fruit salad and coconut (and fruits in Korea)

Only 100% Wai recipes belong here.
Post Reply
spring
Posts: 128
https://cutt.ly/meble-kuchenne-wroclaw
Joined: Sat 13 Aug 2005 00:01

fruit salad and coconut (and fruits in Korea)

Post by spring »

I often have fruit salad with dried coconut. I put mandarin slices into a bowl, drizzle olive oil and honey over it, and then throw dessicated coconut over that. I sometimes add sultanas and some other fruit as available, apple and banana.

I am in Korea and fresh coconut is available which I am eating for fats. I find this goes really well with raw salmon.
Brian
Administrator
Posts: 74
Joined: Mon 18 Jul 2005 00:01

Re: fruit salad and coconut (and fruits in Korea)

Post by Brian »

Interesting combination, it sounds good.

If I could ask you a question, on a tangent?

I am considering spending a few months in Korea (I am a baduk player), so I'm curious how this diet would work out there.

Are fruits abundantly available, at a reasonable cost?
Especially juicable fruits, I usually drink ~4L of orange juice per day.

Hope you don't mind the question,

Brian
spring
Posts: 128
Joined: Sat 13 Aug 2005 00:01

Re: fruit salad and coconut (and fruits in Korea)

Post by spring »

Another Wai diet follower in Kore - that's so cool! Suddenly I don't feel so alone here following this diet - as Wai diet followers are quite rare cf to vegetarians, vegans, and even (strict) fruitarians (no animal foods) - wow, such a small world.

Korea is very good for fruit. There are small markets in every 'dong' (or local area in the city) - that is if you're coming to Seoul which is where I am right now (I haven't been outside of Seoul yet). These markets sell a variety of fruit: I am living in Bongcheon-dong (near Seoul National University) which is a lower middle-class area with not many high-rise apartments (these areas with high-rise apartment blocks don't have that local neighborhood feel and not as many small shops) , and there are two markets both ten minutes from me (besides the small mom n pop 'supers' or grocers that are in almost every block and that often stock some fruit). In each market there are about five fruit shops, and the selection is good. I am not sure where you're from but cost-wise it's not much different to Australia (the Australian dollar is a little lower than USD).

However, you can find some bargains if you buy fruit in season. Right now, in the start of winter, there are plenty of apples (500 won or 50 US cents each), mandarins (12 for 1000 won or 1 USD), and persimmons (hard - Fuji fruit we call it in Australia - and the soft kind) - about 3 for 1000 won (1 USD) . There are also plenty of giant pears (or nashi I think they're called, but much bigger than the nashi pears I buy in Australia - they're the size of a softball the ones in Korea) - 1 for 1000 won or 1 USD. The giant pears I think are native to Korea and are not as expensive as the ones in Australia not being imported of course.

There are bananas all the year around (2000 won or 2 USD for a big hand of 12 bananas) but I think that's because they're imported (they often have the Dole label on them, as do the pineapples which are available all year too - 3 USD for 1 pineapple, and kiwi fruit, 2000 won for a packet of 5, is pretty much available most seasons).

Later on in winter, strawberries become available and are sold in a huge punnet (a box about 6x4x3 inches in size) which costs about 5000 or 6000 won (about USD 5 or 6).

Pomegranates are relatively cheap right now - they are imported from Iran and are about 1000 won per piece and are ripe and sweet.

Right now I found a guy selling coconuts on the street off the back of his truck (street fruit sellers are a common sight in Korea) for 3000 won (3 USD) for two small ones - and because coconuts being sold in local markets are a rare sight, I pounced and bought a couple - and will go back to get more - if he still has them. They taste really good - the juice was sweet and the flesh was nice-tasting (I used the claw part of a hammer to crack them open, not having a cleaver handy, the blunt back part of which I usually use to open them).

In the more expensive department stores you can buy fruit that is not commonly found in Korea, like avocadoes, some tropical fruit such as mango, durian and such, but they cost an arm and a leg - like an avocado would cost about 4000 won (4 USD) each or something like that. Quite beyond my affordable range, I'm afraid. And they don't look to be of very good quality either - probably because they had to be imported and had to be refrigerated or put in the freezer for a while. (Fruit in these places generally tend to be more expensive even the seasonal locally-grown kind so I stick to the small neighborhood markets as much as I can.)

So no avocadoes for me while I'm in Korea. :(

At Walmart I've been getting my dried fruit from there. I've bought packets of dried figs (cheap at 1500 won per packet), apricots, pawpaw (papaya), and mango. You can buy them for around the same price (also dried kiwi, dates, persimmon, pineapple, banana) at Namdaemun Market, a touristy big market, one of the two main markets in Seoul, there is an area in the market where all the dried fruit sellers cluster together, and you can bargain here a bit - the other one being Dongdaemun Market (inside Dongdaemun Stadium) but I haven't gone to the Dongdaemun one yet.

As for eggs, I buy 30 eggs in a tray from the local egg seller, for 4000 won (4 USD) for a tray. I have never had a bad cramps from eating them (maybe a little cramp every now and then), but I doubt they are 'biological'. There are omega3-rich and organic eggs you can buy in the department store supermarkets I think, just like in the west, but they're a little more expensive (2500-3000 won for a dozen, from memory).

