Describe a
custom from your country that you would like people from other countries to
adopt. Explain your choice, using specific reasons and examples.
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That's a foot.Can you smell it?........Pretty bad, right? |
It is commonly believed that food that
smells good will also taste good. However, in the Korean culture, the quote is
merely a bluff and nothing more. In fact, Koreans are used to food which
contains strong odors. This is mostly due to the dwenjang, which is fermented soybean paste. This specific paste is
used to create various kinds of soups and other dishes, but is also infamous
among some foreigners for its smell, which is similar to the odor from a foot.
Nonetheless, any kind of food containing this ingredient is widely welcomed by
Koreans because of its highly nutritious values and great taste. Unfortunately,
it is still not a commonly known spice around the world by some of its less
attractive features.
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| What did you think when you first saw this image? |
Many foreigners are quite disgusted when
they first see the bubbly-squishy look of dwenjang.
This is due to the silky strands of carbohydrate and other minerals from
fermented soybeans, which is said to be able to stretch up to 30~50
centimeters. It is undoubtedly shocking for those who see a stretchy food for
the first time. However, although the appearance may be strange, the fermented
soybeans are excessively good at preventing heart diseases and cancer. It
consists of more than ten nutrients, most of them of which are helpful to the
nervous system and cardiac impulse. Moreover, as the carbohydrate seeps out of
the beans and consolidates with the others, it is able to contain a lot of
carbohydrate for an extremely long period of time. In fact, dwenjang consists of 38% carbohydrate
and 18% fat, which makes its nutrition value even greater.
Also, although its smell does not bother
most of the Korean population, it is still not exactly appealing for some
foreigners. This is especially worse in the case of chunggukjang, which is a different version of fermented soybeans.
The reason for the smell in these sauces is because of the breakdown of amino
acids. During the process, the soybeans create ammonia gas which smell is
similar to human gas or foot. This is the smell which disgusts some people to
the point of refusing Korean dishes. However, during the process of dwenjang’s chemical reaction, it creates
lactobacillus and food fiber. This stimulates blood circulation and liver
functions, which further prevents arteries from hardening and slows down the
liver from aging. As such, dwenjang provides
various benefactors despite its somewhat uneasy smell.
Other than the benefits mentioned, dwenjang helps metabolism, stimulates
the stomach and intestines’ activities. Moreover, the plain and delicious taste
which differs from the smell makes it become that much more of an exotic and
special invention from Korea. In fact, it is one of the most proud food customs
that Koreans would like to present to the world; although it is not as known as
the kimchi from the strong odor. Of
course, it does not always mean that food with strong smell has great taste or
nutritious values. Nonetheless, such health-conscious and delicious sauce as dwenjang is a good option for other
countries to adopt for its great potential as maintaining people’s well-being.
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| Dwenjang is undoubtedly a proud part of the Korean custom, and certainly worth to be known around the globe. :) |
