3 Facts About Korean Food

So, to keep viewership up before we go on our adventure, I figured I'd add some quirks about Korean Food!

1. Rice vs. Wheat

According to healthyeating.sfgate.com, rice and wheat have very similar profiles in terms of nutrition and minerals. Processed grains have (less than) half of the nutrients in whole grains, so it's always a plus to go whole. Processed grains with enriching gain some of those essentials back, but none of the fiber. Wheat contains a bit more calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc than rice when made into bread, but the percentage of carbohydrates for the day from either are still around 3 to 9 percent. To learn more, check out the site here!

Thanks to Sandi Busch, Demand Media!

2. Korean Food == Health Benefits

Based on information from eatingwell.com, Professor Kathryn Sucher, Jose State University and co-author of Food and Culture, said, "The idea of getting a variety of foods - and not too much of any - makes intuitive sense." Joyce Hendley, the article's writer, gives a significant statistic - "Just one-third of adults are overweight or obese, according to recent estimates, versus 68 percent of Americans." Clearly, there's some strategy in picking this statistic, comparing the 24.45 million people of Korea to the 72.5 million obese people in the USA; however, the observation stays. MayoClinic, LiveStrong, the NHS (National Health Society) and the NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) all address obesity as a problem that can be, at least (LiveStrong says it's not as critical as medicine, but in my opinion, medicine is always the LAST option), addressed by an active lifestyle and a modified eating style! Korean food is all about colors and tastes, using all kinds of vegetables, spices and meats to address all your senses and create a lasting, appreciable meal. This well balanced, well varied meal is a golden standard for aiding your health and enhancing your eating experience. Also, since Korean food is becoming more ubiquitous in the USA and around the world, look up, on applications like Urban Spoon and Google Maps, Korean Food, find your nearest eatery and try it out! It'll be a satisfactory meal, and I'd hazard to say, 9 out of 10 times, you'll pay a low to fair amount. It's always worth it! For more info, check out this site!

Thanks to Joyce Hendley, author of "The Yin and Tang of Korean Cuisine"!

3. Korean Side Dishes (Banchan, 반찬)

From koreanfood.about.com, the average number of side dishes accompanying a Korean meal is anywhere between 2 to 12 (talk about large standard deviation). From personal experience, kimchi (김치) is the most favored. As far as I know, there are maybe thousands of different recipes, the most popular of which includes Korean cabbages (배추, beh-choo), Korean pepper powder (고추 가루, gko-choo gah-rhoo) and salt. Variations can involve cucumbers, radishes, no pepper powder and even baby crabs boiled quickly to soften the shell! Delicious! More information is here!

Thanks to About.com!

Good night, good wishes to you!

Getting Underway

So this is the third blog I am running. I am happy to say welcome!

For two weeks, my sisters, my dad and I will be going to Korea to eat delicious foods from local Korean restaurants. It's going to be like a food show but better because I will talk about some research.

Each day, I will post pictures from breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as a recap on the day's food and a "What to Expect" during the following day. I will post a map to highlight our travels and constantly update our position.

I'll have some polls up too to discuss about some side treks you'd like to see or some food you've always wondered about. Who knows? You gotta go all out for these kinds of things anywho.

Thanks for stopping by! Thanks for your support!