Korean Ingredients

A wide range of ingredients are used in Korean food, including grains, legumes, vegetables, meats, fish and seafood, fruits and nuts, herbs, lichens, mushrooms, and more.

Soy sauce, gochujang (fermented red pepper paste), and doenjang (fermented soy bean paste) are the three basic condiments used in Korean cuisine. Fish sauce, shrimp paste, and sesame flavoring oil are also essential.

In addition to garlic, ginger, and gochugaru (sun dried and ground red chili peppers), black pepper, salt, and other herbs also play an important role.

Besides simple cooked rice, rice derivatives such as rice wine, rice flour, rice cakes, and noodles are widely used in Korea.

Sprouts from soy beans and mung beans are used in a variety of dishes, and soy beans are used to make soy sauce, tofu, and doenjang (fermented bean paste), all of which are mainstay ingredients in Korean cooking.

There are so many ingredients that are used in Korean cooking, some of which have no substitute or good alternative outside of Korea, that this list cannot be completely comprehensive, but it is also not limited to an "Essential 15" or "Must Have 30" type of list.

This section provides a list of some Korean food ingredients as well as their nutritional values. These ingredients can be used in a wide variety of Korean dishes.

Article by Gil "hannaone"
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