Explaining traditional customs
In January of one year Chairman Kim Jong Il had a talk with officials about rice-dumpling soup, a festival dish.
He explained them about the method of eating the national food with his broad knowledge.
He said: It is one of traditional customs of our Korean people to eat rice-dumpling soup on lunar New Year’s Day. Nowadays, some people have rice-dumpling soup together with boiled rice, and it is not accordant to reason. Both of them are made of rice, so eating them together means having twofold meal.
Emotional recollection
The Chairman was more familiar with Korean dishes than others and loved national foods very much.
One day, while having a talk with officials about developing national foods, he said taffy was well known to surrounding countries as a special product of Korea from long ago and that in the past the Korean people made taffy and ate it frequently. Noting that he had once tasted taffy made of potatoes when making a study tour of the Paektusan revolutionary battle sites, he said he had received a deep impression of it.
It will be good to make white taffy and eat it according to the old customs, he said, explaining its kinds.
As a Lecturer
In December of one year, the Chairman asked some officials how to make a pheasant boiled in water. They exchanged looks of curiosity, because they have heard of the dish but didn’t know how to cook it.
Noting that they may not know well about pheasant dishes, he explained the method: First, fillet pheasant and boil the remaining flesh and bones for about 90 minutes before putting the fillets into it. Then, boil them for 15 minutes again and season them with salt, not soy sauce.
