Temple Recipes

Korean temple cuisine, or sachal eumsik, is a plant-based Buddhist tradition that has been practiced in Korean monasteries for over a thousand years. Free of meat, fish, and the five pungent vegetables, it relies on foraged mountain herbs, wild greens, fermented sauces, and seasonal produce to create profoundly flavorful dishes. Temple kimchi, lotus leaf rice, and mushroom-based broths demonstrate how simplicity and mindfulness in cooking can yield extraordinary depth of flavor.