Culture Capsule 6

Eating healthily in Korea : bean paste and bean sprout soup

These days, people are paying more attention to their health. What de you do to lead a healthier lifestyle? Do you eat special healthy foods or take restorative medicine? Perhaps you should try varying what you normally eat everyday. Above all, health begins at the dining table. In the next few paragraphs, we will introduce two of the healthiest foods enjoyed by Koreans, bean paste(된장) and bean sprout soup(콩나물국).
Bean paste can found in every Korean household. According to a poll of long-lived Koreans, 90% of respondents reported eating bean paste often. The surprising results of this poll increased bean paste's reputation of being a healthy food. Recently, bean paste has come to enjoy even more widespread popularity due to research showing that it slows the aging process and inhibits carcinogens. Because beans have always been easy to procure, cheap, rich in protein and more readily available than meat, bean paste has been an important supply of nutrition since ancient times in Korea. Bean paste is a fermented food that is easily produced in Korea. Bean paste can be included in almost any meal, and often shows up in the form of bean paste pot stew or bean paste potage. The flavor of bean paste pot stew differs according to the different vegetables added to the broth each season.
Bean sprout soup is another highly nutritious dish that shows up regularly at Korean meals. Bean sprouts contain more vitamin C than the beans from which they sprout, and are consumed as an important source of vitamins during winter since ancient times. In Korea, people usually drink bean sprout soup after catching a cold. Traditionally, crushed peppers were added to bean sprout soup to supplement a diet with vitamins. The clean and refreshing taste of bean sprout soup makes it a favorite among inebriated Koreans, who consume it to dissipate the effects of a hangover, Recent research has shown that bean sprout soup actually does counter the effects of a hangover, and is not just a folk remedy. If your are in the mood for some excellent food containing bean sprout, try going to Jeon-ju province. Jeon-ju city has historically been famous for it's bean sprout soup

-Write reference Korean Languge Education Center, Sogang University