Korean Job Discussion Forums

[DanseurVertical]

I'll admit, I'm frustrated with the food here. I love spicy food, love unusual vegetables, mushrooms, unusual seafood, rice, bean paste, etc. That's not my complaint. I'll enumerate my complaints, in hope that another health-conscious person who's lived here for longer than I can recommend restaurants. I enjoy occasional fatty, sugary, processed foods, but I'm a somewhat serious athlete and unlike most people don't really find enjoyment in eating unhealthy foods.

Complaints:
1) very little protein content unless meat or dubu
2) if meat, then lots of fat
3) if seafood, then its presence is more like a condiment than a main dish
4) 'why do my buckwheat noodles taste overwhelmingly of salt?'

5) whole grain is practically non-existent
6) even potato snacks are made from potato flour instead of whole potato
7) breaded, fried foods are often covered in more batter and grease than what they contain

I've mostly been cooking for myself. For example, using more or less Korean recipes, but with healthy ingredients. But damn it, I'd really like to eat out, too, and walk away from the meal feeling like I didn't just fill myself full of spicy liquids, salt, starches, and fats :-/

[decolyon]

Traditonally, Koreans were very poor. This isn't a land rich with natural resources or space to raise livestock. This was only exacerbated under Japanese rule. So whatever food they had had to be preserved to last as long as possible.

So, the old cooking and preserving techniques have stayed, mainly out of habit. The veg you get in Korean dishes are so cooked down in oil and salt, there is practically no nutritional value left in them. It's just dead matter.

You can find your way around this by buying whole, uncooked veg in the markets and cooking at home. Also, buy the meat cuts marked "USA." They're more expensive than the home grown or Ausi meats, but worth it.

[pkang0202]

The Korean food does wonders for the summer time. All the ladies walking around with mini-skirts and high heels.

I'm sorry OP, if "unhealthy" Korean food keeps the general populace looking thin then I'm all for it.

[matthews_world]

[happiness]

dont say that or we will get another headline, whiteyz(tm) hate Korea and Korean food.

[methdxman]

[Chris.Quigley]

Why is all the food in the USA so unhealthy? Why is all the food in Canada so unhealthy? The UK? Australia?

Have you heard of a super market before? They sell vegetables and plain old fashion chicken/beef/pork there. Sure, they might not be the same kind of veggies that you ate back home, but you aren't back home. Sure, it might be more expensive than back home to buy some of the ingredients that you bought back home... but that's because they had to import it from back home.

Korean food is no more unhealthy than western food. I will admit though, it isn't more healthy either. It's all about choices.

So... go to Homeplus... or Emart... or where ever... and buy yourself some good food.

Amen

[Steelrails]

[Swampfox10mm]

I have noticed less and less actual meat in the sangyupsal I've tasted every few years in Korea (it's not my favorite). Had some this weekend that was literally nothing buy slabs of fat. No meat in it whatsoever. Frankly, I can't believe people bother to eat it.

[fermentation]

Korean food is not that healthy. Sure it's healthier than what your average American college student eats but calling the Korean diet healthy because other people eat fried chicken and french fries everyday is like saying a smoking a pack day is healthy because its better than smoking 3 packs a day.

If you avoid the white rice and all the fat in the meat, Korean food isn't terrible, but I would say its inadequate for professional athletes. I personally think a mix of the Zone and Paleo diet is the optimum for human beings so I think most diets in the modern world are not as healthy anyway. Whenever I cut out carbs like rice, pasta, and bread (got carbs from root veggies) white cutting weight, I was always lighter, faster, and more lean. Most guys go through hell trying to cut weight but for me, the process actually enhances my performance until I start to cut water weight before the weigh ins. The problem is trying to reduce carbs even when not preparing for a fight. I love pasta too much.

Samhyupsal is the fat part of the pig. I don't get why Koreans love it so much when you can get much much better tasting parts of the animal, like bacon.

[eamo]

What's all this putting down a bit of fat on meat? You need that fat for the meat to be juicy........take off the fat and you get dried out chewy meat.

My Dad had a butchers shop for 40 years and when the low-fat health craze kicked off in the 80's his customers started asking him to trim all the fat off their cuts of meat. He dutifully did and then they would come back next time and complain that their meat was dry!!!

Anyway, fat doesn't make you fat. Too much fat makes you fat.....and all the high-carb foods.

[Adam Carolla]

[DorkothyParker]

The OP said he was cooking Korean food at home. That's not an issue. He wants to know where he can find healthful Korean food when he eats out.
If you live near mountains or foothills, there are usually many small family restaurants near the trail entrances. You might also look for vegetarian restaurants around Buddhist areas.

There is this little restaurant here in Shin-Jeju ("famous" in the way some local restaurants are) that makes the most amazing, to die for, green tea and hand-torn noodle soup.

The salt is a problem, and I would recommend avoiding it where you can, and just drinking a lot of water or tea where you can't.

[DorkothyParker]

[sadguy]

this thread is another annoying example of how people don't read the OP before posting.

as dorkothy already mentioned, it's not about not being able to eat healthy in korea, it's about not being able to find healthy alternatives when going out to eat at restaurants.

in america, there are loads of restaurants that offer healthy alternatives. even chain restaurants like fridays offer healthy alternatives.