Guest post: Life in Korea – Korean food nutritional information
CHRIS in South Korea note: this guest post comes courtesy of my girlfriend, who after hours of hard work has translated a large part of the nutritional information for almost every Korean food you’ll eat! The words and chart are her own, while the photo below is mine.
As a diabetic living in Korea for some time, I’ve often been frustrated by the lack of nutritional information out there for Korean foods. Through trial and error, I’ve managed to work things out pretty well, but wouldn’t it be nice if there were readily available information out there? Well, wait no longer! Here it is. This is translated from the information provided by the Korean Diabetes Association (대한당뇨병학회) on the Korean version of their website. Here it is if you want to see it for yourself in Korean:
http://www.diabetes.or.kr/general/food/sub04.php?idx=2
Additional information comes from 당뇨병 관리의 길잡이, a book I got from Seoul National University Hospital (which is pretty good, by the way, if anyone’s looking for a diabetes doctor. Their international clinic will help you with everything from the time you walk in the door until the time you leave, and my own doctor there (Dr. Kwak; unfortunate name, but competent guy) speaks fluent English with an American accent.)
A few notes on these tables:
First of all, as you’ll have realized if you’ve lived in Korea any length of time, different Koreans make things different ways. The bibimbap you get at one restaurant won’t have the same ingredients as the bibimbap you get at another. Thus all numbers are only intended as rough guides – consider them as a reference point from which to start your “empirical testing”, in the words of my doctor. I am personally a bit skeptical of the information in the “Western food” section (quite aside from the fact that they evidently consider kimchi bokkumbap to be a “Western” food…)
Also, the original tables included rice in their calculations for a lot of things like dwenjangjjigae, which don’t actually include rice, but which are normally eaten with it. I’ve removed the rice since it’s easier to calculate the two dishes separately rather than do a lot of math working out what the difference is if you only ate 100 grams of rice rather than 210 or if you didn’t eat rice at all.
Secondly, portion sizes are given where they were included in the original tables. In most cases you can assume the information is for a standard-sized dish. Again, empirical testing.
For you diabetics out there, you’ll notice the exchange system is not the same as that used in the West. Counting carbohydrates, as I do, is easy enough; if you want anything more complex, you should probably ask your doctor. I’ve included the Korean exchanges where they were available; for some foods, they were not. Again, consult an expert. Please be especially careful to note that starches and vegetables have quite different values in Korea than they do in the West, and don’t just assume one Korean starch to be one American starch.
For you Korean speakers out there, a much more comprehensive source (which also includes tons of other useful medical info, such as being able to search for pills by what they look like) is Naver’s 건강 page. Go to http://health.naver.com/index.nhn and click on 영양/다이어트. From there you can search for foods by type and get much more info than is available in my own database. If you want to learn a bit more about how to read that (and Korean nutrition labels in general), please refer to Chris’ previous blog post on how to read nutritional info.
Finally, there’s a little more information in English available from Seoul Eats:
(Sadly, the original article they link to seems to have been taken offline.)
Also, a site called MyFitnessPal has values for some Korean food:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-calories/korean-food
If you’re aware of any other sources of nutritional information (in English or Korean), please let me know in the comments. You can also email me at griffon at asia.com with comments or if you’d like a translation for any foods that aren’t on the list.
