Free Recipes · Korean
Korean recipes, written in full.
Free Korean recipes from Seoul Meets Mexico City and beyond: gochujang, kimchi, pajeon and the fermentation-driven flavors that anchor the second volume. Full method, no paywall.
- Korean15 min
Kimchi Bokkeumbap (Kimchi Fried Rice)
The best use of leftover rice and aging kimchi in existence. High heat, fast cook, one pan. The kimchi caramelizes against the cast iron and turns what's essentially a fridge-clear-out into a meal worth making on purpose.
- Korean15 min
Kimchi Fried Rice with Spam
Aged kimchi + leftover rice + Spam + gochujang + a fried egg. This is what Korean home cooks make on nights when the fridge has nothing. It takes 15 minutes.
- Korean10 min
Mayak Gyeran (Korean Drug Eggs)
Korean soy-marinated eggs. 6.5-minute boil, overnight marinade. The yolk turns caramel at the edges. The whole egg is seasoned, not just the surface. On rice, they make every meal better.
- Korean45 min
Gimbap (Korean Seaweed Rice Rolls)
Short-grain rice seasoned with sesame oil, rolled in nori with pickled radish, spinach, egg, and carrot. Korea's ultimate picnic and travel food. Stays good at room temperature for 4-6 hours. Not sushi — a completely different flavor profile.
- Korean15 min
Galbi (Korean Grilled Short Ribs)
LA-cut short ribs marinated overnight in Asian pear, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic, then grilled on high heat for 2-3 minutes per side until caramelized at the edges. The pear enzymes tenderize the beef in ways no other ingredient can.
- Korean2H
Bossam (Korean Boiled Pork Belly Wrap)
Whole pork belly simmered 90 minutes in doenjang, ginger, garlic, and aromatics until it slices without resistance. Served with fresh kimchi, ssamjang, and lettuce wraps. Korea's great slow feast dish.
- Korean35 min
Jjajangmyeon (Korean Black Bean Noodles)
Thick wheat noodles topped with a savory black bean sauce made from fried chunjang paste, pork belly, onion, and zucchini. The chunjang must be fried in oil first — this step removes the raw bitterness and is what makes the sauce rich and glossy.
- Korean1H
Bibimbap (Korean Mixed Rice Bowl)
Individually seasoned vegetables, marinated beef, a fried egg, and gochujang sauce over rice — mixed vigorously at the table. The key is not the ingredients but the prep work: every element cooked and seasoned separately so each component keeps its own identity until you mix.
- Korean20 min
Rabokki (Ramen + Tteokbokki)
The street food upgrade: spicy gochujang rice cakes cooked with instant ramen noodles in the same sauce. Rabokki takes everything that makes tteokbokki great — the chewy rice cakes, the sweet-spicy sauce — and adds noodles that absorb the sauce and become slippery and intensely flavored.
- Korean20 min
Doenjang Guk (Korean Fermented Soybean Soup)
The everyday Korean soup — anchovy broth base, fermented doenjang paste, tofu, zucchini, and scallions. This is what Koreans eat every morning. It takes 20 minutes, costs almost nothing, and is one of the most complete comfort foods in Korean cooking.
- Korean25 min
Soondubu Jjigae (Soft Tofu Stew — Seafood Version)
Silken soft tofu in a bright red gochugaru broth with shrimp, clams, and mushrooms, finished with a raw egg cracked in at the table. The gochugaru blooms in sesame oil first. The broth deepens from the seafood. The egg sets partially in the residual heat. This is Korean comfort food at its most complete.
- Korean2H15 min
Samgyetang (Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup)
A whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice, ginseng root, garlic, and red dates, simmered in clear broth for 2 hours. Each diner receives the whole chicken in its broth. Season at the table with sea salt. Korea's most restorative soup — eaten on the three hottest days of summer.
- Korean3H30 min
Galbitang (Korean Beef Short Rib Clear Soup)
Clear, pale-ivory broth, long-simmered beef short ribs, glass noodles, and an egg jidan garnish. Korea's most refined clear soup — completely different from the spicy stews most people associate with Korean cooking. The key is the two-step process: blood-soak and blanch before the real simmer begins.
- Korean40 min
Miyeok Guk (Korean Birthday Seaweed Soup)
The Korean soup eaten on birthdays and after childbirth — silky rehydrated dried seaweed in clear beef broth, finished with sesame oil. Completely different from the miso-soup use of wakame. The secret is stir-frying the seaweed in sesame oil before adding water. Mild, nourishing, quick once the seaweed is soaked.
- Korean30 min
Kimchi Jjigae (Korean Kimchi Stew)
The stew that requires old kimchi — not fresh. Over-ripe kimchi (3+ months fermented, very sour) transforms into deep complex flavor when cooked with pork belly, tofu, and gochujang. The rule: if your kimchi tastes good as a side dish, it's not yet at its jjigae peak. The sourer the better.
