Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Barking Mad Lord Snapcase]

With all the food-related threads over the past few weeks, I am wondering what foods - available in Korea - are most likely to cause diarrhea. Is street stall food the biggest culprit, or should we blame Western fast foods? What about kimchi? To avoid intestinal upsets as much as possible, should one stick to rice, veges, fruit and salad?

[keseki]

i think this varies from person to person.

a couple years ago, whenever i ate backbone soup i had to make sure that i was at home the next day so i could be close to my toilet.

these days though it doesnt affect me.

i think anything with a high level of spice will probably upset an inexperienced stomach

[uberscheisse]

my doctor's been saying it's anything like fatty food, wheat and beer.

look up irritable bowel syndrome - it's one of those catchall disease titles that means "you have dodgy guts, and there could be many causes".

[huck]

McDonald's double cheeseburger..

[IncognitoHFX]

[PeteJB]

It seems the Korean/Chinese food gives me less stomach trouble than the more traditional western dinners. That being said though, spices don't seem to upset me that much... It seems to be the thick saucy stuff, like Pasta. And if I have a burger from McDonalds, It bothers me all evening.

[oskinny1]

[Jeweltone]

Hite. Cass. Korean beer.

What's with the "fiber" Korean beer? So overkill....

[Oreovictim]

I've had food poisoning here three times in 10 months. One time I got it from Cham-chi jjigay, another time from chicken galbi, and another time from bone soup. It's probably bad meat, or perhaps I'm just not good with really spicy stuff.

I walked past this popular galbi restaurant the other day and saw that they had hunks of meat (thawing?) in a large water-filled plastic tub outside. It's pretty disgusting; there's probably mosquitoes, flies and other nasty critters laying their eggs in there.

[Harpeau]

Eating Quaker Oatmeal or other healthy cereals most mornings is helpful in keeping regular. Adding psyllium Husk helps to bulk up.

Diarrhea can also be from dehydration. I find the less spice, the better. Eat lots of fruit and salad.

[The Aussified Canuck]

Try Korean sweet potatoes (go-gu-ma) WITHOUT the skin.

Best way I've found to cook it

1) Scrub the entire potato (with skin) with hot water and soap. Pat dry. 2) Use a fork to poke several holes in the skin.
3) Pop into the microwave for 6-10 minutes (until you can easily pierce a fork through to the middle of the potato).
4) Let it cool for 2-3 minutes, then peel off all of the skin.

I like to eat it plain (especially when experiencing Korea-tummy), but it's also good as a base for a meal...just add steamed greens, canned tuna or beef, a little dried seaweed, soysauce, etc.

Hope this helps...good luck!

[waynehead]

Worst - fast food, korean beer, snacks, ya know all the good stuff

Best - kimchi mandu. nothing keeps me regular like that stuff.

[alwaysfaithless]

wow, i am glad someone brought this topic up since I was a bit embarrassed. I haven't had a regular bowel movement for almost 3 weeks now . I don't know what the problem is and I too have looked up irritable bowel syndrome. I have been eating lots of fruits and vegetables hoping this might help me. Alot of stomache cramps, bloating and ...er...gas. Went to my doctor. He thinks it could be bacteria infection from the extreme humidity. Anyone else having this condition.? Advice? No jokes, please...this is serious. I don't drink much, but maybe I should drink beer since some of you guys say that helps.

[Jeweltone]

The Korean "fiber" drinks actually do help as a very GENTLE laxative. They come in a medicine-y small orange bottle and say "fiber" in Korean.

Sounds like you have an extreme case though. Oh, AVOID weedy looking greens. They don't digest well, and well, come out looking exactly the same as they went in, with all the pain that implies..... I freaked until a Korean friend explained it to me. She swears by soybean powder in yoghurt as a way to keeep things moving, but I haven't tried it.

[shantaram]