Baku Kitchen! An independent reference of traditional food

Insamju

인삼주

Clear liquor steeped with a whole Kaesong ginseng root in the bottle

North Korea Wine & spirit Vegetarian

Your guide, Chef Baku
Drawn, not photographed Updated September 2026
RATE

A full recipe for this dish has not been written yet.

History

Kaesong has grown Koryo ginseng since the Goryeo era; the root-steeped liquor is a signature North Korean export and banquet gift.

Frequently asked questions

What is Insamju?

Insamju is a wine & spirit from North Korea: clear liquor steeped with a whole Kaesong ginseng root in the bottle. Kaesong has grown Koryo ginseng since the Goryeo era; the root-steeped liquor is a signature North Korean export and banquet gift.

Made with

riceherbs

Cooked

distilled

Nutrition facts

Nutrition has not been calculated for this dish yet.

The atlas would have to match every ingredient to a food-composition database before it could publish a figure, and an estimate is not worth having if someone is counting on it.

Reviews

No reviews yet.

Cooked this? Say how it went — yours will be the first.

Leave a review

No account needed. Only the fields marked * are required, and an address is never published.

Your rating

More from North Korea

street foodSundaeSteamed pig-intestine sausage filled with glass noodles and bloodfermented & pickledDoenjangSalty soybean paste aged in earthenware; base of stews and dipping sauces.wine & spiritPyongyang SojuState-distilled clear spirit from rice or maize, poured at official banquetsstreet foodDubu-bapFried tofu pockets stuffed with rice and spicy sauce, market snack of the 1990s

You'll also love

JordanJordanian winereds and whites grown on the northern basalt highlands near MafraqHungaryUnicumbitter black herbal liqueur in a round bottle, drunk as a digestifSouth KoreaMakgeolliMilky lightly fizzy rice wine, traditionally paired with pancakes on rainy daysFinlandLakkaSweet amber cloudberry liqueur poured over ice cream or sipped after dinner.