Nutritional Information for Korean Food
S – starches (carbohydrates 23 g, protein 2 g, 100 kcal)
LP – low-fat proteins (protein 8 g, fat 2 g, 50 kcal)
MP – medium-fat proteins (protein 8 g, fat 5 g, 75 kcal)
HP – high-fat proteins (protein 8 g, fat 8 g, 100 kcal)
V – vegetables (carbohydrates 3 g, protein 2 g, 20 kcal)
F – fats (fat 5 g, 45 kcal)
Korean-Korean food
|
Name |
Korean name |
Ingredients |
Diabetic Exchanges |
Calories (kcal) |
Carbs (g) |
Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
|||||
|
S |
LP |
MP |
HP |
V |
Fats |
|||||||
|
Kimchi stew |
김치찌개 (kimchijjigae) |
Pork, tofu, kimchi |
|
|
1.5 |
|
2 |
0.5 |
175 |
6 |
16 |
11 |
|
Soft tofu stew |
순두부찌개 (sundubujjigae) |
Soft tofu (100g), clam meat, eggs, cabbage |
|
1 |
1.5 |
|
0.5 |
|
173 |
2 |
21 |
10 |
|
Soybean paste stew |
된장찌개 (dwenjangjjigae) |
Tofu, squash, onion, green chili |
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
145 |
3 |
10 |
5 |
|
Rich soybean paste stew |
청국장찌개 (cheonggukjangjjigae) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
128 |
6 |
8 |
3 |
|
Army base stew* |
부대찌개 (budaejjigae) |
Pork (50 g), ham (50 g), sausage 120 g), kimchi (50 g), ddeok (30 g), beans (70 g), onion |
|
|
|
|
|
|
710 |
74 |
50 |
23 |
|
Bibimbap |
비빔밥
|
Rice, beef, eggs, bellflower root, spinach, bean sprouts, squash, carrot, sesame oil, red pepper paste |
3 |
0.5 |
1 |
|
2 |
2 |
550 |
75 |
22 |
16 |
|
Vegetable bibimbap |
야채비빔밥 (yachae bibimbap) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
535 |
75 |
18 |
15 |
|
Cold noodles |
물냉면 (mulnaengmyeon) |
Buckwheat noodles (dry, 90 g), brisket (40 g), eggs, cucumber, radish, meat broth |
3 |
|
1.5 |
|
1 |
|
514 |
76 |
23 |
17 |
|
Cold mixed noodles |
비빔냉면 (bibimnaengmyeon) |
Buckwheat noodles (dry, 90 g), brisket (20 g), eggs, cucumber, radish, sesame oil, red-pepper seasoning |
3 |
|
1 |
|
1.5 |
1 |
450 |
74 |
17 |
10 |
|
Raw fish naengmyeon |
회냉면 (hwenaengmyeon) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
488 |
80 |
27 |
7 |
|
Fried octopus (one serving) |
낙지볶음 (nakjibokkeum) |
Octopus |
|
|
|
|
|
|
145 |
15 |
14 |
3 |
|
Boiled pork wrapped in greens |
보쌈 (bossam) |
Pork (200 g) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
460 |
6 |
44 |
30 |
|
Fried chicken stew |
닭볶음 (dalkbokkeum) |
Chicken (250 g, including skin and bones) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
590 |
41 |
38 |
32 |
|
Mudfish soup |
추어탕 (chueotang) |
Mudfish (100 g), cabbage leaves (100 g), onion, chives |
|
2 |
|
|
2.5 |
|
150 |
6 |
21 |
4 |
|
Chicken soup |
삼계탕 (samgyetang) |
Sticky rice, whole chicken (400 g), chestnuts, ginseng, jujubes, garlic |
1.5 |
|
|
6.5 |
|
|
800 |
35 |
55 |
52 |
|
Beef soup |
갈비탕 (galbitang) |
Beef (150 g), onion, garlic, radish, jujubes (dried), ginseng |
|
|
|
4 |
2 |
|
440 |
6 |
38 |
32 |
|
Spicy beef soup |
육개장 (yukgaejang) |
Brisket (40 g), meat broth (200 g), bracken, bean sprouts, mushrooms, cooking oil |
|
|
1.5 |
|
2.5 |
1 |
208 |
8 |
17 |
13 |
|
Ox bone soup |
설렁탕 (seolleongtang) |
Beef |
|
|
|
|
|
|
163 |
12 |
13 |
8 |
|
Beef soup |
진곰탕 (Jingomtang) |
Beef |
|
|
|
|
|
|
163 |
12 |
13 |
8 |
|
Organ-meat soup |
내장탕 (naejangtang) |
Meat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
190 |
6 |
20 |
10 |
|
Oxtail soup |
꼬리곰탕 (kkorigomtang) |
