Korean cooking ingredients

If you're looking for a place to shop for Korean ingredients, try my Korean grocery store directory.

Fermented (9 ingredients)

Korean cuisine has a long history of using fermented ingredients as a way to enhance, season, and preserve dishes.

Noodles & Rice Cakes (8 ingredients)

Korean noodles and rice cakes are made from some form of dough, but the cakes are not baked like you might expect. When used in other dishes, rice cakes can also be called "rice noodles."

Pastes (3 ingredients)

Pastes are much thicker than sauces, and are used heavily in Korean cooking.

Grains (7 ingredients)

Korean cuisine has relied on rice for thousands of years, but also makes extensive use of barley and other cereals.

Also: Frozen short grain rice flour | Short grain rice | Sweet rice | Sweet rice flour | See all Grains

Milled (16 ingredients)

Milled ingredients have been ground, crushed, soaked, pulverized, liquified or somehow processed in a mill. Most Korean neighborhoods have a local mill where these tasks can be easily carried out and these ingredients are very common in Korean cooking.

Fruits & Vegetables (35 ingredients)

Vegetables are eaten at every Korean meal, and fruits are used as natural sweeteners and marinades.

Mountain Vegetables (5 ingredients)

Korea is a mountainous country, and has a long history of foraging herbs, plants, and vegetables that traditionally grow naturally in the mountains.

Also: Mugwort | Mugwort powder | See all Mountain Vegetables

Mushrooms (5 ingredients)

Koreans love mushrooms, which are often foraged in the wild and can be used as a meat substitute in many Korean dishes.

Also: White mushrooms | Wood ear mushrooms | See all Mushrooms

Radishes (6 ingredients)

Many Korean dishes feature edible root vegetables, which are easy to grow in almost any climate.

Also: Radish sprouts | Yellow pickled radish | Young summer radish | See all Radishes

Roots (3 ingredients)

The part of a plant that's underground, including rhizomes.

Meats & Bones (5 ingredients)

Korean cuisine uses meat in moderation, and always with vegetables.

Also: Ox bones | Pork belly | See all Meats & Bones

Seafoods (21 ingredients)

Korea is a peninsula and surrounded by water, so Korean cuisine uses a lot of seafood: fish, cephalopods, shellfish, and sea vegetables.

Seasonings & Condiments (7 ingredients)

Seasonings improve flavour by adding salt, and condiments are used to complement dishes. Both can be added at the table by the diner, or used in cooking by the chef.