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
Easy Hotteok (Korean Sweet Pancake)
Hotteok is a pan-fried Korean sweet pancake filled with gooey cinnamon and brown sugar syrup. It's a beloved Korean street food sweet. This easy recipe using a few basic ingredients brings you the classic taste.
Classic Tteokbokki: 20-Minute Korean Spicy Rice Cakes
Make classic Tteokbokki in 20 minutes with this easy Korean spicy rice cake recipe! Perfect for all skill levels, and savor authentic street food flavors at home.
Make juicy Mandu (Korean dumplings) from scratch with this step-by-step recipe. Filled with pork, cabbage, chives, and glass noodles using either store-bought or homemade dumpling wrappers. Recipe makes 40 large dumplings.
Korean street toast is a popular breakfast sandwich, made with egg, vegetables, ham, ketchup, mayo, and cheese on buttery toasted bread. The unique combination of condiments creates a delicious sweet and salty taste.
Dakgangjeong is a Korean dish made of crispy, bite-sized pieces of boneless chicken thigh that are coated in a sweet and spicy sauce. It is often served as a snack or appetizer.
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 seaweed rice roll that consists of rice, vegetables, and seaweed. This recipe provides an easy way to make the flavorful Korean rice dish, perfect for any quick meal or outdoor event. Vegetarian adaptable.
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.
Korean twisted donut (kkwabaegi) is a traditional Korean fried dough pastry. They are made by twisting the dough before deep-frying, resulting in a crispy exterior and a soft, fluffy, and chewy interior. Coat with cinnamon sugar.
Rose tteokbokki is a Korean fusion dish that blends chewy rice cakes with a creamy, mildly spicy rose sauce made with gochujang. This recipe makes a satisfying snack or quick meal that's ready in under 20 minutes.
This pan roasted Korean sweet potatoes recipe replicates the subtle char on the skin and the caramelization that you would find gun-goguma from Korean street food truck.
Pajeon Recipe: Crispy Korean Seafood Scallion Pancake
Create authentic Pajeon, Korean seafood scallion pancake, at home. Follow this recipe and detailed guide for a perfectly crispy texture and explore the savory flavors of Korean cuisine!
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.
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.
