Student discusses the nutritious food made in Korea

Junghee Han of Korea studied this fall at the University of Tennessee’s English Language Institute.

In Korea, there are three kinds of food at each meal: rice, soup, and side dishes.

These foods have plenty of carbohydrates, protein, fat, minerals, and vitamins.

First, Korean people eat cooked rice as a staple food. The cooking method is steeping rice and cereals, then boiling them in an electric rice cooker for 15-20 minutes.

Others are gooksu (noodles) and juk (porridge). People eat gooksu instead of cooked rice. 

Gooksu is prepared with an anchovy soup, boiled noodles, and a garnish. When people are sick, they eat juk. Juk is a kind of cooked rice, but it is more watery.

Second, gook (soup) and jjikae (stew) have a lot of water. Gook is more soup than solid stuff. For example, miyuk gook (brown seaweed soup) is prepared with brown seaweed, beef, and water.

Bukagook (dried pollack soup) is prepared with dried pollack, eggs, and green onions. 

Jjigae (stew) is more solid stuff than soup. For example, kimchijjigae is prepared with kimchi and pork.

Toenjangjjigae (soybean-paste stew) is prepared with soybean paste, tofu, and pumpkin.

Finally, there are side dishes served only in Korea. Generally, people say that side dishes are kimchi, dried dishes (roasted anchovy and seaweed, etc.) and cooked potherbs (bean sprouts, etc.)

If you look into Korean foods, they are very nutritious. Rice is a source of carbohydrates, and tofu, fish, and meat are sources of protein. Also, sesame oil is put in most foods as a source of fat. The others are sources of vitamins and minerals.

In conclusion, Korean food has plenty of nutrition and is good for people’s health.