Iyeolchiyeol(;이열치열): How Koreans Beat the Heat with Heat
Summer is here in full swing. Yet centuries of Korean tradition tell us to do the opposite of what feels intuitive: drink steaming hot soup on the hottest days.
The Korean word for this is iyeolchiyeol (이열치열) — "fight heat with heat" — a centuries-old principle of Korean summer wellness.
Why hot soup in summer?
When you sweat heavily in summer, your body's internal energy drains outward. The outside feels hot, but your insides actually grow cooler. Eating only cold food during this time weakens your stomach further.
So Koreans turn to deeply-simmered broths and tender meat in a steaming bowl. A long-cooked sagol (beef bone) broth, a tender bite of meat, a carefully ladled bowl — this is the real face of Korean summer restoration, what we call boyangsik (보양식).
4 Boyangsik Bowls from Banchan365
Each one chef-made in Korean tradition. Heat and serve — and your American kitchen turns into a Korean dining table.
1. Seolleongtang — The Milky Soup of Time
A creamy white broth of slow-simmered ox bones, with tender brisket on top. Seolleongtang isn't just soup — it's hours of simmering in a heavy pot, time itself condensed into broth. Finish a bowl on a hot day, sweat freely, and feel your body grow lighter. That's iyeolchiyeol in practice.
2. Galbitang — Pull-Apart Beef Short Rib Soup
Beef short ribs slow-cooked into a celebratory soup. Pull a rib apart bite by bite into the deep, clear broth — galbitang revives a heat-tired appetite like nothing else. With Korean radish and glass noodles, it's a full restoring meal in one bowl.
3. Daepa Yukgaejang — Spicy Beef & Green Onion Soup
The kind of heat that makes you sweat and pushes the inner heat out. Daepa yukgaejang is loaded with green onion (daepa) for natural sweetness, and brisket shredded along the grain for that chewy bite. When summer kills your appetite, a hot, spicy bowl is the answer.
4. Jeonbok Miyeokguk — Abalone Seaweed Soup, the Real Restorative
Miyeokguk (seaweed soup) is what Korean mothers traditionally eat after giving birth — and abalone miyeokguk has long been considered the most premium of restorative dishes. The umami of abalone and the minerals of seaweed gently restore a body worn out by heat.
You don't need a birthday excuse. Bring a real bowl of abalone miyeokguk to your table at least once this summer.
Korea, Delivered to America
Finding a proper bowl of Korean restorative soup in the States is harder than it should be. Korean restaurants are far. Making sagol broth from scratch takes a full day at the stove.
Banchan365's chef simmers each soup the Korean way, packs it frozen, and ships it to your door. Reheat and serve — and the same deep broth you remember from Korea appears on your American table.
This Summer, Skip the Iced Drink — Try a Steaming Bowl Instead
The Korean wisdom of summer survival, tested over centuries. Banchan365 simmers each bowl with chef's care and delivers it straight to American tables.