I go to E-Mart (a chain supermarket/department store) to buy my salmon for making sashimi. Not all department store supermarkets sell raw salmon and the local fish markets don't generally sell raw salmon. I buy 150 grams at a time - it generally costs me about 3000 won (3 USD).

But they sell all sorts of fish (Koreans like their seafood), but because I don't know much about fish (I can't even tell which fish is a mackerel) I am unadventurous and just stick to salmon. Be careful though if you try Korean-style sashimi restaurants (or 'hwe' places) as I've heard that many Koreans have parasites from eating the raw fish offered there - I am not sure the name of the fish sold there - but a white-flesh variety (and jellyfish) seems popular there. Japanese restaurants are everywhere but the sushi is a little expensive.

There is plenty of vegetables everywhere if you like eating vegetables for munchfood, and plenty of tomatoes and cucumbers available most of the year around. The cucumbers are cheap (about 1000 won for 3 or 4 long Lebanese type cucumbers - about 7 inches long) when in season and a little dearer 1000 won (1 USD) for two when they're not.

Tomatoes fluctuate in price too (I can get 1 kilogram - about 2.2 pounds - for about 1500-2000 won when in season and a little dearer than that when not). Cherry tomatoes are also available.

Extra-virgin olive oil is readily available, even in the small mom'n'pop stores, a bottle of Italian extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oil costs me 11000 won (11 USD) for 1 liter (at Walmart).

Fresh chives are readily available everywhere - and quite cheap: 1000 won for big bunch - as it's a popular ingredient in making kimchee (a national dish of Korea and eaten at almost every meal.
including breakfast).

Olives are not popular in Korea but you can find imported (canned) ones in most department supermarkets. (I saw boxes of unshelled olives sold in markets at one time - they were imported and must have been cheap from wholesalers at that time.)

Koreans are not big on cheese (except the Kraft processed type they like to eat with kimchee and rice or add to their kimchi-flavored ramen - ugh) and many other foods that westerners are partial too, but if you go to Walmart (a lot smaller than the US kind I imagine) or Costco (IMO the latter is a horrible place - I went there for the first time in my life the other day just to check it out as there are not any Costcos in Australia and felt really dehumanized by the experience - I think I will stick to the local markets if I can), you can find all the usual 'culprits'.

As for raw nuts, I think you will have to bring them in yourself although it's not really allowed by customs (though they're not strict about it as I found out when I brought a big bag of raw macadamias from Australia - I even declared them but the customs guy was not interested in pursuing it further, but on second thoughts I shouldn't suggest you try this), or order them through the internet but it might not be worthwhile if you're not staying here very long. The macadamias didn't turn out to be fresh and caused bad constipation in me (probably because they were stale) so I stopped eating them, and am eating some coconut (dessicated packet kind I bought at Walmarts in the bakery ingredients section or the fresh kind when I can get them) instead, for the fats.

I haven't seen really raw nuts anywhere (except raw peanuts which you can easily find); there are a kind of raw-looking cashews and walnuts in Walmart but the cashews are salted and the walnuts don't look at all fresh. I've seen packets of pecans in Costcos but can't see what they look like through the packaging and can't read the writing on them.

All in all, it's easy to keep to Wai's diet living in Korea I would say EXCEPT for the fact that the munchfood is so damn appealing to me personally (I love Korean food).

It's been a real experience living and shopping and eating in Korea for me, coming from Australia which is different to Korea in many ways. In Australia we are really spoiled by the awesome fresh (raw) produce (and seafood and eggs) we have available to us there but Korea is not at all bad in comparison.

PM me if you like if you have any questions when you get here.
spring
Posts: 128
Joined: Sat 13 Aug 2005 00:01

Re: fruit salad and coconut (and fruits in Korea)

Post by spring »

I forgot to mention oranges. Oranges are more plentiful during the second-half of winter but generally aren't of great quality - half the time they're not sweet and juicy but dry and sour and anemic-looking. When 'in season' (for imported fruit) they can be cheaper, about 2 for 1000 won and better-tasting. I've heard that they grow oranges on Jeju Island )a semi-tropical island off Korea) but I can't remember buying any from there last winter, though I might have without realizing it. They do sell oranges in boxes and a box of them cost around 20,000 won (20 USD). I have never bought a box though.

But mandarins (or tangerines) are plentiful and cheap, sometimes not that sweet - it depends, and I use them instead of oranges to make juice.
Brian
Administrator
Posts: 74
Joined: Mon 18 Jul 2005 00:01

Re: fruit salad and coconut (and fruits in Korea)

Post by Brian »

Wow, thank you very much for the detailed reply!

I really appreciate it... the few people I know in Korea have limited English, so it is hard to explain what I am asking about.

I am not in Korea yet, but the tentative plan is to visit in April.

Anyway, thanks again!
rischott
Posts: 143
Joined: Thu 24 Nov 2005 01:01
Location: not the U.S.A.
Contact:

Re: fruit salad and coconut (and fruits in Korea)

Post by rischott »

Hello! I am also in Korea. I started living in Daejeon City about 2 months ago. I have been looking for Brazilian nuts like crazy. Have you found them in Seoul? I have gone to all of my local/bigger markets and also Busan, yet have not run into them....Lately I have seen plenty of JuJubes for sale. Have you tried them yet?
Post Reply