Just moved to Korea, any suggestions for healthy meals?

Kandyhar
Kandyhar Posts: 95 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi guys! I just moved to South Korea, Pyeongtaek (Camp Humphreys) for work and am having trouble finding good food to eat, seems like the only thing other than typical fast food is subway or a couple restaurants outside of the base. I've never had Korean food and I don't think the town I'm in is really a destination for a foodie as we did go to a bolgogi place and it was so-so. Any recommendations for things to order and keep my diet in check???

Thanks!

Replies

  • OneEyeUp
    OneEyeUp Posts: 373 Member
    Rice. lol.
  • Willowana
    Willowana Posts: 493 Member
    Are there any open markets where you can buy fresh produce, fish, etc?
  • kckBxer396
    kckBxer396 Posts: 460 Member
    Kimchee soup, Kimbop, kimchee (out side of soup), bibimbap if you don't eat the whole huge bowl, KongNaMul is relatively healthy. Maybe, chicken bulgogi, and I'm not sure about Jae yook bokum,but it's one of my favorites...I guess some of these are side dishes,but I could devour enough of them to make it a meal! Korean food is my favorite! haha
  • ggxx100
    ggxx100 Posts: 520 Member
    Absolutely all of the banchan (side dishes) are healthy. You can't really go wrong with kimchi, pickled cabbage, and sprouts.

    I'd eat plenty of the banchan and get:
    kimchi chiggae (tofu stew)
    miyukguk (sort of like a seaweed soup-weirds most people out but I think its delicious)
    naegmyun (buckwheat noodles-cold summer dish)
    kongsu (also a cold summer noodle dish made out of soy beans)

    Last time I was there, they did have the option of bibimbap with brown rice, which is quite healthy.

    Not sure how it is where you're staying, but the fish markets are always a great option if you're cooking.
  • melfitnesspal13
    melfitnesspal13 Posts: 378 Member
    There are some great markets in Korea both indoor and outdoor. It's all about getting off base and being adventurous. I loved living in Korea and ate very healthy. Enjoy!! :smile:
  • Mock_Turtle
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
    just befriend some locals and see how they eat .... the obesity rate in Korea is like 3%

    There should be hundreds of small hot pot / bbq type places where you can just load up on meat, seafood and kimchi
  • esjayyy31
    esjayyy31 Posts: 16
    If you're a fan of korean food - then yeah, korean food is pretty healthy (well, maybe except for the sodium!!!). I love all the na-mul (veggies sauteed with sesame oil and usually some salt), and jjigae (stews, usually spicy). Be careful about the rice! A lot of restaurants will serve white rice unless you ask them if they have hyun-mi (brown rice) or bori (barley rice). Those are just some healthier alternatives.

    If you're not a fan of korean food (no worries, it's not everyone's cup of tea), then there's always open air markets where you could buy fresh produce and cook for yourself to your liking. If you're eating out, try asking around the other foreigners who've been there a while. Also go to blogs like aliensdayout - the writer is a vegan living in korea and she always has really awesome recommendations for vegan/vegetarian places to eat in Korea!
  • RM10003
    RM10003 Posts: 316 Member
    If you're a fan of korean food - then yeah, korean food is pretty healthy (well, maybe except for the sodium!!!).

    That was going to be my advice--watch out for the sodium if it's an issue for you. We used to always keep a couple kinds of kimchi in the fridge but now that I've started tracking sodium it just doesn't fit in my diet anymore (very sad).
  • Kandyhar
    Kandyhar Posts: 95 Member
    You are all so so amazing! Seriously... thank you! I'm definitely going to check out the vegan living in Korea blog you mentioned and all of the other tips are greatly appreciated, especially the name of the dishes and description as I've been really unsure!

    I'll let you know my progress after the first week! We just picked our apartment today in Pyeongtaek so if anyone knows anything about that particular city, please please let me know!
  • hevans1207
    hevans1207 Posts: 58 Member
    I'm also living in Korea. I've found that jiggaes (stews) are really healthy when the 2 cups of rice that they come with are omitted...rice has been my downfall here! you can probably get a lot of stuff on base, but http://www.iherb.com/ is great for stocking the pantry with healthy snacks.
  • kelooki
    kelooki Posts: 22
    Living in Korea.

    Most of the kimbap nara dishes you get will be around 500-800 calories. Given a meal, that's pretty decent. However, the rice adds on additional calories. For example, a plate of bulgogi may run you 500-600 calories but the rice can be anywhere from 300-600 additional calories. You know those little silver bowls of rice that every restaurant tends to have? Those have roughly 300 calories worth of rice in them. Use that as a guide when eating.

    Kimbap rolls run anywhere 300-600 calories depending on the size. Most CU/7-11 stores have some in stock that have listed calories around 250 (they are smaller than the diner ones).

    Soups in Korea tend to be on the healthy side although they are packed with sodium and often come with a side of 300 calorie rice.
  • seoulpal
    seoulpal Posts: 3
    i also live in south korea. food is also a problem for me. i can not find my taste of food here
  • Jaylello
    Jaylello Posts: 212 Member
    Where in Korea is everyone based?

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