Mahayana Buddhist tradition, particularly in Korean Son (선종, Zen) monasteries; the prohibition has been practised continuously since Buddhism's introduction to Korea in the 4th century CE
Korean Buddhist temple cuisine (사찰음식, sacheol eumsik) operates under the prohibition of five stimulating vegetables known collectively as osinchae (오신채): garlic (마늘), green onion (파), wild chive (달래), chive (부추), and asafoetida (흥거, now largely replaced in Korea by the conceptual category). These five are avoided because Buddhist doctrine holds that they heat the blood when cooked, stimulating desire, and when eaten raw, agitate the mind, obstructing meditation. In their absence, temple cuisine has developed a sophisticated vocabulary of flavour using doenjang, ganjang (soup soy), mushroom stocks, perilla, ginger, sesame, and hing (asafoetida) in small quantities as flavour bridges.
Temple cuisine meals are structured around rice, pickles, doenjang soup, and multiple plant-based namul (seasoned vegetable) dishes. The absence of alliums and meat creates a lightness that is paradoxically deeply satisfying.
{"No garlic, green onion, wild chive, chive, or leek in any form — cooked or raw, they violate the osinchae principle","Doenjang and ganjang carry the savoury depth that garlic and onion would normally provide — use generously","Dried mushroom stocks (shiitake, pine mushroom) replace anchovy-based stocks for umami depth","Ginger and perilla are the principal aromatics; they provide fragrance without the stimulant quality of alliums"}
Jeong Kwan sunim (정관 스님) at Chunjinam hermitage, Chunghakdong, has elevated temple cuisine to global recognition by demonstrating that the allium prohibition produces a different kind of depth — lighter in aromatic aggression but extraordinarily complex through fermentation layers. Hing (asafoetida, 아위) dissolved in oil mimics the sulphurous background note of garlic at trace quantities — a technique with roots in South Asian Jain cooking that arrived via Buddhist exchange routes.
{"Substituting spring onion tops for regular spring onion — still violates the prohibition; the entire plant is osinchae","Under-seasoning to compensate for absent alliums — proper temple cuisine is deeply flavoured through fermented pastes, mushroom stocks, and careful seasoning","Using commercial dashida (다시다) stock powder — these typically contain onion and garlic derivatives"}