Korea Blog 4

Food
Blog post 4
April 19, 2015
Clayton Slack

For many Koreans there is one typical meal that is eaten during most days with exception of holidays and feasts. The typical Korean meal consists of rice, side dishes, and a main dish. The side dishes will consist kimch’i, and other fruits and vegetables. Many of the typical vegetable are fermented or pickled which can increase and decrease the amount of vitamins and minerals in each dish. The third part of a typical Korean meal will consist of a soup or grilled beef, pork, or fish. Although grilled meats are main dish most of the time it is a soup. Many of the soups contain fish, shellfish, and other seafood’s. Due to not a lot of meats being consumed only about 15 percent of the energy consumed comes from fat. Another health implication of the Korean Diet is Kimch’i. Koreans will typically consume about 150 grams of Kimch’i every day. Although many people might think that eating so much of this is bad, it isn't as bad as you might think. During the fermentation process of Kimch’i the vitamin and mineral levels are increased so that the food becomes a high level source of vitamins and nutrients. Although Kimch’i is high in vitamins and minerals it actually makes up for the large amount of rice that is consumed. White rice is a poor source of vitamins and nutrients, but since it gives people a large amount of energy, many people eat a large quantity of it. When comparing this diet to one of western or American diet Koreans will get more of their energy from fiber and other complex carbohydrates, instead of eating more protein filled foods. Overall the typical Korean diet consists of less meat, which in turn will have less fat content in the diet. 

There is a shift going on in the American diet. Since Americans consists of consuming much more fat than what is required of the body, all the excess fat must burned off. In the traditional Korean diet the amount of fat that is consumed is close to the minimum amount that is required of the body so the fat already burnt off because of daily activities. The American diet is trying to shift so that not so much excess fat is being consumed.

Soondubu(Korean tofu soup)

Korean Restaurant, Sorabol. Sorabol Korean Restaurant. Digital image. Korean Food. 18 Aug. 2010. Web.