From bingsu to sashimi, popularity of cup foods going strong in South Korea
From bingsu to sashimi, popularity of cup foods going strong in South Korea
With the seasons changing, a new 'bingsu in a cup' trend is gaining popularity among young Koreans gearing up to survive the infamously humid and hot summer.
Offered mostly by low-priced coffee joints like Mega Coffee, Compose Coffee and Ediya Coffee, the novelty dish packs all the regular features of the snack in a plastic cup usually used for drinks: frozen milk or cream, sweetened red beans, bite-sized rice cakes, syrup of your choosing, and of course, the chunk of shaved ice that makes it one of the most popular summertime snacks here.
Cup bingsu is just the latest in a long line of popular snacks and meals to be packaged in a cup.
What may sound like a 'Wall-E'-type dystopian nightmare on paper is actually quite an enjoyable and affordable form of fo od in South Korea , expanding its scope from the time-proven cup noodles to cup bap (rice), cup tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and apparently just about anything within the palm of your hands.
Low-price and accessibility
Bingsu is rarely considered a dish for one because of its price and size. Sulbing, one of the most popular local bingju joints, offers its most basic Injeolmi Bingsu (bingsu with bean powder-coated rice cake) at 9,900 won (S$9.20). Served in a large bowl, it is an optimal snack to share with a friend.
But the price tag for cup bingsu is usually in the 4,000-won range, rarely going above 6,300 won. This makes it an ideal snack to enjoy by yourself.
The affordability of a dish for one has been the main appeal of cup foods here since the grandfather of modern-day cup meals, cup ramen, was first introduced in Japan. Momofuku Ando, a Taiwanese-Japanese man who made and lost his fortune in World War II, famously invented instant ramen and packaged it in a cup - known as Cup Noodles - to appeal to the international market.
In 1972, Korean food and beverage company Samyang Foods launched the first localised version of Cup Noodles here, and it rapidly garnered popularity in ensuing decades, particularly with the introduction of convenience store franchises in the mid-1990s.
Another popular cup dish is cup bab, a cupped version of rice with toppings that was born as a street food in Noryangjin-dong, Dongjak-gu of Seoul. Noryanjin in the 2000s enjoyed its heyday as a Mecca for aspiring civil servants, with countless private academies offering courses for the government service entrance exam.
The cram school students sought dishes that were cheap and quick, which was addressed by street vendors selling cup bab. With rice being the main source of carbohydrates for Koreans, cup bab sold at around 2,000 won and was a welcome change from the cheap sandwiches and hamburgers that had fed them before.
Cup-bab vendors in Noryangjin today are not nearly as prominent as before, but the once-popular dish has found its way to convenience stores in their stead. Cup bab is now sold inside cup-shaped wrapped containers, which can be stored longer and heated instantaneously for eating.
Some consider the new form of cup bab a hit or miss, as the dried-up toppings and its new price tag are hardly an exact recreation of the once wildly popular dish.
Around the same time adult students were having cup bab, their younger counterparts were filling their bellies with cup tteokbokki. Eateries and street vendors started selling the popular snack in small portions to children with limited pocket money, but it has since found its way into official menus.
Perhaps the most unusual cup food is none other than sushi, such as the 'cold sashimi soup with beef tartare' offered by a local franchise. The small portion dish is a limited-time offer only for the summer, although affordability hardly factors in for a 13,900-won meal.
Health issues?
The Styrofoam containers that cup foods are often packaged in have fuelled a widespread urban legend that pouring steaming hot water could release harmful substances.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2021 debunked this belief in 2021, experimenting on 49 types of disposable containers using polystyrene products to see if applying heat would lead to such results. Though a small amount of styrene was detected in eight containers, it was deemed too low an amount to impact human health.
The only issue the ministry found with the containers is that they could break when heated.
While the containers may not be harmful, there have been several studies indicating that cup foods do not provide balanced nutrition.
In 2020, researchers from the Korea Consumer Agency analysed cup bab provided by 13 major food and beverage companies, which showed that they had much higher sodium levels compared to the total calories.
Specifically, each cup bab on average provided about 21.7 per cent of the recommended daily calorie intake — which the research said was about 2,000 calories — but 50.3 per cent of the recommended daily sodium intake of 2,000 milligrams.
As in the case of the study by the Food and Drug Safety Ministry, no significant level of harmful substances was detected in the containers.
Cup bingsu is high in sugar, with one serving provided by Mega Coffee having 86g of sugar per cup. The World Health Organization recommends that sugar intake be no more than 10 per cent of one's energy intake, or about 50g daily.
Tteokbokki and instant noodles are not considered healthy foods, as they consist mostly of carbohydrates while having an excessively large amount of sodium compared to their general calories.
