SoraNews24 —Japan News—

In the boring and often mildly terrifying world of being a competent adult, there comes a time when you have to start eating healthily or face the horrible consequences. Junk food somehow seems less appealing when you have to factor in the inevitable side effects such as bloating, stomach cramps, and bad skin.

So we’re always looking for new things to eat that have added beauty benefits, and recently a secret super recipe has come to our attention which involves adding a dollop of yogurt and kimchi to our rice bowls.

Japan, Korea
(food • health • healthy eating • kimchi • korean food • yogurt)

New magic powder purports to make natto edible even for bean-haters

Evie Nyan
Mar 25, 2015

Slimy, sticky, and stinky – natto is a triumvirate of all the things picky eaters are likely to find unpalatable. While these fermented beans are actually incredibly good for your health (being rich in vitamins and fibre), they’re nonetheless something that even most Japanese people don’t like eating. But now there’s a new miracle product which claims to make natto perfectly tasty and edible, even for die-hard natto haters.

Japan
(cuisine • food • furikake • Japanese food • kimchi • natto • wasabi)

Korean drama advances slap technology with ancient Korean recipe

KK Miller
Jul 24, 2014

Have you ever been slapped in the face? If you have a sibling it’s likely to have occurred, or if you’ve wronged someone in just the right way, you’ve likely seen the fingers a flyin’. That hand is all up in your face, and whether you know it’s coming or it’s totally unexpected, it’s surprisingly pretty painful. You can imagine our astonishment when a segment of the Korean drama Everybody, Kimchi! took slapping to a whole new orangey, messy level!

Korea
(drama • Everybody Kimchi • funny • kimchi • messy • slap)

Kimchi cocktail offers a taste of Korea that no Korean would actually endorse

Cara Clegg
Apr 18, 2014

You’ve probably heard of a Bloody Mary, a popular cocktail with a base of vodka and tomato juice, plus a host of other weird and wonderful flavourings such as Worcestershire or Tabasco sauce, horseradish, celery, pepper, salt, lemon juice, and so on. It may not sound appetizing but it has plenty of devotees, although that may be more to do with its reputation as a ‘hair of the dog’ hangover cure rather than its taste. But if you’re feeling adventurous, why not try the even more exotic flavours of a spicy Korean kimchi version?

Korea
(alcohol • cocktail • gourmet • kimchi • recipe)

Word wars: Koreans take the Chinese out of Chinese cabbage

Jessica
Oct 1, 2013

America throws the best linguistic hissy fits when political relationships sour. Remember when Congress tried to change French fries to “freedom fries” because France didn’t want to come along on the Iraq invasion? Or how about when sauerkraut became so unpopular during World War I that makers suggested changing the name to the less Germanic “liberty cabbage”? Good times.

Well, it may be that the Yanks aren’t the only ones who want suitably patriotic cabbage. In Korea, it looks like Chinese cabbage, the vegetable used to make the most common variety of kimchi, is now being referred to as “kimchi cabbage” or just “cabbage”.

China, Korea
(food • kimchi • politics)

We try Cheesecake Kimchi Natto Ramen with a conspicuous moe character on the box

Master Blaster
Sep 18, 2013

While traveling in Iwate Prefecture recently, one of our reporters stumbled across a brightly decorated pack of instant ramen. Although first drawn by the buxom moe character on the front, it was the name – Rare Cheese Kimchi Natto Ramen – that made this a must-buy.

Japan
(food • kimchi • natto • ramen • rare cheese)

Korean government makes request for kimchi to be recognised as intangible cultural heritage

Andrew Miller
Sep 14, 2013

If you were asked to think of a traditional Korean food, kimchi would most likely come to mind. If you’re unfamiliar with the dish, it’s a fermented, rather spicy, side dish made up of vegetables and various seasonings, and it forms the staple ingredient for hundreds of different Korean dishes. With kimchi valued so highly, it is perhaps no surprise that the Korean government wants to see it classified as intangible cultural heritage.

Korea
(culture • food • intangible national heritage • kimchi • kimjang)

Research Shows Eating Kimchi Every Day Helps Lower Cholesterol and Blood Glucose Levels

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Mar 14, 2013

Kimchi is a fermented cabbage dish from Korea that is often referred to as “Korea’s national dish.” It’s so pungent that those who enjoy eating copious amounts of kimchi have been known to purchase a separate fridge dedicated to storing it. For decades, Korean mothers have sworn by the health benefits of adding kimchi to one’s diet, but now it seems scientists agree as well. New research published in the Journal of Medicinal Food suggests that eating even a small amount of kimchi every day may help lower cholesterol, LDL (“bad cholesterol”), and fasting blood glucose levels.

Global, Internet, Korea
(health • healthy food • kimchi • research)

English Listening Exam Question Spawns Culinary Invention with “Delicious Kimchi Meat Sauce”

Master Blaster
Feb 2, 2013

The world is full of countless foods and ways of eating them. It’s impossible to keep track of them all. I was surprised to discover salty watermelons, just as other people were surprised by my preference of putting peanut butter on waffles.

Such an incident happened on 19 January when a Japanese test maker unknowingly confused thousands of university entrance exam students with a recipe for a meat sauce calling for a “delicious kimchi base.”