Top 26+ Korean Dishes Everyone Needs To Try Once

Soondubu Jjigae

Served sizzling and a perfect match for a winter night, soondubu jjigae plays almost like the greatest hits of our favorite Korean staples; kimchi, soft tofu, gochujang, scallions, and of course a freshly cracked egg all go into one of the most emblematic Korean dishes of all time.

At once hearty and uncomplicated, find a clay pot of soondubu jjigae during the winter months to help wash away the chill and pair it with a piping pot of Korean barley tea.

Hodukk

A lesser-known treat from the seemingly endless catalog of Korean goodies is a sweet street food called hodduk. Filled with sugary treats like honey, cinnamon spread, sugared red bean paste, and so on, hodukks are handheld, single-serving pancakes structured similarly to a pupusa; dough encases the filling and is crisped in a frying pan on either side.

While frozen versions can be found at most Korean groceries, hunting down a fresh, handmade hodduk is worth the search.

Cheesy Corn

A Korean bar crawl could hardly be called complete without an ooey, gooey plate of cheesy corn. Found mostly at Korean bars and snack spots (or Pochas), cheesy corn is the late-night craving you didn't know you had.

Featuring corn (more than likely canned) and easy-to-melt mozzarella cheese, the broiled corn dish finds a happy medium between mozzarella sticks and Mexican elotes; the only drawback to the Koreantown classic is resisting spooning a piping hot bite across your lips and burning the top of your mouth — a risk we'd happily take again any day.

Japchae Noodles

Chances are you've encountered japchae noodles in the past, but you probably didn't know that the noodles' slick, slightly see-through surface is made from sweet potato starch.

The glassy noodles found in almost every Korean restaurant are tossed in sesame oil and mixed with cooked vegetables like mushrooms, carrot slivers, and spinach. Egg ribbons and little chunks of beef often finish japchae, and the dish is one of the simplest to assemble yourself at home.

Bulgogi

Another Korean dish common to Westerners is the country's equivalent to stir-fried beef or teriyaki, bulgogi, literally meaning "fire meat." This crowd-pleasing, sweet marinated sliced beef plate always contains soy sauce, something sweet (sugar, honey, or even shredded apples), sesame oil, onions, and garlic.

A perfect dish for anyone new to Korean food who might be overwhelmed with the cuisine's kaleidoscope of options, bulgogi tastes familiar but still boasts the cuisine's cornerstones.

Buldak Chicken

Not for the faint of heart, buldak chicken is one of those "it's-so-crazy-it-just-might-work" dishes we can barely wrap our head around no matter how many times we take down a pan of buldak chicken.

The super spicy chicken is topped with a healthy amount of cheese (usually mozzarella) and then capped off with chewy, dduk (or tteok) rice cake noodles before spending time under the broiler. The final dish is somewhere between a casserole macaroni and cheese and the hottest plate of wings you've had in a while.

Grilled Or Broiled Salted Mackerel

One of Korea's most elegant dishes, godeungeo gui, or salted cooked mackerel, is a dish that steps away from the sweet, saucy dishes of the Korean table and instead leans on a simple, perfectly cooked piece of mackerel.

The flaky, pleasurably oily white fish is lightly seasoned, heavily salted, and either grilled, pan-fried, or broiled until the skin bubbles and creates a yummy char. Served with lemons and a simple soy sauce, godeungeo gui is a healthy-ish dish that will surely satisfy you.

Sundae

Maybe the most challenging of all the Korean foods on this list to Western tastes, sundae, or Korean blood sausage showcases beef or pork (sometimes both) blood into a sausage casing along with garlic, seasoning, and other aromatics.

A clever way to repurpose what could've been animal scraps, sundae, like chicken liver mousse, transforms offal into a dish synonymous with Korean street food. We especially like our sundae deep-fried into little fatty coins, but the most widespread version of the dish is simply boiled and sliced.

Dduk Guk

We love a meal intertwined with celebrating an annual holiday; thousands of times more enjoyable than a Thanksgiving turkey and so much healthier than Easter deviled eggs is Korea's signature dish meant to commemorate the lunar new year.

A sign of good luck, this comforting soup features coin-shaped dduk rice cakes, daikon radish, and braised beef (usually brisket). Topped with garnishes like egg ribbons, scallions, red pepper threads, and sesame seeds, dduk guk is the reined-in soup we look forward to every winter.

Bibimbap

For anyone who finds themselves eating alone on their lunch break, a dazzling, colorful bibimbap is the perfect pick-me-up between working hours.

Built on a foundation of steamed rice, bibimbap features segmented sections of meat, kimchi, and fresh veggies (often shredded carrots, sprouts, and mushrooms) and is topped with a sunny-side egg, spicy sauce, sesame seeds, and scallions. For extra oomph, try the crunchy-bottomed dolsot version, wherein the rice inside a clay pot gets cooked, so the bottom layer of the rice is crispy and toothsome.

Kalguksu

Much like America's reliance on chicken noodle soup when the common cold rolls around, Korea's kalguksu (literally meaning "knife-cut noodle") can ease the sniffles with each warming bite.

Made with both seafood or chicken, beef, or pork, kalguksu takes simple gluten-rich noodles, cuts them into lengthy strips, and boils them in a savory broth. Like many Korean dishes, the soup receives garnishes like scrambled eggs sliced into ribbons, scallions (green onions), kimchi, and chili flakes.

Gyeran Mari

Gyeran Mari, one of the hardest-to-nail Korean snacks, requires a gentle hand and patience to perfect a delicately rolled omelet. The striking little egg slices are served as exquisite little bites, as opposed to the gigantic American omelet, along with a larger meal.

Dotted with finely chopped vegetables and/or seaweed sheets, gyeran mari requires few ingredients but a well-practiced technique of folding the cooking egg in on itself while still inside the heated pan.

Mandu

A Korean feast would be incomplete without the inclusion of a plate of dumplings or mandu. Like Japan's gyoza or China's potstickers, Korean mandu also folds a meaty farce mixture inside a tender dumpling skin.

Served pan-fried, boiled, or steamed, a perfect mandu's dumping skin should still be slightly toothsome but mostly slick, and the meaty interior should be lusciously juicy and well-seasoned. Served with a vinegary soy sauce dip, you can make dozens of dumplings ahead of time and store the goodies inside your freezer for when your next mandu craving strikes.

Banchan

Though not exactly a specific dish, Korea's banchan represents our favorite element of the country's dining culture. If you've ever treated yourself to a full-fledged Korean dinner, you know that upon ordering, diners are often brought several tiny plates of pre-meal snacks.

While kimchi technically counts as a banchan, its omnipresence sets it apart from the kaleidoscope of other Korean small plates. Literally translating to "side dish," Korean banchan can be comprised of fluffed egg, corn syrup-coated boiled potatoes, an acorn jelly molded like Jell-o, blanched spinach rehydrated with soy sauce, seasoned fish cake, and countless other ingredients.