Korean Job Discussion Forums

[TheKudzuConnection]

Hi everyone,

I was just hired to go teach English and I should be shipping out in a couple of weeks. I'm really pumped, and I'm also excited to have found this vibrant forum.

I have a dietary question that perhaps a few of you can help me with:

I'm a vegan, and I try to stick to eating whole foods (like whole grains, veggies, fruits and nuts). I've read about typical Korean diet and I think I'll be able to avoid animal products without much effort (although certainly correct me if I'm mistaken), but I wonder if I'll be able to find any whole grains at restaurants or the average Korean grocery store amidst the staple white rice. Of course, I'm not going to let my ultra hippiness get in the way of having a good time in Korea, so if whole grains and such are out of the question, then white rice it is.

Do Korean grocery stores and restaurants offer any whole grains, like brown or wild rice, or anything like that at all? Is "hyun mi" the word for brown rice, and if I utter a broken "hyun mi" to a restaurant server, will he or she bring me some brown rice?

Also, what fresh produce does everyone eat?

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers my questions, and I look forward to participating in this community!

[xingyiman]

[red_devil]

You can find other whole grains in Korea, but just eat the white rice. It'll spare you a lot of explaining and hassle. You're in luck though, vegan and vegetarianism is becoming quite "trendy" in Korea these days.

[Lekker]

I bought a bag of EMart brown rice not too long ago. It smells so good when you cook it.

[demaratusinTW]

Golfers usually eat a ton. If you must, buy some raspberry mix, hash browns, maybe egg yoke powder.

Cook slow.

[valkerie]

I buy brown rice at the local store and mix it with a grain supplement thing they also sell. It is way cheaper than white. Nutty and delicious.

I have never seen it in a regular restaurant though.

[Rteacher]

Most large supermarkets - even in many rural areas - carry brown rice. It's usually in a section with other types of grains like millet and barley.

Most vegetarian restaurants in Korea are run by Seventh Day Adventists, and they all have both whole-grain and white rice in their buffets.

The same goes for SM Ching hai meditation centers also run a number of vegetarian restaurants - mostly elaborate buffets.

(The SDA places are closed on Saturdays, though.)

This website probably has the most comprehensive list of vegetarian restaurants and resources throughout Korea:
http://www.vegetariankorea.org/

The Seoul Veggie Club also meets every couple weeks - usually at vegetarian or vegetarian-friendly restaurants.

[aka Dave]

I don't eat rice, white or brown. However, there's lots of great fresh produce. Swiss chard, kale, and a ton of stuff I have no idea what it is is in a "greens" section. The healthy greens are divided from the "lettuces" of which there are also many.

Most vegetables here are reasonably priced, aside from mushrooms. Bean sprouts are good, cucumber, zuchinni and eggplant cheap.

Fruit is very expensive here, however. I prefer veggies, so I go light on fruit. Tofu isn't exactly cheap, but it's fairly decent. Nuts are about the same as the States.

I eat far more vegetables here than I did in the states. One tip. Instead of using fat based salad dressing, try pouring bibimbap go chu chang on your salads (if you don't mind spicy food. Oh, and there's tons of great kimchis here, but they tend to be spicy) as a dressing substitute. It's healthy and delicious.

[Rutherford]

They have individual portions of precooked rice here also. At first I thought it was a little strange, since they are not refrigerated and are good for months. My little market has them on sale for about 600 won this month, so I've been stocking up. They're great when you're in a hurry. Just fry up some onions, garlic, peppers and kimchi and then throw one into the pan and you have great, healthy bokkumbab.

[Ethan Allen Hawley]

Like others have said above, you can buy brown rice all over the place.

If you haven't learn to read yet, get ye to the local metropolitan library or online or something and learn the basics:

brown rice = 현미 (pronounced 'hyun mi')

You need to learn to read.
You CAN learn to read within a day.
Just get on with it. It'll save you bunches of daily headaches, and impress you with lots of beautiful young waitresses/ hot young waiters.

As for fresh vegetables: for the moment, it's whatever you like and can afford.

By the end of this year though, with the way oil prices are going, we'll probably all be reduced to freshly dried seaweed and whatever you can find on the roadside.

(Say, do you reckon you can smuggle us in a couple of unripened avacados? They're going for the price of gold here at the moment.)

E.A.H.

PS 'vibrant' - Ahhh ha haa - Thanks for that!

[shifty]

What you gonna have to do is acquire a rice cooker. Could be there's one in yr apartment on arrival, or maybe you'll have to shell out. They are very ubiquitous, at any rate..

Next step is to advance on a supermarket, one called E Mart particularly. There's a multitude of rices, ranging from brown to exotic mixes and you can knock yrself out.

Do the rice in the rice cooker, thereupon toss other veges above to steam. Complemented very well by a local product going by the name of kimchi.

Sounds like you were born for Korea.

[TheKudzuConnection]

Thanks for the answers, everyone! I'm interested in trying the foods and recipes that you all mentioned, and it sounds like my health nuttiness is compatible with Korean cuisine.

[wings]

Kimchi has fish in it.

[JustJohn]

Strange all this talk of brown rice. We had some brown rice with a Korean friend in the states and he asked me what it was. Couldn't believe it was rice.

Also, I haven't seen it in stores. Maybe I've just been looking in the wrong places though. I'll try again.

[PeteJB]

Any nutritional benefits in this brown rice? Rarely had it...