Jang Young-ran Lost 23kg Without Giving Up Rice. Here's What She Actually Eats

Jang Young-ran recently posted a photo on Instagram of a clay pot rice bowl she made at home: multigrain rice loaded with bulgogi, captioned simply, "Came out delicious." For a TV personality who lost 23kg after her post-pregnancy weight reached 78kg, the meal was notable precisely because it looked nothing like a diet plate.

She currently maintains a weight of around 55kg and has publicly credited balanced eating, not restriction, for slimming areas like her abdomen and arms that tend to be the last to respond to weight loss efforts.

The protein case for bulgogi

Beef bulgogi's primary nutritional strength is its protein density. Beef contains all the essential amino acids needed for muscle synthesis, which matters more during weight loss than most people account for. When calorie intake drops, the body tends to break down both fat and muscle. Lost muscle means a lower basal metabolic rate, which makes regaining weight after a diet far more likely.

The Obesity Society and the American Society for Clinical Nutrition both recommend that people actively losing weight target protein intake of roughly 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight per day to preserve muscle mass and sustain satiety between meals.

The one caveat with bulgogi is the marinade. Standard recipes combine soy sauce with sugar, pear juice, and oligosaccharides, so a heavily sweetened version carries a meaningful sugar load. Sodium can also be high enough to cause bloating or stimulate appetite if portions run large.

Why the multigrain base matters

Jang Young-ran cooked her sotbap with black beans, barley, and other mixed grains rather than plain white rice, and that choice does real nutritional work. Research from the Rural Development Administration found that a well-calibrated multigrain blend can lower fasting blood glucose by up to 22% and systolic blood pressure by up to 20% compared to white rice alone. The mechanism is straightforward: mixed grains are higher in dietary fiber and antioxidants, which slow digestion, blunt the post-meal blood sugar spike, and extend the feeling of fullness.

The balance argument

The default weight-loss instinct in Korea, as elsewhere, is to cut rice entirely. What Jang Young-ran's meal represents is the opposite approach: keep the carbohydrate, improve its quality, and build the plate around protein rather than around absence. South Korea's 2025 Dietary Reference Intakes, published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, back this up structurally, recommending that carbohydrates account for 50 to 65% of daily energy, protein 10 to 20%, and fat 15 to 30%.

A bulgogi sotbap made with grain rice, lean beef, and a restrained marinade fits within those targets with relative ease. The styling detail that gives the meal away as something other than a cheat is the pot itself: sotbap retains heat and moisture differently from a standard rice cooker, which means the texture is better and the portion is self-contained. It is the kind of meal that photographs well because it is actually good to eat.