South Korean Diners Keen on New U.S. Rice Dishes

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Last month, Amoje Food launched new menus featuring U.S. medium grain rice at ten of their Elena Kitchen restaurants.  Elena Kitchen is a family-style buffet loved by diners of all ages who enjoy being able to taste traditional Korean dishes, as well as western-style food from main dishes to desserts.

For this promotion, three new U.S. medium grain rice dishes were created including Gimbap (rice roll), Rice Sushi in Fried Tofu, and Shanghai Chicken Pilaf which was developed and demonstrated to Amoje’s Research and Development Team in a one-on-one U.S. rice menu presentation last year.

During the month long promotion, participating restaurants displayed standing banners, table mats, and menu tags introducing U.S. medium grain rice and its benefits.  When Amoje surveyed customers on the new dishes, an overwhelming majority said they were tasty and had better texture compared to regular domestic rice dishes.  Kitchen staff also voiced their opinion saying U.S. medium grain rice was superior to domestic rice for making the three new dishes.

“This promotion had a big impact on awareness and appreciation for U.S. rice,” said USA Rice Vice President of International Promotion Jim Guinn.  “As a result of this success, Amoje has decided to use U.S. medium grain rice on a continuous basis and to incorporate additional U.S. medium grain rice dishes into their operations.”