Meat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
330 |
5 |
31 |
22 |
|
Dog meat soup* |
보신탕 (boshintang) |
Dog meat (60 g), radish, onion, garlic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
210 |
8 |
14 |
14 |
|
Barbecued beef |
불고기 (bulgogi) |
Sirloin steak (150 g), green onions, sesame oil |
|
|
4 |
|
0.5 |
0.5 |
333 |
2 |
33 |
23 |
|
Pork ribs |
돼지갈비 (dwejigalbi) |
Pork (150 g), green onions, sugar, sesame oil |
|
|
|
4 |
1 |
1 |
485 |
8 |
34 |
37 |
|
Seasoned barbecued beef |
양념갈비구이 (yangnyeom galbigui) |
Beef (200 g) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
575 |
10 |
42 |
43 |
|
Steamed beef |
갈비구이 (galbigui) |
Beef (200 g) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
595 |
13 |
44 |
43 |
|
Barbecued pork |
삼겹살 (samgyeopsal) |
Pork (200 g) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
565 |
3 |
42 |
45 |
|
Sirloin |
생등심 (saengdeungshim) |
Beef (150 g) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
300 |
0 |
32 |
20 |
|
Rice in beef soup |
쇠고기국밥 (swegogigukbap) |
Rice (210 g), beef |
|
|
|
|
|
|
480 |
78 |
20 |
10 |
Japanese-Korean food
|
Name |
Korean name |
Ingredients |
Diabetic Exchanges |
Calories (kcal) |
Carbs (g) |
Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
|||||
|
S |
LP |
MP |
HP |
V |
Fats |
|||||||
|
Fish sushi |
생선초밥 (saengseon chobap) |
Rice, halibut (40 g), salmon (40 g), snapper (20 g) |
3 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
440 |
79 |
22 |
4 |
|
Rice with raw fish on top |
회덮밥 (hwedeopbap) |
Rice, tuna (150 g), lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, red pepper paste |
3 |
3 |
|
|
1 |
0.5 |
523 |
79 |
32 |
9 |
|
Rice wrapped in fried tofu |
유부초밥 (yubuchobap) |
Rice (210 g), fried tofu, sugar, black sesame |
3 |
|
|
1.5 |
|
1 |
515 |
74 |
18 |
17 |
|
Cod soup |
대구탕 (daegutang) |
Cod (fresh, 100 g), radish, bean sprouts, water parsley |
|
2 |
|
|
3 |
|
160 |
9 |
22 |
4 |
|
Buckwheat noodles |
모밀국수 (momilguksu) |
Buckwheat noodles (boiled, 400 g) |
4.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
450 |
104 |
9 |
0 |
|
Noodles in a stone pot |
돌냄비우동 (dolnaembi udong) |
Noodles (250 g), ddeok (rice cake), shrimp, fish cake (60 g), half an egg |
4 |
|
2 |
|
|
|
550 |
92 |
24 |
10 |
|
Rice with eel and roe |
장어날치알밥 (Jangeo nalchi albap) |
Rice (210 g), eel, roe |
|
|
|
|
|
|
428 |
75 |
22 |
5 |
|
Japanese-style lunchbox (bento) |
도시락 (doshirak) |
Rice (210 g) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
740 |
86 |
38 |
28 |
|
Udon (noodles)* |
우동 (udong) |
Noodles (200 g), fish cake (50 g) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
702 |
121 |
28 |
8 |
Chinese-Korean food
|
Name |
Korean name |
Ingredients |
Diabetic Exchanges |
Calories (kcal) |
Carbs (g) |
Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
|||||
|
S |
LP |
MP |
HP |
V |
Fats |
|||||||
|
Noodle soup |
기스면 (giseu-myeon) |
Chinese noodles (boiled, 300 g), squid, shrimp, pork, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, onions |
3.5 |
1 |
0.5 |
|
1 |
|
458 |
84 |
21 |
5 |
|
Noodles with black bean sauce |
자장면 (jajangmyeon) |
Chinese noodles (boiled, 300 g), potato, pork, cabbage, onion, cooking oil |
4 |
|
0.5 |
|
2 |
4 |
658 |
98 |
16 |
23 |
|
Chinese noodles with vegetables and seafood |
짬뽕 (jjambbong) |
