Korean Job Discussion Forums

[complex303]

I just found out I'm allergic to mugwort. So far I know the green rice cakes have mugwort in them to make them green.
Wikipedia says some Korean soups have mugwort, but it gives no specifics.

Anyone know of any other mugwort-spiced Korean food I should avoid?

[Kimsmith]

[Mugwort is also used in Korea and Japan to give festive rice cakes a greenish color. After the cherry trees bloom in Korea, hordes of bonneted grandmothers collect wild mugwort. It is a common seasoning in Korean soups and pancakes. Known as a blood cleanser, it is believed to have different medicinal properties depending on the region it is collected. In some regions, mugwort thins the blood, while in another region, it is proposed to have hallucigenic properties, leading to some bonneted grandmothers passing out from direct skin contact (dermal absorption) with the active chemicals. For this reason, Koreans also wear a silk sleeve when picking mugwort plants.]

Found the above info. It's called suk in Korean, so avoid things like suk-guk (the soup mentioned above), suk tea and, like you say, the green rice cakes. It shouldn't be too hard to avoid.

[skookum]

Stay away from green foods. Thank God Saint Patrick's Day is over till next year. Koreans have sometimes been called the "Irish of the Orient."

Mugwort is related to wormwood I've heard, so maybe you gotta stay away from absinthe! But soju will rot your mind out too....

Another kind of ''Artemisia'' is sagebrush, found ubiquitously in desert areas of Western North America. Wonder if you'd be allergic to that....

In my case, I'm allergic to wheat. So "ssuk-ddeok" is one of the things I CAN eat. Everyone is different in their own way....