Is Korean Food Healthy?
tteokbokki.
Fan favourite, but is it healthy?
Korean food can be part of a healthy diet if cooked with care to avoid the overuse of salt and sugars. Swap out fattier cuts of meat for leaner ones and even more dishes can be made healthy. There is no hiding the fact that modern Korean foods are saltier and sweeter than ever. If your taste buds are going into overdrive when you eat something, you should be suspicious of its health benefits (or lack thereof).
TTEOKBOKKI (spicy rice cake) is a very popular dish beloved all over the world. Rice cakes are smothered in an irresistible spicy-sweet red sauce. Sometimes fish cakes, fried dumplings and instant noodles are added because the sauce is just that good. What’s wrong with this? Nothing at all. Just be aware this is not healthy Korean food and it really shouldn’t be part of a regular eating plan if health is your priority.
Rice cakes are made of white rice flour. Similar to white breads and pasta, these are simple carbohydrates “empty” of significant nutrition. They spike your blood sugar levels and leave you hungry and craving more. The secret to that addictive sauce is GOCHUJANG (spicy red pepper paste) and sugar. GOCHUJANG is basically a mix of spicy pepper flakes, sugars and salt. Some recipes call for soy sauce (salty) as well. So you’re adding even more sugar and salt to an already sugary, salty paste.
Think of lasagna. In its most popular form, it is a multi-layered calorie-dense cheesy indulgence. No one is eating that on a daily basis for its health benefits. Lasagna and TTEOKBOKKI both lead to a knockout carb-coma. Which is comfort food at its best.
“It’s easy to make healthier versions of these fan-favourite Korean foods. Be an adult about the fact that it just won’t taste as good (at least until your mouth gets used to the healthier version)!”
Healthier TTEOKBOKKI
SAUCE: Boil some dried anchovy and kelp and make fish stock if you’re feeling fancy. Add GOCHUGARU (spicy red pepper powder) and GANJANG (soy sauce) (2:1 ratio of powder : soy sauce) and a bit of garlic.
Read more: Tips on how to buy Korean GANJANG Soy Sauce
Read more: Korean Red Pepper Paste aka GOCHUJANG
RICE CAKES SUB: Add a chewy, meaty mushroom like King Oyster mushrooms. Tofu is also a possibility here but I don’t like how it doesn’t really compare to the satisfying chew of rice cakes. If you do go for tofu, go for FIRM tofu or it’ll just be tofu soup.
FISH CAKES SUB: Make you own? This awesome blog has a good recipe here. Store-bought ones are deep-fried with sub-par ingredients.
FRIED DUMPLINGS SUB: Steamed dumplings.
INSTANT NOODLE SUB: Shirataki noodles (Low carb, gluten-free: check it out on Amazon here).
Some more healthy Korean dishes you may have never heard of:
BOOGUH-GUK (Dried Pollock Soup)
SAM-GYE-TANG (Ginseng Chicken Soup)
SOON-DUBU-JJIGAE (Spicy Tofu Stew)
KONG-NAMUL-GUK (Soybean Sprout Soup)
KONG-BEEGEE-JJIGAE (Ground Soybean Stew)
MI-YEOK-GUK (Seaweed Soup aka Korean Birthday Soup)
NAMUL-BANCHAN (Side dishes made of herbs)
The worldwide enemy of health being (too much) salt, sugars and fats, you have the advantage when cooking at home- you can control how much you use. But as with anything, moderation is key and sometimes you do feel like a nice carb-coma. So don’t yield to the siren call every day, and life is good 😁.
What is the healthiest Korean food?
Here is how to make an easy Korean food into a superfood. BIBIMBAP, or Korean mixed-up rice, is a popular dish that appears in many restaurants. Would it surprise you to find that BIBIMBAP is usually mostly white rice with greasy side dishes (meats marinated in soy sauce and sugar, vegetables drowned in oil) that obliterate most of its supposed health benefits?
What to do:
Swap out the white rice with brown rice/wild rice/barley/quinoa/shredded cabbage/cauliflower rice.
Cook all ingredients lightly in broth (not oil). Or roast them. Keep it vegetarian or use lean cuts of meat.
Omit sesame oil or drizzle very little.
Use less GOCHUJANG by adding a bit of broth or water to thin it out before mixing it in.
Boom. Done. Healthiest Korean super healthy food. You’re welcome.
Is Korean food good for weight loss?
It’s easy to dismiss Korean food as a viable dieting option because of its carbohydrate-dependent meals. Rice is a major component of the Korean diet. However, if you are a die-hard Korean food fan but also on a mission to lose weight, don’t lose hope- everything is possible, with effort!
