Soldiers now can eat popcorn chicken, steamed flatfish

By Jun Ji-hye

Sweet and sour pork and popcorn chicken will be provided as new food items in military mess halls this year as part of efforts to meet the tastes of young conscripts, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

Steamed flatfish will also be among the new dishes.

The plan was included in the ministry’s measures unveiled Sunday to improve military meals.

Sweet and sour pork and popcorn chicken will be provided four times a year, while steamed flatfish will be given twice. The three foods were chosen after the ministry carried out a survey about which foods younger soldiers prefer, the ministry said.

The ministry said the meal expense per head per day this year is 7,334 won, up by 2 percent from last year.

This will increase the number of times nutritious meals such as “Samgyetang,” a traditional chicken soup made with a small, whole chicken and ginseng, will be provided for the soldiers four times a year instead of three times as it was last year.

The number of times beef ribs will be provided will also rise to four times from three, and duck meat to 16 times from 12 times.

The quantity of chicken to be provided to each soldier for the year will go up to 10.6 kilograms from 8 kilograms, while Korean beef will rise to 7.7 kilograms up from 7.3 kilograms.

In an effort to offer soldiers a well-balanced diet, the ministry also decided to increase the quantity of vegetables, such as cucumbers, zucchini, potatoes and mushrooms, by 10 percent compared to last year.

For dessert, the ministry will provide more domestic fruit in season while decreasing the quantity of processed food items such as juice.

“This measure was drawn up to improve the health of soldiers and support domestic farms,” a ministry official said.

The ministry will also recruit 46 more civilian cooks this year and dispatch them to border units. When the hiring is completed, the number of civilian cooks in the military will be 1,767, the ministry said.

“We will also push for modernizing cooking utensils in military mess halls to improve the cooking of the meals to better satisfy soldiers,” the official said.

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