Gaji Namul

Eggplant is thought to have originated in India and reached Korea by way of China, and it has a long history on the peninsula. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture notes that the late-Joseon compilation Haedong yeoksa quotes Tang- and Song-dynasty Chinese texts describing a long-stemmed, egg-shaped, sweet eggplant grown in Silla — good enough that the Chinese planted it themselves. A Goryeo-period poem in Yi Gyu-bo's collected works describes growing eggplant at home and eating it raw or boiled.

Seasoned eggplant appears again and again in later cookbooks. The National Folk Museum's food encyclopedia lists a garlic-eggplant preparation in the eighteenth-century Jeungbo sallim gyeongje, gaji-namul by name in the nineteenth-century Siuijeonseo and in Joseon yori jebeop, and the names gajachae and jagwachae in the 1924 Joseon mussang sinsik yori jebeop. The classic method is to steam whole eggplants, split them lengthwise into strips and dress them with a soy-based seasoning.

Eggplant was also preserved for the cold months. The seventeenth-century Eumsik dimibang describes sealing cut ends with beeswax and layering the fruit in wood ash so it would keep into winter, and sliced, sun-dried eggplant was one of the dried vegetables cooked as mugeun-namul for the first full moon of the lunar year (Jeongwol Daeboreum).

• Fiber for few calories: eggplant is mostly water and fiber, so a generous serving adds bulk and fiber to a meal for relatively few calories.
• Gentle cooking: steaming uses no oil in the cooking itself; the sesame oil comes only from the dressing, which keeps this lighter than fried or stir-fried eggplant dishes, which soak up oil readily.
• Traditional uses: the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture notes eggplant's place in traditional medicine for heat and inflammation; these are folk uses rather than established effects.

• Steamed and dressed: the most common home version — eggplant steamed in a steamer or over rice, torn by hand and tossed with soy sauce, garlic, green onion and sesame.
• Stir-fried: eggplant cut into pieces and stir-fried with onion, garlic and green onion, then finished with salt, sesame and sesame oil. Stir-frying is also how dried eggplant is usually cooked as a namul.
• With vinegar or chili: some cooks add a little vinegar or gochugaru to the dressing; because vinegar can dull the color, dressings with vinegar are mixed just before serving.
• Dried eggplant for Daeboreum: sun-dried eggplant slices, soaked and stir-fried, are one of the stored namul eaten on the first full moon.