- Korean20 min
Pajeon (Korean Scallion Pancake)
Korea's savory scallion pancake — thick batter packed with whole scallion stalks, fried in generous oil. Traditionally eaten on rainy days with makgeolli rice wine. The technique: mix minimally (gluten = tough), use cold water, use enough oil, press firmly while frying. The vinegar-soy dipping sauce is not optional.
- Korean45 min
Mul Naengmyeon (Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles)
Korea's definitive summer cold noodle dish — thin, chewy buckwheat noodles in a cold, slightly sweet beef and radish broth. Served with cucumber, a hard-boiled egg, and pickled radish. The broth is everything: it must be cold enough that a thin layer of ice floats on top. The scissors come to the table to cut the long noodles — a Korean tradition.
- Korean20 min
Sundubu Jjigae (Korean Soft Tofu Stew)
Korea's spicy soft tofu stew — the version you can make in 20 minutes on a weeknight. Silken tofu in a gochugaru-seafood broth, finished with a raw egg at the table. Three rules: bloom the gochugaru in oil first (this is non-negotiable), don't stir the tofu after it goes in, crack the egg at the table into the still-boiling pot.
- Korean30 min
Kkakdugi (Korean Radish Cube Kimchi)
The other kimchi — made from Korean radish cut into 2-3cm cubes, fermented with gochugaru, garlic, and ginger. Crunchier than napa cabbage kimchi, slightly sweet from the radish, with a different fermentation character. The traditional accompaniment to seolleongtang ox bone soup. Ready to eat in 2 days, at peak flavor around 1-2 weeks. Easier to make than baechu kimchi.
- Korean15 min
Dubu Jorim (Korean Spicy Braised Tofu)
Korea's essential braised tofu banchan — firm tofu pan-fried until golden, then braised in a sauce of gochugaru, soy, sesame oil, and garlic until the sauce glazes the surface and soaks into the tofu. Spicy, savory, slightly sweet. Better than any tofu dish you've made before. Takes 15 minutes.
- Korean20 min
Tteokbokki (Korean Spicy Rice Cakes)
Korea's most popular street food — chewy rice cakes in a gochujang sauce that is equal parts sweet and spicy. The sauce is the technique: bloom the gochujang in anchovy broth, add the soaked rice cakes, and reduce until the sauce glazes everything. Fishcakes absorb the sauce. A boiled egg at the end. Ready in 20 minutes.
- Korean45 min
Bulgogi (Korean Marinated Beef)
Korea's most recognized beef dish — thin-sliced rib-eye in a marinade of soy, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and Asian pear. The pear enzyme tenderizes the beef before cooking. 30-minute marinade, 5-minute cook over high heat. The caramelized edges are where the flavor lives.
- Korean45 min
Japchae (Korean Glass Noodle Stir-Fry)
Korea's celebratory glass noodle dish — sweet potato starch noodles (*dangmyeon*) stir-fried with seasoned vegetables and beef, each component cooked separately and then combined. The noodles must be soaked correctly, the vegetables each cooked to retain their own character, and the soy-sugar-sesame sauce tossed through everything at the end. Traditionally served at holidays; now a standard banchan and party dish.
- Korean10 min
Kongnamul (Korean Seasoned Bean Sprouts)
The most fundamental Korean banchan. Blanched soybean sprouts seasoned with sesame oil, scallion, and garlic — ready in 10 minutes and keeps all week. The backbone of everyday Korean home cooking and the thing that makes a bowl of bibimbap taste like bibimbap.
- Korean8 min
Sigeumchi Namul (Korean Sesame Spinach)
Blanched spinach seasoned with sesame oil, garlic, and soy sauce. Takes 8 minutes. The second of the three classic Korean namul banchan (with kongnamul and gosari). Once you have this in the refrigerator, every bowl of rice is better.
- Korean30 min
Gamja Jorim (Korean Braised Potatoes)
Small potatoes braised in a sweet-salty soy glaze until sticky, lacquered, and deeply caramelized. The most versatile Korean banchan — it keeps a week, goes with everything, and satisfies the sweet-savory craving that makes Korean food so addictive.
- Korean25 min
Doenjang Jjigae (Korean Fermented Soybean Paste Stew)
The stew that defines Korean home cooking. Doenjang (fermented soybean paste), tofu, zucchini, mushrooms, and anchovy broth — simmered until the paste has fully bloomed into the broth. Better the next morning than the night before. The Korean equivalent of the dish that every grandmother made.
- Korean10 min
Myeolchi Jorim (Korean Glazed Dried Anchovies)
Small dried anchovies braised in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and chili until they're lacquered in a sticky-sweet glaze. The essential Korean banchan that provides salty crunch and the flavor that belongs on every rice bowl. Makes in 10 minutes and keeps all week.
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