(Try to) Reduce your intake. You can have anything you like, in smaller portions. Depending on how much weight you want to lose and how quickly. However, this is not a sustainable solution for the long term IMO.
Try to cook at home. If you eat out, you won’t be aware of possible hidden dangers to weight loss- like added oils, salt and sugars which are prevalent in restaurant foods.
Eat soup with every meal. Make it clear soups which have fewer ingredients and try to get used to a blander (less salty) flavour.
Substitute white rice with brown rice, or an even lower carb option like cauliflower rice.
The advantage you may have with a Korean food diet is that it is low in temptations in the dairy department. Having said this, because unhealthy Korean foods are so much more popular and available outside of Korea than not, I think it may be difficult to be disciplined around Korean friend chicken and JJAJANGMYUN (read my eyeballing recipe here) and TTEOKBOKKI. 👍 Best of luck, let me know how it goes!
Is Korean Cooking healthy?
Korean ingredients are healthy at their core: Soy sauce is the by-product of fermented beans (fermented products are a huge health trend, dontcha’ know?). However, fermented beans are preserved in salt. A sh*tload of salt. It should be a well-known fact that Korean foods are high in sodium content. However, by cooking it yourself, you have complete control over just how much of it you consume. So yes, cooking Korean food can be very healthy!
Are BANCHAN Korean side dishes healthy?
The healthiest Korean BANCHAN side dishes are vegetarian. The least “cooking” done to it with the fewest ingredients will be a reliable way to gauge its health value. A prime example is SHIGUMCHI-NAMUL a spinach side dish. Spinach is blanched quickly and drained thoroughly. It is very lightly dressed in soy sauce, sesame oil and garlic. The only reason it could be unhealthy would be the amount of soy sauce and sesame oil used.
There are many side dishes that help you get your servings of vegetables (healthy!):
KONG-NAMUL-MUCHIM (Seasoned Soybean Sprouts): Blanch. Season with salt, garlic, green onions and sesame oil. Add GOCHUGARU if you want a kick.
OI-MUCHIM (Spicy Cucumber): Toss cukes in salt, GOCHUGARU (spicy red pepper powder), garlic, green onions, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil.
OI-BOKKUM (Stir-Fried Cucumber): Cook lightly in broth. Add salt, garlic, green onions.
HOBAK-BOKKUM (Stir-Fried Zucchini): Cook lightly in broth. Add salt, garlic, green onions.
As you can see, there is a pattern to the taste profile of side dishes. Knowing these combinations will make you a BANCHAN master. The different flavours and textures of different vegetables will give some variety. But it’s best to mix some of these kind of side dishes with perhaps less healthy side dishes for better balance and composition to the meal.
*You can use salt, soy sauce or salty shrimp for seasoning (for saltiness).
*Omit or limit the use of sesame oil. I suggest limiting it as it’s a very Korean flavour to have it.
*Instead of pan-fying in oil, use broth or water to gently soften vegetables.
THE NAMUL (veg/herbs) BANCHAN FORMULA:
VEGETABLE/HERB + DRESSING = BANCHAN
COOKING OPTIONS
Blanch
Lightly pan-fry in little oil or broth
Slice/julienne/dice (ready-to-eat salad type veg: cucumbers, radish, carrots)
DRESSING OPTIONS
Salt/Soy Sauce/Salty Shrimp + garlic + green onions + sesame oil + sesame seeds
GOCHUGARU (red pepper powder) + all of the above
BANCHAN ASSEMBLY
Toss in dressing. Drizzle sesame oil. Garnish with sesame seeds. Done.
Remember to limit the amounts of salt (soy sauce/salty shrimp) and sesame oil you add to preserve the health benefits derived from consuming vegetables.
Unhealthy eating is caused by an excess of SALT, SUGAR and FATS. Make the decision to limit or cut back on any of these and Korean food can be a healthy part of your diet. As with any type of cuisine, there are rich, fatty foods and lighter fare. Eat more of the lighter dishes on the regular and treat yourself to heavy, saucy foods only sometimes. Everything in moderation, friends!
BONUS BANCHAN DRESSING
GOCHUJANG 2C+ DOENJANG 1C (fermented bean paste) + GOCHUGARU 1/2C + PEANUT BUTTER 1C + COOKING WINE 2C = BLEND UNTIL SMOOTH
= Kick-Ass All-purpose spicy-sweet dressing for any kind of BANCHAN.
(Not particularly healthy, but simple and delicious. Gotta have one of these in the back pocket for emergencies.)
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