In Korea, the food keywords are: organic 유기, local 국산, and sustainable 자속가능성. Organic grocery stores were a novelty a few years ago are now everywhere. Even large department stores have a section dedicated to organic, local, and sustainable foods. Koreans are more curious about the sourcing and the means of production of foods these days. You’ll see more Koreans reading labels at the grocery stores and reading up on brands on the Internet. Koreans will scrutinize what sort of oil is used, if there are artificial flavoring agents and if GMO ingredients are used. Consumers are smarter now and want better ingredients that are produced in a healthy fashion. Just offering “bigger” or adding the moniker “Well-Being” to the label is not enough. There is an emphasis on farms as people want to know the farming practices and there is more pressure on farmers to go pesticide free. Over in Yangpyeong country, local government is supporting farmers by helping them become organic farmers and ...

Brown Rice and Fish I have been trying to be healthier and one thing that I'm trying to eat more is brown rice. The only problem with brown rice is that you usually have to soak it overnight or it will be overly al dente when you eat it. Since I am always quite busy, this is not possible so most of the times I will just go without breakfast.  A trick that I learned from a guest on one of my tours is to soak the rice for about 20 minutes in hot water out of my water heater. This is enough time for me to check emails, go for a run, or to take a shower. After I do this. I cook up the rice and serve with any side dish. These days our fish market tours have been quite busy so I have been getting some fish- whatever is the freshest and I have the market grill it for me. Afterwards, I will reheat it at home and I have a great breakfast that is fast and healthy. Yummy! Dan

Hong Yongjae  The story goes that there was once a well-known and respected doctor that had everything going for him in life. He had a loving family, he had a successful practice, and many friends. Everything seemed to be going well, maybe too well. Like, Job that was struck down by God in order to test his faith, the same was for this doctor. This doctor, ironically, was diagnosed late with a deadly form of cancer, so advanced that not even modern medicine could cure him. Not knowing what to do, he looked to the small, simple soybean. He saw how food could be a medicine and so he focused on how natural food could nourish his body and cure him. Through a diet of naturally fermented food made from soybean- especially cheonggukjang, he was able to magically reverse the tide of cancer and return to health. In tribute to the bean that saved his life, he decided to open up Hong Yeong Jae Cheonggukjang: a Korean restaurant that focuses on natural, curative food that emp...

Hwae Tteokbap Koreans believe that the perfect ratio for food is 7 to 3. They believe there should be 7 parts grains and vegetables to 3 parts meats and proteins. This is why bibimbap is considered to be one of Korea's representative dish. Since my job requires me to visit a great many restaurants in a course of a given week, this is something that I try to keep in mind so I can eat healthily. In the last year or so I have gained a bit of weight and it is something I have been battling for the last couple of months or so. The thing that is most troubling to me is my bulging "beer belly." The main reason I have been so worried about it is that the belly is evidence that fat is building up around my organs and it might lead to future complications. You might have noticed on the blog, that the restaurants I have frequented these days tend to be healthy or even vegan restaurants. These are places that I eat at often while also getting up early in the morning to ...

Me and Robert Kenner: director of Food Inc So today, I watched Food Inc. again. It's a movie I like to watch from time to time to recenter myself and remind myself to eat healthy. During my trip to Nova Scotia, I had the opportunity to meet the director, Robert Kenner, and to hear him speak. It was an eye-opening experience and now I am trying to bring natural and local and organic to the work that I do. I read an article about the 7 foods that Food Experts don't eat and it mentions apples. I love apples and often I don't peel them, but this article says that there are a ton of chemicals on the apple so i should. The other items on the list are: 1. Canned Tomatoes 2. Corn-Fed Beef 3. Microwave Popcorn (you can make your own in a brown lunch bag) 4. Non-organic Potatoes 5. Farmed Salmon 6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones 7. Conventional Apples Go here for the complete article.

Mary-Jane Liddicoat of Healthy Homes Asia has organized a viewing of movie Food Matters on August 11th at Suji's Restaurant. During the event there will be snacks and refreshments made from a variety of different Super Foods. After the viewing, there will be a open forum discussion on how to eat healthy in Asia. More details on the event and video is below and I hope you can make it! I'll be there. Dan

So Lunalil introduced me to Nutritional Yeast on popcorn. I know it sounds awful and hippie-ish, but man-man is it good. They are like crispy, cheezy flakes that give the popcorn a cheezy, nutty flavor and it is totally addictive. The popcorn is supposed to be made on the stove or in a microwave with a drop or two of tabasco sauce. If you are going to make it in the microwave, you are supposed to just use brown lunch bags. Add a bit of oil, salt, tabasco sauce and then fold over the top and staple it with two staples. This is a heck of a lot cheaper than buying the pop secret bags of popcorn.