Why do Koreans like instant noodles?

In Korean dramas, Koreans love instant noodles.

So if you ask Koreans what they like best, I'm afraid most people will say with one voice: pork belly. During the Chinese New Year, almost all hotels in Korea will prepare roasted pork belly for diners.

South Koreans' preference for pork belly makes its price climb all the way, but the neglect of other meats also makes many pig-raising enterprises feel headache. They even advertised: "Don't just eat pork belly, but also eat meat from other parts."

Koreans all over the world eat pork belly. In 1960s and 1970s, Koreans formed the best partner of pork belly and shochu, and the name of pork belly became popular in Korea, and was included in the Korean national language dictionary at 1994.

Interestingly, "pork belly" in Korean should be "pork belly" if translated into Chinese. A Korean friend of the reporter joked that this may be because "pigs in China are fatter than those in Korea".

After years of development, pork belly has been barbecued in many ways in Korea. In addition to slicing and barbecuing with herbs, green tea and wine, there are also hot pot eating methods such as pork belly hot pot. In addition, there are many styles of baking pans, such as 24K gold-plated baking pans, oblique inkstone baking pans, bamboo baking pans, shovel baking pans, horseshoe baking pans and so on.

Because the Korean pronunciation of pork belly is very similar to the pronunciation of the word "3", many large shopping malls have designated March 3 as "pork belly day" to carry out promotional activities.

It is estimated that nearly half of pork consumption is pork belly. According to the statistics of Korea Meat Circulation Import and Export Association, from June 65438+ 10 to June 65438+ 10, 2006, the import volume of pork belly in Korea was 84,000 tons, setting a new high for the year.

In order to meet the strong demand of domestic residents for pork belly, Korean import and export enterprises compete to import pork belly from abroad, including Belgium, Chile, France, the Netherlands, Austria, the United States and other 15 countries. It can be said that Koreans all over the world are eating pork belly.

There's a reason for having a soft spot.

Why do Koreans have such a soft spot for pork belly? It is generally believed that there are two reasons: First, Koreans believe that eating pork belly can dissolve the dust in their throats, so the initial consumption groups of pork belly are miners and construction workers to cope with the sandstorm that rages in April and May every year.

Second, Koreans like to drink shochu. Because seafood and beef are much more expensive than pork, roasted pork belly with good taste but relatively low price becomes the best partner of shochu. A shochu manufacturer in South Korea even launched a special wine for pork belly, "pork belly plus a cup of buckwheat".

In Korea, the consumption of pork belly when guests drink soju accounts for about half of the total consumption of soju. Now, "pork belly+shochu+singing room" has become a one-stop entertainment for many Koreans, and some people call it "five burning rooms" for short. There is a song that goes like this: "Today, we should also bake it, chew it with five tendons, and the wine in the cup will disappear." I stole a cup in my spare time, the pork belly was roasted and the soju was delicious, and then I wanted to sing a song. "

The pig association suggests eating pigs in an all-round way. Preference for pork belly has also brought some negative effects, and pig farmers are the hardest hit areas. Because a pig's pork belly only accounts for 10% of the whole body, so things are rare.

In 2005, pork belly 1 kg was more than 20,000 won (1 RMB 1.20 won), even exceeding the price of beef. A person from the Korea Pig Association said: "Consumers complain that pork belly is too expensive, but the price of tenderloin and back elbow meat is less than half of pork belly." South Koreans' preference for pork belly has led to a sharp increase in pork belly imports and a sharp drop in pig farmers in South Korea.