8 Korean Rice Bowl Recipes for Every Diet (2024)

FAQs

Are rice bowls good on a diet? ›

Studies that have analyzed the effects of serving size have shown that reducing the size of the rice bowl reduces calorie intake, body weight, and blood sugar levels ( 28 ). Therefore, rice can be weight-loss-friendly or calorie-dense, depending on the serving size.

There are no hard and fast rules, but generally chopsticks for meats, banchan, and other things that can be picked up and the spoon for soups, rice, and things that are not so easy to pick up. Also, generally do not pick up your rice bowl (remember you have a spoon!).

"Eating refined carbs like bread, rice, pasta and cookies [in excess] will increase our belly fat. If we want to lose it, we should focus on eating nutrient- and fiber-rich carbs such as vegetables and low-glycemic fruits," says Djordjevic.

The takeaway is that rice doesn't have to be off-limits if you want to lose weight. When eaten with other nutrient-rich foods, you can keep enjoying rice as part of your daily diet.

Customize Your Own Bibimbap Bowls

It must be noted, though, that bibimbap by nature is quite healthy with rice and colorful vegetables plus meat, fish, egg, or tofu—providing a low-calorie dish that is high in fiber, carbohydrates, and protein.

Luckily for Korean foodies, Korean food can be as good for you as it tastes. The dominant cooking methods used in Korea are all healthy: grilling, fermenting and stewing. Even stir-frying uses only a little oil to cook quickly, ensuring that vegetables remain crisp, retaining their nutrients.

Korean purple rice is purple because medium grain or glutinous black rice is added. Depending on how much black rice is used, the color intensity can vary.

This bibimbap recipe makes a popular and delicious Korean meal. Meaning mixed rice, bibimbap is a delicious rice bowl topped with vegetables, beef, a whole egg, and gochujang (red chili pepper paste).

Mepssal, or uncooked short grain rice, is the kind of rice Koreans use for all their meals. It's also called “sushi rice” in Western grocery stores. It's stickier than long grain rice, and can be found in all Asian grocery stores.

According to experts, white rice is a gluten-free grain, which is low in fats and is easy to digest, which eventually makes it great for boosting the metabolic rate, which accelerates weight loss process. White rice is rich in vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin B and Magnesium to name a few.

Is rice OK to eat when trying to lose weight? ›

Practice portion control. The key to consuming rice on a diet is to do so with portion control. Restrict the amount of rice consumed to less than one cup. When used as the only carb within the day, rice can be eaten, and you may still lose weight.

Calories. One cup (186g) of cooked short-grain white rice has 242 calories. Of which, 88% comes from carbs, 1% is from fat, and 7.2% comes from protein.

As a general guideline, a serving size of cooked rice is around 1/2 cup or 90 grams, and it contains around 100 calories. According to an article by Choosing Nutrition, you can eat 1 cup of rice per day if you want to lose weight.