay, you can arrange to visit an actual temple and reserve time so you can learn, practice and dine according to Buddhist beliefs. Templestay.com, a resource for a longer experience pre- or post-cruise, lists such major temples as Jogyesa and Bongeunsa in Seoul. The website also contains a map to temple stays all over Korea, including Silversea ports Incheon, about 20 miles and an easy rain ride from Seoul, and Busan, about 200 miles southeast of Seoul and a little more than two hours by high-speed train.

This story was created in partnership with Korea Tourism Organization