Korean street food is a cultural icon around the world with their eye-catching snacks. From savory to sweet, these popular recipes will help you create delicious Korean street food easily at home reminiscing the flavor from the Korean street food vendors.
Korean street food has brought to the world a trendy sensation recently along with other Korean cultural influences; k-pop, k-drama, k-movie, k-beauty, and k-fashion.
How Korean street food began
Street food is an important part of Korean people’s life. It started during the Korean war in the 50s, to provide affordable meals to people in a lower standard. Back then, the menus had limited options. People commonly saw dishes such as tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), twisted donut, and hotteok.
However, over the time the popularity of street food has extended to all classes of Koreans regardless of their economical status. The number of street venders have increased and even retail outlets specializing the street food had emerged–Korean corn dog and Korean street toast as an example.
These days, street food has become an important part of Korean food culture. You can find popular Korean street foods not only on the major streets in the cities, many markets, school districts, and town events will host street food fairs and festivals in all parts of south Korea around the year.
It’s entertaining to watch street food vendor’s hands moving very fast making their signature dish right in front of their customers. New menus are constantly being developed and draw attention from people to try out.
Here are 18+ popular Korean street food recipes that you already have tried before when you visited Korea, or never had but intriguing you to try out.
All of these street food recipes are easy to recreate at home and will bring the nostalgia of Korean experience you had or want to have.
Popular Korean Street Food Recipes
1
Hotteok (Korean Sweet Pancakes)
Hotteok (Korean sweet pancakes) are crispy outside with a chewy dough and a molten cinnamon-sugar filling. This authentic street-food favorite is simple to make at home and perfect for cold days.
This classic tteokbokki is made the real Korean way — chewy rice cakes simmered in a spicy-sweet gochujang sauce with fish cakes, leeks, and a hint of umami from savory stock. Bold, comforting, and ready in under 30 minutes.
Korean corn dog (or Korean hotdog) is a trendy street food filled with cheese and sausage, and coated in french fries and crispy panko breadcrumbs. This recipe lets you easily recreate the best version at home.
Juicy dakkochi (Korean chicken skewers) brushed with a glossy soy-garlic glaze and cooked on the stovetop in just 30 minutes. Easy, delicious street-food flavor at home!
Korean street toast is made with egg, vegetables, ham, and cheese layered between buttery toasted bread. The unique blend of condiments delivers a delicious sweet and savory flavor.
Make dakgangjeong, Korea’s beloved crispy chicken bites, right at home! These bite-sized Korean fried chicken nuggets are double-fried for extra crunch and coated in a glossy, sweet-spicy gochujang glaze. They’re quick to make (ready in under an hour) and perfect for weeknight dinners, parties, or game-day snacks.
Crispy, golden bungeoppang made with a simple stovetop mold. These Korean fish-shaped pastries are filled with sweet red bean, custard, or chocolate and cook in minutes for a cozy street-food treat at home.
Korean cream cheese garlic bread: the ultimate blend of sweet cream cheese, garlic butter, and melted cheese on store-bought rolls. Crispy outside, creamy inside.
Kimbap (or Gimbap) is a traditional Korean rice roll made with seasoned rice, vegetables, and optional meat. This classic recipe is easy to customize and perfect for quick meals, parties, or picnics.
Make Korean Dalgona candy in just 5 minutes with this easy recipe using sugar and baking soda. Enjoy the fun and traditional method of making it in a soup ladle.
Soft, chewy, and lightly crisp, these Korean twisted donuts (kkwabaegi) are a beloved street snack. My tested dough blend gives that perfect bouncy texture with a hint of sweetness — just like the ones from Korean bakeries.
This rose tteokbokki recipe combines chewy rice cakes with a silky gochujang cream sauce. Inspired by Korean bunsik shops, it’s creamy, mildly spicy, and perfect for sharing.
Korean strawberry milk is a refreshing and naturally sweet drink made with fresh strawberry syrup and creamy milk. This easy homemade recipe comes together in minutes—no artificial flavors, just real fruit!
Roasted Korean sweet potatoes (gun goguma) are easy to make with this pan-roasting method. Get that perfect charred skin and caramelization, just like the ones from Korean street food vendors.
Gimmari are crispy Korean fried seaweed rolls and a common Korean street food. Seasoned glass noodles are wrapped in seaweed, and deep-fried to golden crisp.
These Rice cake skewers (Ttoek-kkochi) are another variation of popular Korean street food. The rice cakes are pan-fried on skewers and glazed with a delicious sauce made with gochujang.
Yachae Twigim (Korean vegetable tempura) is a crispy winter snack made with root vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and onions. Coated in Korean frying mix (twigim garu) and fried to golden perfection, it’s a delicious way to enjoy winter veggies!
Korean rice donuts made with sweet potato and rice flour! These sweet potato rice donuts are soft and chewy, and coated with cinnamon sugar. Makes 3 dozens
Bindaetteok (Korean mung bean pancakes) are made with ground pork, mung bean puree, mung bean sprouts, and kimchi. There's no added flour in the recipe, which makes this savory snack a wonderful gluten-free dish!
Beat eggs in a large mixing bowl and add the shredded cabbage, carrot, green onion, and a pinch of salt; mix well.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter on a skillet over medium low heat. Spoon in a portion of egg and vegetable mixture, and spread it around to about the size of your sandwich bread. (You can make two egg pieces at a time)
Cook the egg omelette 2-3 minutes on one side and flip. Cook until golden brown. Transfer the omelette to a plate and repeat the next batch.
Heat ham slices briefly, about 30-60 seconds; set aside.
Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and toast the sandwich bread until golden and crisp.
To assemble the toast
Put a piece of egg omelet on the toast. Sprinkle about 2 teaspoon of sugar (or however much you desire), and squirt some ketchup on top. Place a slice of ham and a cheese on top and top with the another toasted bread.
If you like your toast crunchier, add shredded cabbage between the layers of the condiments and ham.
