20 Korean Soup Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular soup in Korea? ›

What is Kimchi Soup Kimchi soup (kimchi guk, 김치국) is a staple Korean soup made with kimchi. The name of kimchi soup can vary based on other ingredients you put in the soup. Today's kimchi soup recipe includes canned tuna, making this soup's name tuna kimchi soup (chamchi …

Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup, or Samgyetang, is a hearty and nourishing soup cherished for centuries for its health-promoting properties. This comforting dish typically consists of a whole young chicken filled with glutinous rice, ginseng, garlic, and jujube and then boiled to perfection.

Soups in Korea can be largely categorised into four: guk, tang, jjigae and jeongol. These are based on the different methods in which they are prepared, how they are served and eaten at the table.

Samgyetang

This hot stew made with chicken and ginseng is a popular dish in Korea and is traditionally eaten when a person is sick with a cold or flu. This is because of the chicken, which is often said to be 'hot' food, and the ginseng, which supposedly helps to fight off the sickness and make you feel better.

Soups and stews: Koreans often enjoy soups and stews for breakfast. This might include haejangguk, considered to be a hangover cure, which consists of pork, cabbage, coagulated ox blood, and vegetables in beef broth, or galbitang, which is a thick soup made from short ribs.

The love of soups and broth is fundamental to Korean culture. In Korea, soups mark life milestones and holidays. When babies are born, new mothers replenish themselves with nourishing miyeokguk, or seaweed soup, which is also taken to celebrate birthdays.

Kimchi. A staple in Korean cuisine, Kimchi is a dish made of fermented vegetables, primarily cabbage and radishes, seasoned with various spices. Rich in probiotics, it promotes a healthy gut, leading to radiant skin. Its antioxidants and vitamins further enhance skin health.

Gukbap (Korean: 국밥; lit. soup rice) is a Korean dish made by putting cooked rice into hot soup or boiling rice in soup. It is commonly served in a ttukbaegi. Whereas soup and rice is generally eaten separately in Korea, in gukbap, rice is expected to be mixed into the soup.

What does Korean says before eating? ›

What to say when eating in Korean? Before eating, you can say "잘 먹겠습니다" (jal meokgesseumnida), which means "I will eat well." This phrase shows appreciation for the food and the person who prepared it. While eating, it's polite to express enjoyment, so you might say "맛있어요" (masisseoyo), meaning "it's delicious."

Kimchi is often hailed as the national dish of Korea and is an integral part of Korean meals. This fermented vegetable dish, most commonly made with napa cabbage and Korean radishes, is seasoned with a mixture of spices, including chili pepper, garlic, ginger, and more.

Yuzu jelly tea

Not only is this tea tangy, comforting and refreshing but in Korea, it's believed to relieve the symptoms of colds and flu.

Soft tofu stew

It can also be made with meat. Due to its high nutritional value and the presence of tofu, it is said to improve digestive health.

Rice and banchan are typically served with a soup or stew alongside. Seoyoung notes that the main thing to be aware of is where you place your soup bowl in relation to your rice bowl.

Succulent, juicy beef, bulgogi is one of the most popular Korean dishes in the world. The marinated beef is usually grilled with onions and garlic (...that mouth-watering aroma!). You then can eat the beef with ssamjang (spicy paste) wrapped in lettuce.

Kimchi-jjigae 김치찌개

Kimchi stew is one of the most-loved of all the stews in Korean cuisine. It's a warm, hearty, spicy, savory, delicious dish that pretty much everyone loves. As long as they can handle spicy food, I never met a person who didn't like kimchi-jjigae.

Soups are a common part of any Korean meal. Unlike other cultures, in Korean culture, soup is served as part of the main course rather than at the beginning or the end of the meal, as an accompaniment to rice along with other banchan.

Japchae or chap chae is one of the most popular noodle dishes in Korea and seems to be the one that newbies to Korean food accept readily. The foundation of the dish is a mixture of noodles, soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil.