Korean Recipes
137 recipes found
Pressure Cooker Spicy Pork Shoulder
You can make this spicy pork in a 6- to 8-quart electric pressure cooker if you’re in a hurry, or in a slow cooker if you're not. In either case, you’ll get tender bits of meat covered in a chile-flavored barbecue sauce that’s just slightly sweet. (You can also make it in a stovetop pressure cooker, by trimming a few minutes off the cooking time. Stovetop pressure cookers tend to cook at a slightly higher pressure, so food cooks more quickly.) Gochujang, a pungent Korean chile paste, and gochugaru, Korean chile flakes, is available at Asian markets and specialty shops, or see the ingredient list for substitutions. Serve the pork over rice or in slider rolls, topped with crunchy pickled sesame cucumbers and a little kimchi, if you want to spice things up. And, while you can make this from start to finish in an afternoon, you can also make this in stages a few days ahead, if that’s easier.
Pressure Cooker Bo Ssam
Bo ssam is a Korean dish featuring boiled pork belly or shoulder that’s slowly braised in an aromatic broth until incredibly tender. While the dish traditionally takes hours to prepare, a pressure cooker can turn it into a festive weeknight meal. For the best bite, wrap the rich pork in small bundles of napa cabbage leaves and dollop with ssamjang and other spicy condiments, like the piquant radish salad, which comes together quickly and lasts a week in the fridge, or serve this dish with store-bought kimchi, a tasty alternative and time saver. Leftover pork can be chopped up for a flavorful fried rice or tossed with pasta and grated Parm for a comforting meal.
Slow-Cooker Dakdori Tang
Dakdori tang, sometimes called dakbokkeum-tang, is a homey Korean chicken stew that adapts beautifully to the slow cooker. Most traditional recipes combine the ingredients in a pot and let them bubble, with no sauté step — similar to a one-pot, slow-cooker braise. Here, the dish is cooked on high, and the heat caramelizes the gochujang, a fermented red chile paste. The use of skin-on chicken is customary, and results in a rich broth with a layer of very delicious spiced chicken fat. If you prefer a leaner broth, you can remove the skin from some or all of the chicken parts before starting.
Hobak Jeon (Pan-Fried Zucchini)
The chef Peter Serpico learned how to make hobak jeon, battered and fried slices of zucchini, by watching his mother-in-law cook. After her granddaughter was born, she would often trek from Queens, N.Y., armed with groceries and Korean recipes, to Mr. Serpico’s Philadelphia apartment. This recipe is inspired by her simple yet satisfying jeon and appears in “Learning Korean,” a cookbook chronicling Mr. Serpico’s journey with Korean food as an adoptee. There is one twist in his recipe: He adds a fish sauce to the batter, which gives the zucchini a salty depth.
Gochujang-Glazed Eggplant With Fried Scallions
Loosely inspired by the Korean banchan gaji bokkeum (stir-fried eggplant), this recipe keeps the eggplant in large pieces and sears it over high heat, yielding beautifully cooked flesh and still-violet skin. Though gaji bokkeum is traditionally soy sauce-based, my mother uses gochujang, the fermented Korean chile paste, for added sweetness and heat. The result is divine: As the sticky red sauce clings to the fried eggplant spears, it caramelizes in the heat of the pan and provides a glossy finish. The real star of this dish, though, is the scallion oil. The tangle of thinly sliced scallions crisps in olive oil, lending its oniony flavor to the oil, which is then used to cook the eggplant. This dish is salty, spicy and sweet — everything you want in a banchan — and tastes great with a bowl of fresh white rice.
