Gim (food)

Gim(Korean:김), also romanized askim,is a generic term for a group ofedible seaweedsdried to be used as an ingredient in Korean cuisine, consisting of various species in thegeneraPyropiaandPorphyra, includingP. tenera,P. yezoensis,P. suborbiculata,P. pseudolinearis,P. dentata, andP. seriata.
Along withwakameandsweet kelp,gimis one of the most widely cultivated and consumed types of seaweed in Korea.The dried sheets ofgimare often rolled to wrap and be eaten with rice.Gimbapis a dish in whichgimis not only rolled with rice, but also meat, fish, or vegetables.Gimalso can be eaten without rice by roasting with sesame oil or frying and cutting it to make side dishes (banchan) such asbugak.
Gim is largely similar to the Japanesenori, which also overs the genre Pyropia; Gim, however, is different from Nori in that it is seasoned withsesame oilandsalt.
The earliest mention of edible seaweed in Korea is recorded in theMemorabilia of the Three Kingdoms(1280s); this text, created during theGoryeoera, documents the history of theThree Kingdoms periodof Korean history between 57 BCE and 668 CE.The book contains passages that say theSilla dynastywould use gim for part of theirdowries. It is conjectured that thegimof this period was harvested from rocks and driftwood rather than beingcultivated.
Gimwas later mentioned numerous times in theVeritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty. Throughout the record, gim is referred as 海衣, meaning sea cloth or sheet.
In the record, the geographical survey conducted during the regime of theKing Sejong the Greatdescribed gim as the representative product ofChungcheong,Gyeongsang, andJeollaprovinces.The record showed howKing Seonjowas urged to sooth the hardship of the country's eastern coastal people who were required to produce and submit gim as a royal offering.The record also told the story of howKing Hyojongsuspended the royal submission of gim upon hearing that a single piece of gim costed 20 pieces of cottons.According to the record, people strictly had to submit gim as a royal offering by a specific size. This led many people to glue a piece of gim on a frame using saliva or other means to fit the size.King Jeongjo, citing that such practice was bad for hygiene, firmly warned the governors of the provinces to not enforce specific offering sizes for gim.
Gimwas also mentioned in non-royal literature.
The sheet of gim was described inBaekheonjip(Korean:백헌집;Hanja:白軒集), where the author Lee Kyung-suk (1595–1671) wrote the poem about receiving gim as a gift from his belated acquaintance and comparing its thinness to paper.
InSeonghosaseol[ko](Korean:성호사설;Hanja:星湖僿說), the encyclopedia written by the Joseon scholarYi Ikwho lived from 1681 to 1764, the author described that gim, reddish algae growing on the rocks of sea, was processed into a sheet.
The method of seasoning seaweed with sesame oil was recorded in a cookbook in the 19th century of the Joseon dynasty,Siuijeonseo: "...spread sesame oil mixed with red pepper powder and sesame seeds. After that, sprinkle sesame seed or pine nut powder, then dry and roast it before serving".
Production ofgiminJeollaandGyeongsang Provincesis reported in books from 15–16th century, includingSinjeung Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam|Revised and Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea(1530) andGyeongsang-do Jiriji | Geography of Gyeongsang Province(1425). In these books,gimis mentioned as a regional delicacy.
Gimcultivation is the oldestaquaculturein Korea and there are several stories fromoral traditionabout its origins.One version tells the story of an old lady inHadong,South Gyeongsang Provincewho discovered a log covered ingimfloating down theSeomjin River. This inspired her to cultivate thegimon upright support poles made ofbamboo.Another legend saysgimwas named after Gim Yeoik (1606–1660)―the first person to have cultivatedgimafter seeing a drifting oak branch covered in it. Yeoik's story takes place on Taein Island which is located in themouthofSeomjin RiverinGwangyang,South Jeolla Province, during the reign ofKing Injo(1623–1649).Gimcultivation continued to expand and spread throughout the southern coastlands ofKorean Empire(1897‒1910).
