Jumbo. That was my best friend’s nickname in high school. He was big-boned, consistently over 250 lbs. And that’s how I’ve always known him to be. But when I Skype’d with Jumbo last week, it was obvious that he had succeeded in a major body transformation. In fact, he had slimmed down to 180lbs. I have never seen Jumbo this fit before. It was amazing to see him in such incredible shape. I could even feel more confidence and energy in his voice.
Of course, I asked him how he did it. He said it was primarily from switching up his diet. He pointed to two key variables. The first was portion control. He told me that he bought significantly smaller bowl and plates to cut the portion sizes for him. The second thing was eating the same thing over and over. Lot of chicken breast, steamed broccoli and sweet potatoes.
I was inspired by this discussion to share some of Korea’s most popular diet banchans.
These diet banchans are very easy to make at home and tasty enough to eat over-and-over again. But one thing. Limit the amount of rice! If I am dieting, I usually eat brown rice and limit to half-a-bowl’s worth. Or you could do what “Jumbo” did and swap out to smaller plates/bowls.
Each diet banchan recipe listed below is enough for two people. If you are cooking for yourself, save the other half for your next meal.
Last, I am not a dietician (nor would I like to be one on the internet). You know your body the best. Test out dishes/methods and see what work’s best for you!
Korean Diet Banchan
Ingredients
Chicken Galbi
- Chicken breast - 2
- Soy sauce - 5 Tablespoons
- Sugar - 1 Tablespoon
- Honey - 1 Tablespoon
- Sesame oil - 1/2 Tablespoon
- Minced garlic - 1 Tablespoon
- Black pepper - few shakes
- Green onion - handful
Tofu Salsa Salad
- Soft Silken Tofu - 1 block
- Baby greens - Handful
- Bell pepper - 1/5 of a whole
- Onion - 1/4 of a whole
Tofu Salad Dressing
- Soy sauce - 2.5 Tablespoons
- Vinegar - 1.5 Tablespoons
- Sugar - 1 Tablespoon
- Minced garlic - 1 Tablespoon
- Sesame oil - 1 teaspoon
- Sesame seeds - 1 teaspoon
Sesame Broccoli
- Broccoli - 1 head of
- Sesame oil - 1 Tablespoon
- Sesame seeds - 1 Tablespoon
- Minced garlic - 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Instructions
Chicken Breast Galbi
- Split chicken breast in half. Cut chicken at a slight angle into small pieces (similar to sushi). Make small groves into each piece.
- Take out a mixing bowl and combine all of the other listed ingredients for the marinade. Put chicken pieces into marinade and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Put a frying pan on medium-high heat and grill.
Tofu Salsa Salad
- Place soft silken tofu straight into a bowl.
- For the marinade, take out a mixing bowl and mix in all of the listed ingredients under 'Tofu Salad (Dressing)'
- Chop bell peppers and onion into small cubes. Place them into the marinade. Give a thorough mix.
- Before eating, place some microgreens over the tofu. Then add 3-4 large spoonfuls of the marinade over the tofu. Enjoy.
Sesame Broccoli
- Slice the dirty end-piece off the broccoli stem. Then cut/split each floret into individual pieces (reference video - I like to leave part of the stem on the florettes).
- Fill a pot with water. Salt the water. Bring up to boil. Once water is boiling, place broccoli pieces in for exactly 2 minutes. Drain broccoli and place under cold water to cool them down. Then let broccoli pieces sit in the colander and drain off any excess water.
- Take out a mixing bowl. Add sesame oil, minced garlic and sesame seeds. Mix throughly.
- Then place broccoli into the mixing bowl and toss in marinade. Season with salt! Enjoy.
Notes
- There are many varieties of tofu, each with different texture. For the tofu salsa salad recipe, purchase soft silken tofu. (Silken tofu also comes as "medium" or "firm" - but go for the "soft").
- Watch video below for more details
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