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As Korea enters kimjang season — the annual winter custom of getting ready massive batches of kimchi for storage — many households are as soon as once more gathering substances and chopping napa cabbage.
Though fewer households make kimchi at dwelling at present, many Koreans nonetheless recall childhood reminiscences of family members and neighbors coming collectively for a full day of labor, then sitting all the way down to freshly made kimchi paired with steaming slices of boiled pork and seasonal oysters.
Well being specialists say these basic pairings aren’t solely cultural staples but additionally nutritionally significant.
Boiled pork helps cut back fatigue with vitamin B1
In accordance with diet knowledge from the Nationwide Institute of Crop Science, pork incorporates far greater ranges of vitamin B1 (thiamine) than different meats — almost 10 occasions greater than beef. Vitamin B1 performs a key position in decreasing fatigue and restoring vitality, which helps clarify why older generations supplied boiled pork to relations exhausted from daylong kimjang preparation.
Vitamin B1 is particularly ample in tenderloin, adopted by hind leg and foreleg cuts. The day by day beneficial consumption is round 1.1 to 1.3 milligrams, which corresponds to about 120 grams of pork. Hind leg cuts comprise one third the energy of pork stomach and round one and a half occasions extra protein.
Oysters and contemporary kimchi work collectively for higher nutrient absorption
Oysters attain peak season throughout kimjang. Wealthy in iron and magnesium, they’re notably useful for ladies with anemia. Their unsaturated fat assist vascular well being, whereas zinc contributes to male vitality.
Freshly made kimchi — which incorporates garlic and ginger — can additional enhance iron absorption from oysters. Compounds comparable to allicin in garlic and gingerol in ginger even have antibacterial results. Oysters retain their dietary worth whether or not eaten uncooked or cooked, providing flexibility throughout these meals.
Why napa cabbage and pork make a superb dietary match
Napa cabbage kimchi and pork complement one another nutritionally. The dietary fiber in cabbage helps stop the buildup of saturated fats and ldl cholesterol from pork, particularly from fatty cuts. Isothiocyanates in cabbage additionally assist cut back bodily waste, whereas the garlic, ginger and inexperienced onions in kimchi’s seasoning assist vascular well being and counterbalance the consequences of meat consumption.
Boiling meat is more healthy than grilling
Colon most cancers, as soon as comparatively uncommon in Korea, is now rising quickly and is on observe to develop into the nation’s most typical most cancers. In 2022 alone, 33,158 new instances have been reported. The Nationwide Most cancers Info Middle says extreme consumption of pink meat excessive in saturated fats is one danger issue, however grilling meat till charred additionally will increase most cancers danger. Boiling meat — the normal cooking methodology throughout kimjang — reduces carcinogens produced by burnt fats and meat.
Whereas grilled pork stays in style at present, specialists say boiled cuts paired with freshly made kimjang kimchi stay a more healthy selection throughout the winter season.
This text from Kormedi.com, Korea’s high well being care and medical portal, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Occasions.