Chinese noodles (boiled, 300 g), squid, shrimp, clams, cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, onion |
3.5 |
2 |
|
|
2.5 |
2 |
590 |
88 |
28 |
14 |
|
Fried rice |
볶음밥 (bokkeumbap) |
Rice (250 g), pork, egg, carrot, onion, bell pepper, cooking oil, black bean sauce |
3.5 |
0.5 |
1 |
|
1.5 |
5 |
705 |
85 |
22 |
31 |
|
Sweet and sour pork (one serving) |
탕수육 (tangsuyuk) |
Pork (80 g), starch, carrot, cucumber, onion, bell pepper |
1 |
2 |
|
|
0.5 |
4 |
470 |
35 |
19 |
24 |
Western-Korean food
|
Name |
Korean name |
Ingredients |
Diabetic Exchanges |
Calories (kcal) |
Carbs (g) |
Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
|||||
|
S |
LP |
MP |
HP |
V |
Fats |
|||||||
|
Pork cutlet |
돈까스 (donkkaseu) |
Pork |
3 |
2.5 |
0.5 |
|
1.5 |
7 |
815 |
75 |
33 |
43 |
|
Fish cutlet |
생선까스 (saengseonkkaseu) |
Fish |
2.5 |
2 |
0.5 |
|
1.5 |
7 |
740 |
64 |
28 |
42 |
|
Tenderloin |
안심스테이크 (anshim steikeu) |
Beef |
2 |
|
4 |
|
1.5 |
4 |
717 |
52 |
19 |
40 |
|
Hamburger steak |
햄버그스테이크 (hambeogeu steikeu) |
Beef |
2 |
|
4 |
|
1.5 |
4 |
717 |
52 |
39 |
40 |
|
Kimchi fried rice |
김치볶음밥 (kimchi bokkeumbap) |
Rice (250 g), kimchi, beef, cabbage, cucumber, carrot, broccoli |
3.5 |
|
0.5 |
|
2.5 |
4 |
618 |
88 |
16 |
23 |
|
Omurice |
오므라이스 (omeuraiseu) |
Rice (100 g), soup, potato (120 g), beef, pork, egg, cabbage, cucumber |
3.5 |
|
1.5 |
|
2 |
4 |
683 |
87 |
23 |
28 |
|
Curry rice |
카레라이스 (kare raiseu) |
Rice (250 g), beef, kimchi (100 g), onion, carrot, pepper |
4.5 |
|
1 |
|
1.5 |
1 |
600 |
108 |
20 |
10 |
Snack food
|
Name |
Korean name |
Ingredients |
Diabetic Exchanges |
Calories (kcal) |
Carbs (g) |
Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
|||||
|
S |
LP |
MP |
HP |
V |
Fats |
|||||||
|
Gimbap |
김밥 (gimbap) |
Rice, egg, razor-clam meat, spinach, pickled radish, carrot, cooking oil |
3 |
|
0.5 |
|
1 |
0.5 |
380 |
72 |
12 |
5 |
|
Ramen |
라면 (ramyeon) |
Ramen (120 g) |
3.5 |
|
|
|
|
3.5 |
503 |
81 |
7 |
17 |
|
Knife-cut noodles |
칼국수 (kalguksu) |
Noodles (150 g), Beef brisket (30 g), squash, onion, sesame oil |
5 |
|
1 |
|
0.5 |
0.5 |
608 |
117 |
19 |
8 |
|
Ddeokbokki* |
떡볶이 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
304 |
60 |
8 |
3 |
|
Hand-tossed noodle soup |
수제비 (sujebi) |
Flour (100 g), potato (50 g), clams, young squash, radish, onion, cooking oil |
3.5 |
1 |
|
|
1 |
0.5 |
443 |
84 |
17 |
5 |
|
Dumpling soup |
떡만두국 (ddeok manduguk) |
Rice cake (150 g), flour, pork, tofu, kimchi, bean sprouts, scallions, onion, sesame oil |
4 |
|
1 |
|
3 |
1 |
560 |
98 |
20 |
10 |
|
Meat dumplings |
고기만두 (gogimandu) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
338 |
52 |
16 |
8 |
|
Kimchi dumplings |
김치만두 (kimchimandu) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
305 |
51 |
15 |
5 |
|
Seafood pancakes |
해물파전 (haemul pajeon) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
325 |
25 |
23 |
17 |
|
Mung bean pancakes |
녹두전 (nokdujeon) |
Mung beans (120 g), pork, bean sprouts, cooking oil |
1.5 |
|
0.5 |
|
0.5 |
2 |
288 |
36 |
8 |
13 |
|
Kimchi pancakes |
김치전 (kimchijeon) |
Flour (60 g), cabbage kimchi (100 g), cooking oil |
2 |
|
0.5 |
|
2 |
2 |
368 |
52 |
12 |
13 |
|
Jangteoguksu |
장터국수 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
475 |
81 |
19 |
9 |
|
Fried chicken* |
후라이드 치킨 |
Chicken (1 piece) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