Bulgogi Eggplant
Few things gain as much bulmat (“fire taste” in Korean) as eggplant. When thinly sliced like bulgogi, the classic Korean dish of grilled marinated meat, eggplants need only a brief flick of the fire — a minute or two per side — to cook through and char at the edges. (A very hot skillet on the stovetop works in a pinch.) Bulgogi means “fire meat,” so this vegetarian adaptation is inspired by the flavors of the beloved Korean barbecue staple — soy sauce, garlic and sugar — and would taste wonderful alongside a handsome plate of char-grilled beef bulgogi. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
Baek Kimchi (White Kimchi)
More prominent in the northern parts of the Korean peninsula, baek (meaning “white”) kimchi is considered the predecessor to today’s more commonly known red, spicy napa cabbage kimchi. (Red chile peppers didn’t arrive in Korea until the late 16th century.) Without any chile, this kimchi lets the sweet, natural flavors of the cabbage shine, with a briny pickled taste that is salty, refreshing and full of zingy ginger. If your daikon doesn’t come with any greens on top, then one bunch of Tuscan kale is a good substitute that offers wonderful bitterness and balance; just add chopped large pieces during Step 1.
Kimchi
Sometimes called mak kimchi, this kimchi formula starts with chopped napa cabbage and is as easy as dressing a salad. You just toss everything together in a large bowl. Fish sauce anchors the kimchi sauce with incredible savoriness, while gochugaru, the Korean red-pepper powder, lends a deep crimson sheen and mild, fruity heat. Whatever chopped vegetables you add to the onion-garlic-ginger purée will lend their own natural sweetness as they ferment with the cabbage; scallions and daikon are the most traditional, but carrot works in a pinch and lends great color. We all need a good burp every now and then, so be sure to open the lid of your jar every couple of days to allow the gas from the fermentation process to escape. For the spice-averse, start with 1/4 cup of gochugaru, or turn to baek kimchi, which is a fragrant, chile-free version.
Grape Tomato ‘Quick Kimchi’
This is not a traditional kimchi, but it approximates the flavor profile, bypassing a lengthier fermentation and instead relying on vinegar. In Korea, this dish would be considered a muchim, which can refer to any number of “seasoned” or “dressed” salads or other preparations. Here, thick-skinned grape tomatoes maintain their snappy crunch, even draped in a fire-bright tangle of gochugaru, sesame oil and fish sauce. Though tomato’s natural umami flavor multiplies the longer it sits, this dish is best eaten within 24 hours. When you’re done, don’t throw out the leftover dressing at the bottom of the bowl: Tossed in that tomatoey brine, bouncy rice noodles are a dream. For a vegetarian option, swap out the fish sauce for soy sauce.
Tofu and Mushroom Jorim (Soy-Braised Tofu)
Korean jorim is a traditional braised dish typically made with beef that is stewed in a savory garlic- and ginger-spiked soy sauce until tender. This version highlights tofu’s ability to absorb the aromatic salty-sweet sauce like a sponge; earthy shiitake mushrooms add depth and a meaty texture that contrasts the tofu’s softness. The dish is as delicious cold as it is hot, so it’s a great make-ahead meal; simply cool and chill overnight in an airtight container.
Korean Meatballs and Noodles
This kalbi meatball recipe, adapted from the cookbook “Koreatown,” is easy and quick enough to consider for midweek dinner. It offers the sweetly peppered, deeply satisfying flavors typical of many Korean dishes, and gives new personality to everyday spaghetti and meatballs. My favorite utensil for making ground meat mixtures, by the way, is an old-fashioned potato masher. The book suggests wrapping the meatballs in lettuce, but I tossed them with noodles in a sauce that exploited the brown bits left in the cooking of the meatballs.
Kimchi Rice Porridge
A combination of pungent chopped kimchi, toasted scallions and ginger, and rice that's been bolstered with a hit of kimchi brine, this porridge is fiery and sinus-clearing. The rice isn’t perfectly fluffy; instead, leftover rice simmers until it breaks down from kernel to stew. (You can, of course, use raw rice, too: Cook it in Step 2 for about an hour, partly covered and stirring occasionally.) You'll want to cook the scallions and ginger until nearly burned, and top the whole thing with a fried egg (or make it soft-boiled). Take note that most kimchi gets its funk from shrimp, anchovies and-or fish sauce, so if you’d like to make this dish vegetarian, make sure to use a vegetarian kimchi.