As such, it is recommended that one should not regard cup foods as their main energy intake and balance their diet with nutrient-rich foods.
The KSA study concluded by saying that one should not eat cup bab with other salty foods like cup ramen, and advised people to eat food with sufficient potassium to help release the excess sodium. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
What Superman's pet Krypto owes to director James Gunn's badly behaved rescue dog
Krypto the superdog (left) in Superman is inspired and modelled after director James Gunn's dog Ozu. NEW YORK – About three years ago, American writer-director James Gunn was trying to figure out the arc of what would become his new blockbuster Superman. Then he adopted a dog. He named the scruffy rescue Ozu, after Yasujiro Ozu, the Japanese film-maker known for his serene works. At about eight months old, Ozu the dog was not at all peaceful. After surviving a hoarding situation, it was fearful of humans and intensely destructive. He chewed up furniture, shoes and even a US$10,000 (S$12,800) computer. He also ate a tampon out of a wastebasket , necessitating a trip to the vet. Gunn realised that if Ozu had been superpowered, the damage would have been even worse. 'It was where Superman the movie came together for me,' he said in a video call. The 58-year-old decided that his version of Superman would have not just a dog, but a bad dog who could fly. He wrote the opening sequence in which Superman (David Corenswet), defeated for the first time, calls out to the canine Krypto to help drag him to the Fortress of Solitude. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 1 in 3 vapes here laced with etomidate; MOH working with MHA to list it as illegal drug: Ong Ye Kung Singapore HSA extends hotline hours, launches new platform to report vaping offences Singapore Tampines regional centre set to get more homes, offices and public amenities Multimedia How to make the most out of small homes in Singapore Life US tech CEO Andy Byron resigns after viral Coldplay 'kiss cam' video Asia From toy to threat: 'Killer kites' bring chaos to Indonesian airspace Opinion I thought I was a 'chill' parent. Then came P1 registration Singapore 'God and government are the only things beyond our control,' says Group CEO Krypto – who, like Ozu, is poorly behaved – jumps all over his master, seemingly causing more pain before doing his duty. Superman, which also stars Nicholas Hoult as the Man of Steel's nemesis Lex Luthor and Rachel Brosnahan as intrepid reporter Lois Lane, is now showing in cinemas. 'The universe we normally see Superman living in in movies is usually this lone, serious superhero and then people and then that's it,' Gunn said. 'This Superman exists in a different sort of universe where there are flying dogs.' But Ozu served as more than just inspiration. Gunn's pup also became the physical model for Krypto, who is computer-generated so he can do things like soar through the sky and attack villains. Krypto is a little bigger than Ozu and has white fur instead of grey , but otherwise he is a dead ringer. Although Gunn's version of Krypto owes everything to Ozu, Krypto has a long history in comic books. He first appeared in 1955, and while he has never shown up in any of Superman's live-action big-screen outings, he was voiced by American actor Dwayne Johnson in the animated film DC League Of Super-Pets (2022). Gunn does not get deep into Krypto lore in Superman, but he does have plans for him, including a starring role in 2026's Supergirl, which is based on the comic Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow (2021 to 2022). Krypto features prominently in that tale. Because Gunn wanted Krypto to resemble his own pet as closely as possible, the first step involved a 3D scan of Ozu. Ozu, who is now better behaved than he used to be, 'despised' the process, the film-maker said, explaining: 'He has to stand on this table and then there's a globe of cameras surrounding him. They take pictures and we kind of move him around a little bit, and it gets every angle of him.' Though Ozu was initially wary of humans, he immediately befriended Gunn's cat, and like any good owner, Gunn had a plethora of videos of his pets acting cute. He handed those over to the visual effects artists. 'I have tons of videos of them playing,' he said. 'In fact, when Krypto is jumping on Superman at the beginning of the movie, that's all based on footage of him playing with my cat.' Gunn ultimately worked with three VFX companies to develop Krypto, but mainly relied on Framestore, which was also responsible for creating another crucial furry character, Rocket Raccoon, in the director's Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014 to 2023) movies. With Krypto, the biggest challenge was figuring out how to depict him flying. 'At first, it kept looking like he was running in the air and it looked dumb,' Gunn said, adding: 'It was getting the right amount of motion with his legs and he was flying. It just took a lot of trial and error.' On set, the actors playing opposite Krypto occasionally just had to imagine he was there, miming as if interacting with a dog. In other instances, a 'series of very small women' played Krypto, Gunn said. But sometimes, a real dog was present. Her name was Jolene, and they would play the 1973 song by American country legend Dolly Parton every time she arrived. 'She had white fur and we would use that as a reference for the lighting so we knew what a white dog would look like in the area,' Gunn said. As for the sounds Krypto makes, Gunn once again went back to Ozu and recorded him for reference. But Gunn also did not want to overdo it. 