Table of Contents
- Why Are Easy-to-Digest Foods Necessary?
- Characteristics of Easy-to-Digest Korean Food: Juk and Clear Soups
- Korean Ingredients That Are Gentle on the Stomach and Rich in Nutrients
- Well-being Juk & Soup Recipe Ideas for Comfortable Enjoyment
- Additional Tips When Consuming Easy-to-Digest Foods
- A Comfortable Diet with Well-being Juk & Soups
Sometimes, our stomach needs a break. When you feel uncomfortable, are recovering from an illness or surgery, or simply find oily foods burdensome, you need soft food that comfortably soothes your stomach while providing necessary nutrition. Korean 'Juk' (porridge) and certain 'clear soup' dishes are traditional foods specifically created in these situations, prioritizing ease on the digestive system. Juk, made by simmering rice until soft, and clear soups, made by cooking ingredients until tender in a clear broth with minimal oil, reduce digestive burden while providing energy and aiding nutrient absorption. This guide explains why easy-to-digest foods are needed, why Korean juk and clear soups are favorable for digestion, introduces Korean ingredients that are gentle on the stomach yet rich in nutrients, and provides 7 ideas for Korean well-being juk & soup recipes you can enjoy comfortably. Cultivate a comfortable and healthy diet with well-being juk & soups!
1. Why Are Easy-to-Digest Foods Necessary?
Digestion is a crucial process where our body breaks down food to absorb nutrients and obtain energy. However, when the digestive system is weakened or in specific situations, digestion can consume a lot of energy or become a burden. In such cases, consuming easy-to-digest foods is important.
- Alleviating Indigestion and Stomach Discomfort: When experiencing symptoms like heartburn, bloating, or nausea, it helps in consuming nutrients without burdening the stomach and intestines.
- Essential for Patients in Recovery: During recovery after surgery, illness like enteritis or cold, or when weakened by chronic disease, it helps in efficiently receiving needed energy and nutrients with minimal digestive process.
- Reducing Digestive Burden for Children and the Elderly: Provides comfortable nutrient intake for children whose digestive systems are still developing or the elderly whose digestive function has declined, by reducing digestive burden.
- When Tired or Not Feeling Well: Helps the body use energy efficiently by not focusing too much on digestion, aiding fatigue recovery and allowing for comfortable nutrient replenishment.
- Daily Gastrointestinal Health Management: Adopting eating habits of easily digestible foods even normally helps maintain healthy gastrointestinal function.
Easy-to-digest foods play an important role in protecting gastrointestinal function and supporting our body's recovery or efficient energy use.
2. Characteristics of Easy-to-Digest Korean Food: Juk and Clear Soups
Among Korean foods, 'Juk' and 'Clear Soups' are representative forms that best demonstrate ease of digestion.
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Juk (Porridge):
- A dish made by cooking rice or glutinous rice, or other grains, with water for a long time until the grain particles are completely soft and expanded.
- In a semi-liquid form close to liquid, it minimizes the burden on digestive organs and significantly increases the absorption rate of nutrients.
- Widely used as patient food, baby food, or elderly food. Besides basic rice porridge, nutrients can be supplemented by adding various ingredients (vegetables, meat, seafood, etc.).
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Clear Soups:
- Broth dishes made by cooking ingredients until tender in a clear broth with minimal oil.
- As they are consumed in liquid form, they pose less digestive burden compared to solid food.
- Water-soluble nutrients like vitamins and minerals from the ingredients leach into the broth, making nutrient intake easy.
In contrast, fried foods, stir-fried foods, oily foods, tough or hard foods, and salty or spicy irritating foods consume a lot of energy for digestion and burden the stomach.
3. Korean Ingredients That Are Gentle on the Stomach and Rich in Nutrients
Here are Korean ingredients that are good for using in easy-to-digest juk or clear soup dishes and are also rich in nutrients.
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Grains:
- Rice, Glutinous Rice: Basic ingredients for juk. When cooked for a long time, they become very soft, making them highly digestible. Glutinous rice is particularly easy to digest.
- Brown Rice, Barley, etc. (Multi-grains): Good normally, but when digestive function is weak, use only small amounts or soak thoroughly and cook very softly.
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Protein:
- Tofu: Rich in plant-based protein and very soft, posing almost no digestive burden.
- Chicken Breast (Lean Meat): Using lean parts cooked until tender and shredded or minced finely provides easily digestible protein.
- White Fish: Lean fish like cod, pollack, or Alaska pollock have soft flesh and are easily digestible protein sources.
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Vegetables:
- Zucchini, Carrots: Become soft when cooked, providing vitamins and minerals and are easy to digest.
- Cabbage, Broccoli: Contain components good for stomach health. Lightly blanch or cook until soft and mince finely.
- Mushrooms (Oyster, Shiitake, etc.): Use soft types of mushrooms. While they contain dietary fiber, digestive burden is reduced when cooked well.