Early cultivation methods usingbamboooroaksticks were eventually replaced by newer methods that utilized nets,developed in the 19th century by a fish harvester who was inspired bygimthat grew naturally on fish fences installed in the tidal waters ofWando,South Jeolla Province. Floating rafts have been used for mass production since the 1920s.
The modern method of producing edible seaweed sheets was introduced in Japan. The sheet form was invented inAsakusa,Edo(contemporary Tokyo), around 1750 in theEdo periodinfluenced by the method ofJapanese paper-making. The Asakusanori method of production gave rise to the itanori method that is currently used today in Japan and Korea, among other countries.
Around 19,500tonnesof driedgimare produced annually inSouth Korea.Since naturally growngimis insufficient to meet market demand, most of thegimproduced for commercial markets is cultivated.Pyropiais a widely cultivated species.
Many naturally growingPorphyraspecies, often clinging to rocks, are collected by hand:P. suborbiculatacan be found along the coasts of theSea of Japan, theYellow Sea, and theSouth Sea;P. pseudolinearisis found along the coasts of theSea of Japan;P. dentataalong the coasts ofYellow Sea; andP. seriatagrows in theSouth Seaarea.
P. yezoensisis the most commonly cultivated species ofgim, followed byP. tenera.Wando,South Jeolla Provinceis the main production area for cultivatedgim.Gimcultivation is traditional to the Southern parts Korean peninsula—theHonam,Yeongnamregions, andJeju Island—as the algae only grow in the oceans around the southern part of Korean Peninsula.However, due to increases in sea temperature,gimcan now be cultivated further north and has spread to theHoseoregion in centralSouth Korea.
Gimproduced during the winter inestuariesor thebrackish waterzone, with 1.024‰salinity, is said to be the most delicious.Seeding begins in autumn—between September and October—and multiple harvests can be taken from a single seeding throughout the winter months. The algae are known to grow well in sea water when temperatures are between 5 and 8 °C (41 and 46 °F).Gimthat has been grown for 50 days is considered best for consumption, as the color and flavor are at their peak.
Two main cultivation methods are used in contemporarygimfarming: traditional "racks" method used for high qualitygimthat is similar to naturally grown laver, and the "floating rafts" method used for mass production.Racks typegim, similar in quality to naturally occurring laver, is currently produced in some areas ofWando,Sinan,Gangjin, andJangheung; however this type ofgimis grown in fewer than 100 farms across the country. The number of farms that use the rack method has been declining due to high production costs, low cultivation yields, increasing water temperatures caused by global warming and aging fishing village populations.
Racks type cultivation starts with planting bamboo sticks in the seabed.Nets, to which the laver seeds can stick, are tied to the bamboo posts.Several nets may be connected together.Seeds are planted on the nets in September, often helped by the process of installing nets in multiple layers to facilitate the clinging of the seeds to the net; the layers of nets are separated and re-installed once the seeds are well attached.The nets are subsequently moved to a farming area.The rack type nets installed atgimfarms are submerged during high tide and exposed to the sun at low tide; this limited exposure to the sun allows for a certain amount of photosynthesis that's helps maintain the original flavor of thegim.Farminggimusing the rack technique is an eco-friendly cultivation method.
Gimcultivation with floating rafts is the most suitable for mass-production because it is less labor-intensive than rack cultivation. This method keeps the laver submerged in the water during both the high and low tides.
Gimis known to be abundant inprotein,thiamine,riboflavin, andvitamins A,B6, andB12.It is also known to have a high content ofmineralsalts, particularlyiodineandiron, and essential amino acids.It is considered a very healthy food.
When eaten as abanchan(side dish), dried sheets ofgimare toasted withsesame oilorperilla oil, sprinkled with fine salt and cut into squares. It may also be deep-fried to make coated fritters calledbugak.For use ingimbap, the sheets are not toasted, but are instead used in their original dried state.
Thered algaegenera is also consumed inJapanese cuisineasnori(海苔), inChinese cuisineashaitai(海苔) orzicai(紫菜), and inWalesandIrelandaslaverbread.