Korean Foods and Medical schools
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Any big or medium city would have Asian supermarket (real deal). Norfolk (EVMS), DC has a lot of Asian stuff (further out of the city though- you’d have to drive ). Definitely big cities
Haha I would prefer not drive since i dont think i will have a car outside of cali (unless nearby states)
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this thread is amazing
So you need to live somewhere with robust public transportation, a medical school, AND have korean food in the urban environment? Good luck with that. As stated above, most major urban centers have some Korean markets and food places, but they are usually in the suburbs as that's where the Korean population lives. NYC and maybe Boston(?) are the exceptions that I'm aware of, but I haven't visited everywhere.
And Norfolk (EVMS) has pretty crappy public transportation unless things have changed significantly in the last couple years.
Also - I am sure you will have a few Asian classmates who go to store once in a while and would take you with them.
Chicago has many excellent Korean restaurants but I’m not sure how close they are the any of the med schools. But you probably won’t be living real close to the schools and we have great public transportation.
Thanks everyone for the input! Currently learning how to cook but just like how in life there are things each of us cannot do, cooking is my Achilles heel TT^TT. I just do not get it but maybe being isolated and starving will change me LOL
If you are going to learn to be a doctor, you can learn to cook. Just saying.
I'm having the same issue with a specific east asian cuisine. I think outside of Boston, NYC, Chicago, you're going to need a car, even for medical school, not just for food haha. These places also happen to have the best Asian food rip
I never knew that vitamin K was referring to kimchi ಠ_ಠ
(Though incidentally, kimchi is actually an excellent source of vitamin K)
My fave comment I received from my friends is a link to Asian markets store locator lol
My mom was an excellent cook and when I moved away to grad school, it's was learn how to cook or starve..
Just get yourself an instapot. Damn things are fantastic. Killer ribs in about 40 mins.
Failing that, get a rice cooker and a crock pot.
Get a bread machine as well.
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Hi from an Asian youngster who is also bad at cooking but wants to eat food from home 😭 I moved from a very Asian area in TX to a not-so-Asian place in New England for college.
Some tips I've picked up:
1) Echoing Goro, Instapot or rice cooker is necessity. Learn how to steam food/frozen goods!
2) Sourcing ingredients can be really hard if you live in predominantly white city, but if you can find a general Asian store, you can find basic ingredients and seasonings. Using pre-made seasonings or frozen goods can be really helpful too -- pack of frozen rice cakes + gochujang and you got yourself some tteokbokki
3) There are tons of resources online (read: Youtube & Facebook) for Asian food cooking that make it really easy for beginners. Maangchi and Seokyoung Longest on YouTube are my two favorites. When in doubt, look on Youtube
4) I think you'll be able to find some kind of Asian community no matter where you go -- within your med school class & in the broader city as well. It'll take some exploring and deep-diving (and possibly uber rides), but you'll be able to find great grocery stores and restaurants, even small gems, like a store with an ahjumma selling homemade kimchi 😉
Some tips I've picked up:
1) Echoing Goro, Instapot or rice cooker is necessity. Learn how to steam food/frozen goods!
2) Sourcing ingredients can be really hard if you live in predominantly white city, but if you can find a general Asian store, you can find basic ingredients and seasonings. Using pre-made seasonings or frozen goods can be really helpful too -- pack of frozen rice cakes + gochujang and you got yourself some tteokbokki
3) There are tons of resources online (read: Youtube & Facebook) for Asian food cooking that make it really easy for beginners. Maangchi and Seokyoung Longest on YouTube are my two favorites. When in doubt, look on Youtube
4) I think you'll be able to find some kind of Asian community no matter where you go -- within your med school class & in the broader city as well. It'll take some exploring and deep-diving (and possibly uber rides), but you'll be able to find great grocery stores and restaurants, even small gems, like a store with an ahjumma selling homemade kimchi 😉
I love you guys all. Even with funny comments and all. Feeling the love through all yalls responses <3.
wpneuro
Full Member
Seconding learning from YouTube! I recommend Future Neighbor - they're really down to earth, easy to learn with, and the stuff they make doesn't take too long, which fits into a medical student schedule. They also run a Korean food-and-other-tools website (Gochujar; they do regular stuff but also a lot of premium artisanal stuff 😳) that you can order from with a flat shipping rate (I think internationally) if you need to buy stuff you can't find locally!