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Others:
- Egg: Scrambled or soft-boiled, they are soft and easy to digest.
- Sesame Oil / Perilla Oil: Used in small amounts, they add flavor and provide healthy fats, but too much can be a digestive burden.
- Gim (Seaweed Laver): Use soft types of gim, crushed or torn finely as a garnish.
When digestive function is very weak, it's best to avoid tough or hard vegetables, raw vegetables, spicy seasonings, salty seasonings, and oily ingredients.
4. Well-being Juk & Soup Recipe Ideas for Comfortable Enjoyment
Here are ideas for Korean well-being juk & soup recipes that comfortably fill your stomach by reducing digestive burden while providing necessary nutrients.
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Basic Rice Porridge:
The most basic juk made by soaking rice or glutinous rice sufficiently in water, adding plenty of water, and simmering over low heat, stirring to prevent sticking, until the rice grains are completely soft. Good when experiencing severe stomach discomfort or in the early stages of recovery. Consume with minimal or no salt seasoning, or just a very small amount on the side.
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Chicken Breast and Vegetable Porridge:
A juk made by boiling rice porridge with soft, easily digestible chicken breast (boiled and finely shredded or minced) and softly cooked, finely minced vegetables like zucchini and carrots. It's a nutritious juk that supplements quality protein, vitamins, and minerals while comfortably filling the stomach. Using chicken broth makes it even better.
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Abalone Porridge:
A juk made by finely mincing abalone (cleaned with internal organs removed), lightly stir-frying it in sesame oil, then adding soaked rice and water and simmering until the rice grains are soft. It's a traditional nourishing juk rich in nutrients and soft, good for those who are weakened or in recovery. Minimize salt seasoning and add a small amount of gim flakes or sesame seeds on the side.
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Clear Mushroom and Tofu Soup:
A clear soup boiled with soft silken tofu or regular tofu and soft mushrooms like oyster and shiitake in kelp broth or chicken broth (with oil removed). Cooked without oil, it poses little digestive burden and allows for the intake of protein (tofu), dietary fiber (mushrooms), and moisture, warming the stomach comfortably. Season lightly with a small amount of gukganjang (Korean soup soy sauce).
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Clear Beef and Radish Soup (with oil skimmed):
A clear soup boiled with a small amount of lean beef (brisket or shank) and radish, cooked until soft to aid digestion (radish contains digestive enzymes). Sufficiently skim off the oil floating on top when boiling to reduce digestive burden. It replenishes protein from beef and comfortably warms the stomach with the refreshing taste of radish. Season lightly with a small amount of gukganjang.
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Egg and Vegetable Soup:
A soup made by boiling finely minced soft vegetables like zucchini, carrots, and onions in chicken broth (or vegetable broth), then adding beaten eggs and cooking until tender. Supplements soft egg protein and vitamins/minerals from vegetables, and warms the stomach comfortably with the warm broth. Season lightly.
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Clear White Fish and Tofu Soup:
A clear soup boiled with lean and soft white fish like cod, pollack, or Alaska pollock (sal) and soft tofu, radish, and green onion. Allows for the intake of quality protein from fish and tofu without digestive burden. It's refreshing and clean-tasting without a fishy smell and is good when the stomach is uncomfortable. Season lightly with a small amount of gukganjang.
5. Additional Tips When Consuming Easy-to-Digest Foods
Here are additional tips to enhance the effect and further reduce the burden on the stomach when eating easy-to-digest foods.
- Chew Slowly and Thoroughly: Digestion begins in the mouth. Even with soft food, the habit of chewing slowly and thoroughly is the most basic way to aid digestion.
- Maintain Appropriate Temperature: Extremely hot or cold foods can irritate the stomach. It's best to eat them lukewarm, similar to or slightly warmer than body temperature.
- Avoid Overeating: No matter how easy to digest the food is, consuming too much at once will burden the stomach. It's better to eat small amounts frequently or put down your spoon before feeling completely full.
- Avoid Irritating Seasonings: Seasonings that are strongly spicy, salty, or sour can stimulate stomach acid secretion and cause discomfort. Cook as blandly as possible and minimize seasoning.
- Drink Enough Water: It's good to supplement sufficient hydration during or after meals through lukewarm water, sungnyung (scorched rice water), or barley tea.
- Focus on Gentle Cooking Methods: Prefer cooking methods like steaming, boiling, and simmering over those that use a lot of oil like frying or stir-frying, or grilling until hard.
6. A Comfortable Diet with Well-being Juk & Soups
Juk, made by simmering rice or grains until soft, and clear soups, made by cooking ingredients until tender in a clear broth with minimal oil, reduce digestive burden while providing necessary nutrients and warmth. Refer to the recipe ideas and consumption tips introduced above to add a comfortable Korean well-being diet to your daily life. Protecting gastrointestinal health is a crucial foundation for maintaining the health and vitality of your entire body. Enjoy a comfortable and healthy diet with well-being juk & soups!