Korean Bulgogi Bolognese
In this recipe, Korean grilled barbecue meets Bolognese, the classic Italian meat sauce. Ground beef is simmered in a sauce that starts with a traditional base of sautéed onion, carrots and celery, to which scallions, garlic, ginger and soy sauce are added. As the sauce cooks, the flavors of the tomato paste and soy sauce meld, creating a deeply salty-sweet mixture, while the addition of chopped mushrooms provides depth and complexity. Be sure to use egg pasta here as the richness contrasts nicely with the sauce.
Yakgwa (Honey Cookies)
These not-too-sweet Korean honey cookies, fried and then soaked in gingery syrup, are uniquely soft and chewy on the outside and flaky on the inside. Called yakgwa (yak meaning “medicine” and gwa meaning “confection”), these treats originally from the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) are seeing a resurgence in popularity from Seoul to the world, thanks to social media. Traditionally served on Korean festival days like Chuseok and Seollal, birthdays and ancestral rites like jesa, the anniversary of a loved one’s passing, yakgwa are also an encapsulation of Korea’s dessert history. At a time when sugar was not a main sweetener, sweetness was achieved with ingredients like rice syrup and honey, paired with ginger and cinnamon. Enjoy these on their own with a cup of tea or try them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, which lends balance to the sticky sweetness. For a vegan option, the honey can be swapped with maple syrup for incredible results.
Hotteok (Sweet Filled Pancakes)
It is easy to fall in love with hotteok, a Korean street food that’s crisp on the outside, and chewy underneath thanks to sweet rice flour. The center oozes with hot sugary nuts (or other fillings — feel free to experiment). The dish came to South Korea by way of Chinese immigrants in the 19th century, and this version is adapted from “Korean Soul Food” (Frances Lincoln, 2019) by the chef Judy Joo. She uses muscovado sugar, as it gives the interior a rich flavor and gooey texture, but the more traditional dark brown sugar works well, too. It’s tempting to eat hotteok straight out of the pan, but make sure to let it cool down slightly before enjoying, so the melted sugar doesn’t burn the roof of your mouth.
Han Oak Galbijjim
This is a home cook’s take on the short-rib stew the chef Peter Cho serves at Han Oak, the beautiful homestyle Korean restaurant in Portland, Ore., that he runs with his wife, Sun Young Park. It is fragrant and sweet, with deep caramelized flavors that come in part from roasting the meat and vegetables separately before combining them in the braising liquid. Cho fries rice cakes before adding them to the stew, but you can just slide them in plain, if you prefer. Either way, the addition of greens at the end gives the dish an exciting brightness, a zip that many galbijjims lack.
Maangchi’s Cheese Buldak (Fire Chicken)
Cheese buldak is a Korean dish that is incredibly easy to prepare: a marinade of red-pepper paste and red-pepper flakes that becomes a fiery sauce for braised chicken, which is then served beneath a cloak of broiler-melted mozzarella. A child could do it, or an adult who often acts like one. Mine is an adaptation of a recipe that owes its deepest debt to Emily Kim, the Korean web star known as Maangchi, whose video for cheese buldak has been viewed on YouTube more than seven million times. (Omit the rice cakes if you can’t find them easily!) Thanks to subtitling by her fans, the video can be read in 24 languages. There are thousands and thousands of comments below it, mostly positive. One reads, “Can you be my mom?”
Spicy-Sweet Korean BBQ Sauce (Ssamjang)
Ssamjang, meaning "sauce for wraps" in Korean, has a wonderful combination of sweet, spicy and salty elements. It’s like American barbecue sauce, which makes sense, as it’s often used with grilled Korean specialties like bulgogi (marinated shaved beef), galbi (thinly sliced short ribs) and pork belly. Its main ingredient, doenjang, is a slow-fermented soybean paste that is similar to Japanese miso, providing the same rich umami flavor. Any Asian food market would stock multiple brands of doenjang; one of our favorite Korean cooking teachers, Emily Kim, a.k.a. Maangchi, advises simply, "Buy the most expensive one!"
