Korean Foodies

     Food contains culture. 뻥튀기 is one of the things contains Korean culture in it. It is a kind of Korean snack made by a machine that swells corn and rice with the heat and the pressure. The taste is mild –it can be crispy- and savory. You can easily see it as an appetizer with drinks in the Korean pub.    There are many kinds of 뻥튀기 . Some of them are quite sweet, -my favorite one- others are a little bit bland.    As you can easily know, all the ingredients are grains and they add only a few amounts of salt or sugar, it is much better for your health than other snacks.        The most interesting is the moment when the truck-guy who makes 뻥튀기 with the machine on the corner of the street, shouts ‘ 뻥이요 ’. In common, it is not okay to yell on the street, but these men have the right to do so because it’s the biggest moment of making 뻥튀기 . Since the sound that the machine makes when the grains are ready t...

 How much salt do you take a day? Do you know what the average sodium content is? Well, if you cannot answer both questions, let us explain about it for the sake of your health.   According to the record, 180mg of sodium is necessary for survival and we are recommended to consume 1,500mg of it. –it’s a big gap, right?  It says American adults consume 3,400 mg of salt every day. – it’s average, so there must be quite many people take much more salt than that.-   However, surprisingly, Korean adults consume 4800mg a day! It’s more than 3times of the recommended amount. Then, what makes us be a salt-addicted? The answer is food, obviously. There are few people who do not prefer to eat Kimchi, but the majority of Koreans eat it every day. The Korean Consumer Agency analyzed the nutritional content of Kimchi and found that it contains 643mg of sodium per 100g. It’s less than the safe-amount. The thing is, we don’t eat only kimchi.    Wh...

The basic kit for the kitchen, Knife    The beginning of cooking begins with a knife. It is important to have a 'proper knife' before learning to cut. A proper knife is not an expensive knife, but a knife that fits my hand well. Put wet paper towel or dishcloth under the cutting board to prevent sliding. Posture is important for a perfect cutting. If you are right-handed with your legs slightly apart, you should take your right leg half-footed. Left-handed can do the opposite. Straighten your back and keep your elbows on the outside. When laying a knife, it is safe to place it on top of the cutting board and the blade facing outward.   ✜ The structure of a knife   ✜ How to hold the ingredients  They are divided into fingers that hold materials and fingers that control thickness. Hold the material with a index finger, or a forefinger and middle finger as if you were holding the ping pong ball, so that the palm of your han...

JAPCHAE What is it? Japchae is a Korean noodle side dish that’s also a cheap snack. It’s cellophane noodles stir fried with sliced mushrooms, carrots, and meat.  Usually served at room temperature, it can be heated up, too. Making japchae takes a lot of time, but it’s cheap to buy in supermarkets and small stores that specialize in fresh side dishes. Taste                                   Unlike some flamethrower-hot Korean food options, japchae is mild and delicate. The noodles are a bit chewy and have a light, nutty taste thanks to the sesame oil. Origins Historical records tell us a vegetarian version of japchae first appeared on the tables of kings and queens in the early 1600s. Japchae stayed inside the royal palaces until the 1920s.  During the colonial period, many agricultural products, like rice, were exported to Japan. Lo...

Omija tea    Omija, which is in season in September, is the fruit of the omija tree and has a red color. Omija has five flavors of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and spicy. Especially, it has the most sour taste. Omija usually grow Taebaek Mountain, and Nam omija grows in the southern island, while Black omija grows in Jeju Island. Let's find out the benefits of omija and make omija tea the best way to eat omija. Omija's efficacy    Omija has components such as cyanide, gomishin, citral, apple acid, and citric acid that strengthen the heart and lower blood pressure. And omija improves immunity, strengthens lung function, brightens eyes and warms the intestines.   How to eat 'Omija’    People dip dried omija into cold water and put honey or sugar in the water and drink it, or eat by making hwachae(fruit salad) or starch syrup. Usually, omija tea is made from cold tea in summer and warm tea in winter.   How to make ...

Hello folks, We are college students learning English in Korea. The reason why we decided to run this site is to introduce Korean food to Koreans and international people who do not know much about Korean food.  The Korean Foodies is a blog which tells you about how people can enjoy Korean food. We would like to share interesting stories about Korean food with the world. For example, Appliances that make the cooking process simpler.  Unknown but delicious Korean food.  The remarkable origin of traditional Korean food. The remarkable stories of Korean food that people do not know.