Soju

Soju (소주) is the clear spirit of the Korean table, and it came to the peninsula through the distilling methods carried across Eurasia in the Goryeo period, when the still reached Korea in the era of Mongol influence. Its older form is distilled from fermented grain, and the great household and regional traditions, Andong in the north of Gyeongsang and Jindo off the south-western coast, kept that form alive. In the twentieth century, under Japanese rule (1910–1945) and again after the war (1950–1953), grain was restricted at various times, and the industrial diluted soju that most Koreans now drink grew out of that period. Both kinds belong to the Korean drinking table, where the bottle is shared and poured for others.

Two kinds stand under the one name. Distilled soju, the traditional kind, is made from a fermented mash of rice or other grain started with nuruk, the Korean fermentation starter, then run through a still; it is clear, strong and carries the character of its grain. Diluted soju, the everyday bottle, is made from neutral spirit reduced with water and seasoned with sweetener, and it is much lower in strength and lighter in character. Maangchi's Big Book of Korean Cooking treats soju as the drink that accompanies the table and as a working ingredient in marinades and pickling, where it softens odours and carries flavour. The chapter's wider tradition of makgeolli, cheongju, yakju, fruit wines such as bokbunja-ju and maesil-ju, and the grain, citron, jujube and ginseng teas stands beside it.

Soju is drunk with salty, fatty and strongly seasoned food: grilled pork belly, braised and stewed dishes, jjigae, fried chicken and pickled banchan. Its clean, near-neutral palate and its cold temperature cut through fat and chilli heat and refresh the mouth between bites. The traditional distilled kinds, fuller in grain flavour, suit richer and longer meals where the spirit can hold its own against the food.