Hottest New Cuisine is Sizzling, Spicy Korean Food

Asia is not just the largest and most populous continent — it’s also the birthplace of some of the world’s favorite cuisines. While Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indian foods have all received plenty of notice over the years, the next culinary superstar on the world stage is spicy and delicious Korean food. It’s a trend that’s been gaining momentum thanks to the efforts of two rock-star chefs: On the West Coast, there’s Korean-American chef Roy Choi, the man whose fleet of gourmet Korean taco trucks is often cited as the first spark in the current food truck wildfire. On the East Coast, there’s Korean-American David Chang, the chef behind the wildly popular Momofuku restaurant group.

Korean Chicken Tacos | Photo by Meredith

Roy Choi serves up Korean tacos from his Kogi Korean BBQ trucks. If you’d like your own fun and spicy mashup of two great cuisines, try Korean Fusion Chicken Burritos.

Spicy Superstar: Gochujang

Korean food hits all the right notes for the way we eat today, including some food trends that seem unstoppable right about now. We’re dishing up more fermented foods than ever, and a mainstay of Korean food is Kimchi, a fermented side dish traditionally made with Napa cabbage, radish, scallion, garlic, and the red chili pepper flakes known as gochugaru.

Spicy Cabbage Kimchi | Photo by Meredith

The mixture is fermented, a process that releases a host of friendly probotics into every serving. Besides that funky ferment health halo, Korean food has plenty of what we can’t seem to get enough of these days: spice. As the sriracha phenomenon continues, Korean food is stepping forward with a spicy player of its own — gochujang. It’s a fermented paste made from red chilis, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt.

Gochujang | Photo by Meredith

Gochujang carries a serious punch and adds flavor and heat to a number of Korean dishes. These recipes all include gochujang:

• Kimchi Fried Rice
• Tak Toritang (Spicy Chicken and Potato)
• Korean Spicy Marinated Pork (Dae Ji Bool Gogi)

On the Menu

If you’re sitting down for the first time at a Korean restaurant, here are some main dishes you’ll see on the menu. Many of them might reflect the way you already enjoy eating.

If you love meat: Try Bulgogi, thinly sliced beef marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, sugar, scallions, and black pepper. Translated as “fire meat,” it’s traditionally cooked on a grill, which some restaurants offer in a tabletop version.

Beef Bulgogi | Photo by Meredith

A staple of Korean restaurants, Korean BBQ Short Ribs (Kalbi) are easy to make them at home. Simply marinate the Korean-style short ribs in a tangy sauce of brown sugar, garlic, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Then grill them to a beautiful mahogany.

 
If you love grain bowls: Try Bibimbap, which means “mixed rice.” It’s rice topped with veggies like spinach, mushrooms, carrots, and bean sprouts. Finished with a spoonful of spicy gochujang, it’s topped with meat or egg.

Bibimbap | Photo by Allrecipes

If you love hearty soups and stews: Look for Korean Soups (Guk) and Stews (Tang) on the menu. Popular choices include tteokguk, the rice cake soup eaten for good luck during the Korean New Year, and Korean Soft Tofu Stew (Soon Du Bu Jigae).

Korean Soft Tofu Stew | Photo by Hungry Gopher

Stock Your Pantry

It’s natural to be a bit intimidated when tackling a new cuisine. But remember, pizza and tacos were once considered to be exotic ethnic foods, and now they’re everyday staples. With a little practice and some help from AllRecipes, you can create savory, spicy, and delicious Korean dishes right in your own kitchen.

In addition to buying a tub of gochujang and a jar of kimchi, you’ll want to stock your pantry with red chili powder, rice wine, sea salt, sesame oil, sesame seeds, short grain white rice, and soy sauce. A trip through the produce department for fresh garlic, ginger, Napa cabbage, and scallions should help you get started with most basic recipes.

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Check out our complete collection of Korean Recipes, complete with ratings, reviews and cooking tips here.

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