NEW YORK, NY - Few years ago, Korean food was predominantly consumed cooked by Korean immigrants in home kitchens or few Korean restaurants. There was no Korean high demanding barbeque spot, no celebrity chefs and no high-end restaurants offering Korean course meal.

Now there is no doubt that Korean food became one of the most popular cuisines across the nation, especially in New York. Midtown 32nd Street; so called ‘Koreatown’ or ‘K-town’ is now New York City’s most enjoyed past-midnight escape and Korean barbecue paradise offering you sizzling Samgyobsal, Bulgogi and Galbi which are now regularly craved by food-lovers.

Korean themed restaurants are spreading throughout the city at a noticeable rate and gaining great fame among critics. Acclaimed NYC restaurants prefer to have one Korean ingredient to dish among many such as kimchi, gochujang, Korean pear on the menu and introducing new Korean inspired recipes to attract more customers.

Le Bernadin, the Michelin-starred seafood restaurant, serves skate with a lemon confit-kimchi broth and a white tuna-kobe beef with fresh kimchi. At New York’s Persimmon, Western elements are incorporated into Korean dishes to create traditional Korean food with Western ingredients. Others find inspirations outside the Western cuisine. Annita Lo’s Annisa serves a boiled Spanish mackerel are prepared with Korean Chili based sauce. Jean-Georges’ Simply Chicken also serves a chicken hot dog with kimchi relish and spicy mustard.

The rise of Korean food is also evident in small and large grocery stores. The retailers are not afraid of carrying Korean seaweed and fermented products, and a variety of prepackaged products such as instant rice, instant noodles, and Gochujang, a spicy sauce made from Korean red hot pepper.

Large retailers are searching and posting various fusion or traditional recipes for its customers using the Korean products that they each carry. Korean ingredients are now starting to appear on supermarket shelves. Other online community, such as food bloggers and YouTubers, are sharing unique ways of utilizing the products that can easily be found in local markets.

The transformation of Korean food over the past years gaining class and recognition in food industry has since become not just the trendiest food but also one of the healthiest.

Korean foods are very balanced in calories and nutrients. Kimchi is one of the healthiest foods in the world as it contains plenty of minerals and vitamins, as well as aiding digestion. And there aren’t too many dishes in the Korean kitchen that come out without some form of chilly heat to it. Given that chilly is known to speed up the metabolism, it’s a great way of making sure those extra calories are burned off and prevent obese. It is not only about the food but the way how they serve and eat filling yourself up for longer without providing huge amounts of calories.

The Korean food boom in New York is clear. It is healthy, adaptable, and synergized by a number of recent restaurant trends, including barbecue and sharing. Korean food has an allure of something that’s genuinely new while still sharing similarities with cooking methods already well-enjoyed in New York restaurants and homes.