Korean Corn Cheese
A uniquely Korean-American creation, corn cheese is a dish inspired by two cultures. The simplicity of the ingredients — canned corn, mayonnaise and mild shredded cheese — yields a nearly effortless banchan, or side dish, that smells and tastes like comfort. It’s extremely kid-friendly, but is also enjoyed as anju, or food that pairs well with alcohol. (Soju, a popular Korean alcoholic beverage, is a great match.) This versatile, sweet-savory dish is best enjoyed hot and accompanied by an array of dishes, like kimchi, gochujang-glazed eggplant, bulgogi or galbi.
Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Soup)
In Korean cuisine, kimchi is not only a condiment or pickle; it is also used as an ingredient in many cooked dishes. Kimchi soup, called jjigae, is a satisfying example. The fermented kimchi vegetables quickly provide deep flavor to the broth, so the soup can be produced in little more than half an hour. Aged kimchi, which is more intensely sour, is the preferred type to use. Surprisingly mellow, the soup is neither too spicy nor too salty. This version incorporates butter, an addition inspired by a recipe from Lauryn Chun, the founder of Mother-in-Law’s Kimchi and the author of “The Kimchi Cookbook.”
Samgyeopsal
This pork belly dish is less a recipe and more a road map to dinner. A chill way to have Korean barbecue at home, samgyeopsal, or “three-layer meat,” refers to pork belly’s fat cap and the two leaner layers of meat below it, one light and one dark. Crisp slivers of pork are wrapped in various lettuces and dabbed with doenjang honey and punchy slivers of raw garlic. The lightly peppered, vinegared freshness of pa muchim, an all-occasion scallion salad often served with the grilled meats at Korean barbecue restaurants, is a welcome accompaniment to rich foods like fried or rotisserie-style chickens, pan-seared pork chops, and grilled bulgogi, galbi and samgyeopsal. Don’t skip the sesame oil dipping sauce; its nuttiness lets the pork belly shine.
Shrimp and Kimchi Rice Bowl
If you want dinner with ease, make it a rice bowl. You can cook the rice in advance and reheat it, or employ a rice cooker. (A small one doesn’t demand much space, and it cooks perfect rice while you go about other business.) But even if you make rice on the stovetop, you’ll have 30 minutes to pull together the rest of this meal, so it’s hot and ready all at once. Kimchi is the heavy lifter here, since it has tons of crunch and tang, which gives you space to add in other vegetable without doing much to them. They could be grated and raw, or make use of yesterday’s leftovers. If shrimp isn’t your speed, try this marinade on beef chuck or tofu. Or top the rice with an egg fried in a mixture of canola and sesame oil.
Roasted Vegetable Bibimbap
The vegetarian cookbook author Lukas Volger has a way with Asian condiments and flavors. In this recipe for bibimbap, the egg-topped Korean rice bowl, he roasts squash, shiitakes and broccoli rabe in a sweet and spicy mix of soy, chile paste, sugar and oil. Mr. Volger crisps cooked rice in a skillet to get the characteristic crunch of bibimbap; you can prepare the rice up to three days ahead, but be sure to crisp it just before serving. If you want to skip that step, use freshly cooked rice instead.
Tongbaechu Kimchi (Whole Napa Cabbage Kimchi)
This tongbaechu kimchi, made with whole napa cabbage, is a wonderful way to witness firsthand the magic of preservation by salting. Though the first step — salting quartered cabbages to drain excess liquid — may require an afternoon, that time is entirely inactive. The bundles of sauced cabbage are jarred and left at room temperature for the first couple of days to jump-start the fermentation process, then refrigerated to continue souring slowly for weeks and even months. Fermenting bundled quarters — versus chopped pieces — results in a crisper, more flavorful cabbage kimchi. This recipe is pared down to its essentials, though you could supplement the funky, savory-sweet flavors here with traditional additions like a sprinkle of raw pine nuts, a palmful of Korean radish cut in matchsticks or a spoonful of saeujeot, salted fermented shrimp.