221 |
2 |
15 |
18 |
Porridge (congee)
|
Name |
Korean name |
Ingredients |
Diabetic Exchanges |
Calories (kcal) |
Carbs (g) |
Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
|||||
|
S |
LP |
MP |
HP |
V |
Fats |
|||||||
|
Abalone porridge |
전복죽 (jeonbokjuk) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
395 |
69 |
14 |
7 |
|
Vegetable porridge |
야채죽 (yachaejuk) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
265 |
49 |
6 |
5 |
|
Nutritious porridge |
영양죽 (yeongyangjuk) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
343 |
72 |
8 |
3 |
Others
|
Name |
Korean name |
Amount |
Diabetic exchange |
Calories (kcal) |
Carbs (g) |
Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
|
Rice |
밥 |
70 g (1/3 bowl) |
Starch |
100 |
23 |
2 |
0 |
|
Congee (juk) |
죽 |
140 g (2/3 bowl) |
Starch |
100 |
23 |
2 |
0 |
|
Grain powder |
미숫가루 |
30 g (1/4 cup) |
Starch |
100 |
23 |
2 |
0 |
|
Dry noodles |
마른국수 |
30 g |
Starch |
100 |
23 |
2 |
0 |
|
Boiled noodles |
삶은국수 |
90 g (1/2 small bowl) |
Starch |
100 |
23 |
2 |
0 |
|
Rice cake (ddeok) |
떡 |
50 g (11-12 sticks or 3 squares) |
Starch |
100 |
23 |
2 |
0 |
|
Jellied acorn or buckwheat (muk) |
묵 (도토리묵, 메밀묵) |
200 g (1/2 a block) |
Starch |
100 |
23 |
2 |
0 |
|
Persimmon (dangam) |
단감 |
50 g (1/3 medium persimmon) |
Fruit |
50 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
|
Mandarin orange (gyul) |
귤 |
120 g (1 orange) |
Fruit |
50 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
|
Chinese pear (bae) |
배 |
110 g (1/4 large pear) |
Fruit |
50 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
|
White peach |
복숭아 (백도) |
150 g (1 small peach) |
Fruit |
50 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
|
Plum (jadu) |
자두 |
150 g (1 large plum) |
Fruit |
50 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
|
Oriental melon (chamoe) |
참외 |
150 g (1/2 medium melon) |
Fruit |
50 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
|
Leafy vegetables (e.g. spinach, mallow) |
잎채소류 |
70 g |
Vegetable |
20 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
|
Radish |
무 |
70 g |
Vegetable |
20 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
|
Dried seaweed |
김 |
2 g (1 slice) |
Vegetable |
20 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
|
Sea mustard |
미역 |
70 g |
Vegetable |
20 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
|
Mushrooms |
버섯류 |
50 g |
Vegetable |
20 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
|
Kimchi |
김치류 |
50 g |
Vegetable |
20 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
|
Soybean milk |
두유 |
200 g (1 cup) |
Milk |
125 |
10 |
6 |
7 |
|
Anchovies |
멸치 |
15 g (1/4 cup) |
Low-fat protein |
50 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
|
Squid |
물오징어 |
50 g (1/3 squid) |
Low-fat protein |
50 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
|
Tofu |
두부 |
80 g (1/5 block) |
Medium-fat protein |
75 |
0 |
8 |
5 |
|
Soft tofu |
연두부 |
150 g (1/2) |
Medium-fat protein |
75 |
0 |
8 |
5 |
|
Black beans |
검정콩 |
20 g (2 tbsp) |
Medium-fat protein |
75 |
0 |
8 |
5 |
|
Fish cake (fried) |
어묵 |
50 g |
Medium-fat protein |
75 |
0 |
8 |
5 |
|
Fried tofu |
유부 |
30 g (5 slices) |
High-fat protein |
100 |
0 |
8 |
8 |
*Information from health.naver.com
-
Nobrand90
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