Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Korean Cooking Essentials: 15 Ingredients for Easy Homemade Korean Food
15
items Want to make Korean food at home but don't know where to start? These 15 pantry staples cover the sauces, seasonings, and shortcuts you'll reach for again and again—from bibimbap and bulgogi to tteokbokki, Korean fried rice, noodles, and comforting s...
Sections
4
The Korean Flavors You Need to Know
The Korean Pantry Foundation
Korean Food Without the Extra Work
Easy Korean Meal Builders
The Korean Flavors You Need to Know
If you're completely new to Korean cooking, start here. These are the ingredients that give Korean dishes their distinctive spicy, savory, nutty, and fermented flavors.
The Korean pantry staple you'll probably have the most fun with. This sweet, spicy, fermented chili paste is the base for tteokbokki, sauces, marinades, bibimbap, and so many quick Korean-inspired meals.
CJ Haechandle Hot Pepper Paste Gochujang
A few drops can change the whole dish. Drizzle it over rice, bibimbap, noodles, vegetables, dumplings, or use it in marinades whenever you want that unmistakable nutty Korean flavor.
OTOKI 100% Pure Roasted Korean Sesame Oil
Not your everyday chili flakes. Gochugaru brings a fruity, slightly smoky heat to kimchi, stews, sauces, marinades, and other Korean dishes without simply making everything taste painfully spicy.
Taekyung Korean Gochugaru Chili Powder
The sauce that makes a simple meal feel instantly more exciting. Use it as a dip for grilled meat and vegetables, spread it into lettuce wraps, or add a little to rice bowls and noodles.
Premium Korean Ssamjang Soybean Paste Sauce
The Korean Pantry Foundation
These are the less flashy ingredients you'll keep coming back to. You don't need to buy everything on day one—pick the ones that match the Korean dishes you actually want to cook.
Your everyday salty umami base for Korean cooking. Use it for marinades, stir-fries, rice bowls, soups, and sauces when you need depth without adding another complicated ingredient.
Sempio Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce
Think of it as the savory, fermented side of Korean cooking. Use it for doenjang-jjigae, soups, marinades, dipping sauces, and vegetables when you want a deeper flavor than ordinary soy sauce can provide.
CJ Haechandle Soybean Paste, Korean Doenjang
Cheap, easy to store, and surprisingly versatile. Sprinkle them over rice, noodles, vegetables, meat, salads, and Korean side dishes for extra nuttiness and texture.
J-Basket Premium Non-GMO White Roasted Sesame Seeds
Keep this around for quick sauces, pickled vegetables, dipping sauces, and refreshing side dishes. It's especially handy when a Korean recipe needs a little acidity to balance salty or spicy flavors.
Chung Jung One O'Food Premium Korean Vinegar
Korean Food Without the Extra Work
These are the ingredients I'd look for when I want Korean food without spending half the evening making everything from scratch. Perfect for quick meals, late-night cravings, and beginners.
The ingredient that turns a few pantry staples into tteokbokki. Pair these chewy rice cakes with gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, and a little sweetness for one of Korea's most recognizable comfort foods.
Unha's Korean Tteokbokki Garaetteok Rice Cake
Keep a few packs for the inevitable Korean ramen craving. Upgrade them with an egg, scallions, sesame oil, kimchi, seaweed, or whatever leftovers you have in the fridge.
Nongshim Shin Ramyun Noodles
The shortcut for when you want bulgogi without building the marinade from scratch. Use it for beef, chicken, pork, mushrooms, or even tofu, then serve with rice and vegetables for an easy dinner.
Bibigo Original Korean BBQ Marinade & Sauce
A convenient shortcut for adding savory depth to Korean soups, stews, noodles, and other dishes. Great to have around when you want more flavor without making stock from scratch.
DASIDA SEOGOGI
Easy Korean Meal Builders
Once you have the sauces and seasonings, these are the ingredients that can turn simple rice, noodles, and leftovers into an actual Korean-style meal. They're easy to keep around and useful beyond just one recipe.
The easiest side dish on this list. Eat it with rice, crumble it over bowls and noodles, or keep individual packs around for a quick salty snack.
KIMNORI Seasoned Seaweed Snacks Sheets
The noodles behind japchae. These chewy sweet potato glass noodles are perfect for japchae, stir-fries, noodle bowls, and soups when you want something more interesting than regular noodles.
Sweet Potato Glass Noodles, Japchae Noodles
An easy way to turn random vegetables into something delicious. Mix with water, add scallions or whatever vegetables you have, and pan-fry until crispy for a quick Korean-style savory pancake.
Pancake Mix, Korean Style