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Cook Korean is a very easy to follow Korean cookbook (Amazon affiliate link for SDN):
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Amazon.com: Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes [A Cookbook] eBook : Ha, Robin: Kindle Store
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Any school in Boston or NYC.
NYU. Five blocks away from Korean Town by Empire State Building where the entire block is Korean restaurants plus a food court and an Hmart.
Check Paik's Cuisine out on YouTube. He makes cooking Korean food pretty easy.
NYC and North Jersey for sure. My high school was like 50% asian and it was mostly Koreans.
Or have mom ship you the food in vacuum sealed bags 🙂
I don’t see Atlanta on this forum. Three H-marts in surrounding areas, lots of Korean restaurants both downtown and Northeast Atlanta. In fact, there are so many that it takes some time to find the “authentic” ones.
Or San Francisco or Greater Los Angeles area. Maybe even DC.
Even Sacramento, CA has Korean stores. Probably San Diego too. Lot of Chinese stores sell some Korean items.
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Damn, you must be like a 4.0/527 retired astronaut to be able to confidently ignore the 100+ medical schools that aren’t in NYC, Boston, Chicago, or LA.
The concept of this thread is hilarious.
Also…”I don’t want to drive” isn’t something that can be in your vocabulary if you go to med school outside those cities and maybe a handful of others. Have you ever left the Bay Area/LA/SD? Lol. Almost nowhere in the US has usable public transport at the level you will need in med school.
The concept of this thread is hilarious.
Also…”I don’t want to drive” isn’t something that can be in your vocabulary if you go to med school outside those cities and maybe a handful of others. Have you ever left the Bay Area/LA/SD? Lol. Almost nowhere in the US has usable public transport at the level you will need in med school.
Just to say before y'all judge you do not know my back story of why I don't want to drive or take public transportation so if you don't have advice pls refrain from commenting
I'm not hating on your for not wanting to drive or take public transportation. I am just saying that is logistically impossible for 99% of medical schools.
Because question is about food not about how to get into T20 without gap years and weak ECs?
That's why I asked because I wanted to know how accessible it was for someone without the luxuries of certain transportation and things like that
A bigger concern than accessing Korean food is accessing outlying clinics which you may have to do as a medical student for rotations and then even more so in a future residency.
OP can use Uber or Lyft I guess or exchange Korean food for rides from classmates 🙂
This isn't the SDN I knew as a boy
Based on Korean friends I had, food is a very big part of Korean culture. Their parents tell them to eat rice at least once a day, and a lot of them crave those exotic flavors at some point. In fact, every time I try to hang out with one, we always end up getting Korean/Vietnamese food first and then do other activities. So I wasn’t surprised when OP who likely is Korean American asked this question that literally almost all the other Korean pre-meds I’ve interacted with were afraid to ask.
In terms of driving, I agree with you a bit. OP might get away with buying a car but they will likely end up having to use public transportation unless they have friends with cars or lots of money for Uber.
this is very true and its not just "craving" korean food because im just being picky. my body does not feel well if i dont have korean food. I grew up mainly eating korean food because im an immigrant and even here in the states and so my body has accommodated to it.
and you guys are right. I do have to learn to travel but as of now I want to reduce the need to if i can. after all, part of choosing what medical schools you'd want to attend/can attend is based on not just stats (even tho it is a big factor) its also living standards and communities and I would say food and accessibilities to it are a BIG factor (at least for me)
and you guys are right. I do have to learn to travel but as of now I want to reduce the need to if i can. after all, part of choosing what medical schools you'd want to attend/can attend is based on not just stats (even tho it is a big factor) its also living standards and communities and I would say food and accessibilities to it are a BIG factor (at least for me)
probablyhungry99
Full Member
Haha glad I'm not the only one wondering about east asian grocery stores around medical schools 🙂 food is so important!! I love cooking/baking for myself and other people though, haha so hoping I still have time to do that in medical school
D
deleted1068512
my dad travels to different hospitals frequently for work, he told me that he went to the only korean restaurant close to Creighton and said it was disgusting LOL