'The sound people know this: It's my pet peeve that every time an animal is on-screen, they make it make a sound. The truth is, dogs are funny because, for the most part, they are Buster Keaton,' said DC Studios' co-CEO, referring to the American silent film star. As a dog lover, Gunn aimed to make sure the way Krypto cranes his neck, wags his tail or gets easily distracted was portrayed accurately. The fact that he is terribly behaved makes Superman's loyalty to him all the more impactful in perilous situations, Gunn said. 'Superman is such a compassionate person that he's worried about the dog being scared,' Gunn said. 'That's the thing that upsets him: The dog is scared. And we've only seen the dog give him grief. I think it's really important that Superman is tuned into his own sense of compassion in that way.' Ozu, meanwhile, seems to have complicated feelings regarding his debut as the model for a superhero. Gunn posted a video on Instagram of Ozu barking at Krypto. This, he said, happened repeatedly during the editing process. 'He comes darting from the other side of the house and runs into the office so he can bark at Krypto,' Gunn said. 'For two years, he barked at Krypto on-screen.' NYTIMES Superman is showing in Singapore cinemas.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
Why Ken Chu from F4 is selling products by Barbie Hsu's former husband Wang Xiaofei
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Ken Chu (left) was criticised for selling Wang Xiaofei's products during his live-stream sales. Barbie Hsu and Wang Xiaofei divorced in November 2021. Taiwanese singer-actor Ken Chu has defended his decision to sell products made by the company of Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei, the former husband of late Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu. Chu, 46, was a member of Taiwanese boy band F4, which also comprise Jerry Yan, 48; Vic Chou, 43; and Van Ness Wu, 46. The quartet reunited for a surprise performance at Taiwanese pop-rock band Mayday's concert at the Taipei Dome on July 12. F4 were brought together as a boy band in 2001 after acting in Taiwanese idol drama Meteor Garden (2001), which also starred Hsu. The band members went their separate ways in 2009. Hsu, who died aged 48 in February, divorced Mr Wang, 44, in November 2021 after 11 years of marriage. They have an 11-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son. The former couple were then embroiled in a divorce battle and war of words on social media. Chu, who is now focusing on live-stream sales on Douyin, was criticised by netizens on July 16 after he continued to hawk hot and sour vermicelli from Chinese food brand Maliuji. This is a company under Mr Wang and his mother Zhang Lan. 'Why can't I sell that?' Chu replied. ' To be honest, I really hope Wang Xiaofei makes a lot of money. Otherwise, who will take care of his two children?' The artiste also mentioned Hsu, better known as Big S, in his live stream. 'She was the girl who was involved in the lives of the four of us,' he said, referring to the F4 members. 'I think all four of us loved her in our own way when we were younger.' Chu also disclosed that he was initially not keen on the F4 reunion on July 12, which was facilitated by Mayday's agency B'in Music. 'I asked their manager why they were so persistent on the reunion,' Chu said. 'She relayed (Mayday frontman) Ashin's words to me : 'Ashin feels that all the good things from the days when we were younger are slowly disappearing, and he wants to gather them back together, including F4 .'' Chu admitted that it was not easy for him to return to the stage. 'I'm not as physically fit as I used to be ,' he said. 'If you watch the video, you can see that I look a little older than the three of them.' Chu said that although he is 46, his physical condition is like that of a 60-year-old's. He suffers from fibromyalgia, a condition that can lead to lasting muscle pain and fatigue. 'Compared with the three of them, I'll be more out of shape if we don't reunite this year or next year,' he said. 'So I'm working hard on it.'
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Straits Times
Japanese manga series Demon Slayer has sold 200 million copies worldwide
Find out what's new on ST website and app. The fourth and latest animated film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle opens in Singapore cinemas on Aug 14. TOKYO - Popular Japanese manga Demon Slayer has sold over 200 million copies across all 23 volumes worldwide, its publisher said on July 17, a feat achieved by only a handful of titles under its wing. The number of copies in global circulation of the hit series by Japanese manga artist Koyoharu Gotoge has hit 220 million, including digital editions, according to publishing company Shueisha Inc. The series, which was serialised in the manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump from 2016 to 2020, tells the story of Tanjiro Kamado, an adolescent boy who battles human-eating demons while searching for a cure for his sister, who has turned into a demon. An animated film based on the series, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Mugen Train, released in 2020, became the first movie in Japan to top 40 billion yen (S$346 million) in box office revenue. The fourth film adaptation, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle, will open in cinemas across Japan on July 18, and in Singapore on Aug 14. KYODO NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
