Sinseollo

 Definition

Sinseollo is a kind of hot pot, which is cooked by putting various ingredients in a metal pot, pouring broth and boiling them together to be taken on-site.  The ingredients are arranged in the pot in good and orderly shape according to color.  The food is similar to stew, but different from it in that stew has mostly one main ingredient while sinseollo has a lot of ingredients cooked together so that diverse tastes originating from each ingredient can be enjoyed in one time.

cooking method is unique in that several persons sitting around the table can dine on it jointly while the food is boiling on the table, each person picking up the food when  suitable to his taste.

 Origin

Sinseollo was originated from the story that a politician Chung Hee-ryang had become a victim in a massacre of scholars under the rule of King Yeonsan in Joseon (Chosun) dynasty.  He fled to a remote mountain and was leading a solitary life like a  hermit.  He made a pot and cooked vegetable by boiling in it, to be taken as daily meal.  After his death, his utensil had come to be called as sinseollo, meaning a fire pot (ro)  used by a hermit (sinseon).  And later, the food has begun to be called as sinseonro  or sinseollo.