Chuseok is the day when we celebrate the biggest full moon of the year. The hearts of the people, who harvest grains and fruits ripened from the summer heat, are the most bountiful of the year. However, there are many things you need to know to fully enjoy the abundance of Chuseok.

Source. Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Rural Development Administration 

Q. Please tell me how to enjoy Chuseok food in a healthy way.Holiday foods, such as rice cakes, fries, and jeon, are higher in calories, and contain more sodium and sugar than the ones you normally eat. According to the Food Safety Korea website(foodsafetykorea.go.kr/fcdb), one serving(100 g) of sesame seed songpyeon, the main Chuseok food, has 219 calories, 1 serving of steamed beef ribs(300 g) has 256 cal, 1 serving of sweet potato jeon has(140 g) 318 cal, and one serving(100 g) of vegetable fries has 405 cal. Thus, it is necessary to think about the amount of food you usually eat, and to adjust food intake by calculating calories to consume fewer calories. When eating food, use a personal plate, eat more ingredients rather than soup, and use a small-sized soup bowl. When eating jeon, etc., eating it without soy sauce helps reduce sodium intake.

Q. I think it is necessary to reduce sodium, calories, and sugar when making Chuseok food.When making soup, you can add a savory flavor by using a broth made with radish, onion, kelp, and anchovy. The way to cook less salty food is to check the seasoning at the end of cooking, rather than in the middle. For reference, if you add a sour taste with lemon juice or plum extract during seasoning, it will taste less bland. For seasoned vegetables, you can reduce sodium by blanching vegetables in water rather than frying them in oil, and by using sesame seed oil, bean powder, and wild sesame seed powder or nuts such as walnuts and peanuts when seasoning it. By using fruits such as pineapple, pear, and kiwi instead of sugar for sauce, you can reduce sugar intake, and get a tender meat effect.

Q. I heard that you can eat more healthily if you use mixed grains when making songpyeon dough.According to the Rural Development Administration, multi-grain songpyeon that uses colored mixed grains, such as red sorghum and yellow sorghum, not only looks good but also increases in nutritional value. For example, red sorghum is rich in antioxidants, such as polyphenols and flavonoids, which are known to be effective in preventing aging and relieving fatigue. Yellow millet has three times more Vitamins B1 and B2 than white rice, and has a high fiber content, which helps with healthy bowel movements.

Q. Songpyeon is a representative Chuseok food. I heard that diabetic patients and kidney disease patients should be careful when eating songpyeon.Yes. Songpyeon is rich in nutrients, but you need to be careful, depending on your health condition. If you are diabetic, you should be especially careful when eating songpyeon, as the amount of carbohydrates in songpyeon is higher than the amount of carbohydrates in rice. If a diabetes patient eats songpyeon before or after meals, it is recommended to eat less rice than usual. People with kidney disease should also be careful when eating songpyeon since they cannot excrete potassium, electrolytes in particular, due to their reduced kidney function. Red beans and soybeans, which are mainly used as stuffing for songpyeon, contain a lot of potassium, so the potassium concentration in their blood may become abnormally high. In general, the amount of potassium contained in songpyeon made from sesame seeds is less than that contained in songpyeon made from beans or red beans, so it is said that it is appropriate for people with kidney disease to have songpyeon with sesame stuffing. 

Q. Please tell me how to make delicious seasoned tricolor vegetables.Though it varies depending on the region, those made of mainly bellflower root, spinach, and bracken are usually called tricolor seasoned vegetables. Making seasoned vegetables might look simple but it's not easy to make them taste good. But, don’t worry. It's not that difficult, so follow it step-by-step. However, garlic and green onions are not added to the herbs that will be served on the ritual table. 

Q. I am curious about preparing, consuming, and storing holiday food.• Before making holiday food: You must wash your hands under running water for at least 30 seconds by using a hand sanitizer, such as soap. If you touch raw vegetables with your hands that have touched eggs or raw chicken, you must wash your hands with soap, etc., as food poisoning bacteria may be present(cross-contamination).
• When cooking food: Wear sanitary gloves, and when cooking with heat, thoroughly cook the inside of the food. When making a dish with ground meat, such as meat balls, it must be thoroughly cooked, while processed meat products, such as ham and sausage, shall also be heated to a central temperature of 75℃ for 1 minute or more.
• When storing cooked food: Store warm food to be eaten at 60℃ or higher, and cold food to be cooled quickly and store at 5℃ or lower. Holiday foods are often pre-cooked and stored in large quantities, so cool within two hours, cover, and store in the refrigerator. Storing cooked food in the veranda can allow the bacteria to grow as the temperature rises during the day. Cooked food should not be left at room temperature, and should be consumed within 2 hours if possible. Food left at room temperature for more than 2 hours should be reheated before eating.

Q. Please tell me how to prepare a table for Chuseok.There are slight differences between regions and families, but the basic principles are the same. Usually, a total of 5 rows are standard when setting up a table, and the first row starts from the north. In the ritual, the north is the side where the paper spirit tablet is placed, so the south side is where the mourners stand, and the right is the east and the left is the west.  

TIP How to prepare a table for Chuseok
• First row – Rice, sijeop(brassware to place spoon and chopsticks), soup, drink glass, and songpyeon   Banseogaengdong(飯西羹東) Sijeopgeojung(匙楪居中): Place the rice on the west side, the soup on the east side, and the drink glass in between. Place the spoon, chopsticks, and bowl in the middle.
• Third row - Stew Eodongyukseo(魚東肉西), Dudongmiseo(頭東尾西): Place 3 types of jeok(eojeok(fish), yukjeok(meat) and sojeok(tofu or vegetables)). Place the fish in the east, and the meat in the west. At this time, the fish’s head faces the east, and the tail faces the west.
• Third row - Stew They are placed in the order of yuktang(meat), eotang(fish), and sotang(tofu and vegetables). The number of stews must be an odd number.
• Fourth row – Side dishes Gwapowoohye(左脯右醯), Saengdongsukseo(生東熟西), Geonjwasupwoo(乾左濕右): Place the poe(dried pollock, dried squid, etc.) on the left end, the three-colored seasoned vegetables(bean sprouts, bracken and spinach) and watery kimchi in the middle, and sikhye(sweet rice punch) on the right end. The soy sauce goes in the middle. The dried dishes and seasoned vegetable dishes are placed on the left, and the wet dishes and kimchi are placed on the right.
• Fifth row - Fruits Joyulshii(棗栗枾梨), Hongdongbaekseo(紅東白西): From the left, place them in the following order: jujubes, chestnuts, pears, persimmons, and apples. Place the sweets and snacks on the right end.