Korean Food

Bibimbap is a dish, made of steamed rice mixed with vegetables and red pepper paste (known as gochujang), is the most popular Korean dish, according to recent polls. Since a variety of vegetables and beef, chicken or seafood are mixed with rice, the dish contains numerous vitamins and much fiber, minus the fats and cholesterol that are contained in many Western dishes.

It is also easy to cook, since all you need to do is put vegetables of your choice and hot pepper paste onto rice and mix it up with a spoon or chopsticks. As can be easily guessed, bibimbap is a nutritious diet food.

Besides bibimbap, samgyetang and seolleongtang, two main Korean soups, are gaining popularity abroad. Samgyetang is essentially a whole chicken, stuffed with rice, boiled in a broth of ginseng, herbs, garlic and ginger.

Samgyetang is perhaps Korea's most typical example of boyangsik (hot, high-protein foods that are believed to re-energize the body, allowing it to recover from summertime lethargy and malaise). It is definitely a healthy dish, because eating samgyetang, rich in protein and vitamins, is supposed to help keep one healthy in the hot summer.

Korean restaurants in Japan have seen a rise in their samgyetang sales recently because many people there have become aware that the dish is reinvigorating and is also good for the skin. The popularity of samgyetang is shown in recent polls taken around the world. Samgyetang has been ranked fifth in a survey of most popular Korean dishes in China, while it was ranked second and sixth in Vietnam and the United Kingdom, respectively.