Stuffed with sweet cream cheese and dunked in a custardy butter sauce, Korean Cream Cheese Garlic Bread is more decadent than the original.

Leave it to the Korean street food scene to dream up this creation.  This bread is garlicky and buttery like you’d expect from a normal garlic bread.  But it’s also sweet and cheesy.  It’s crunchy on the outside and soft and custardy on the inside.  It’s basically a cross between traditional garlic bread and a sweet cheese danish. 

The sweet, buttery, garlicky flavors all work so well together, that it’s no wonder that this bread has taken the internet by storm. 

What is Korean cream cheese garlic bread?

Korean cream cheese garlic bread is a version of garlic bread that’s stuffed with a sweet cream cheese filling, dunked in a custard of butter, half and half and garlic, and then baked. 

The bread has become a popular street food item in Korea, and has started to trend on the internet globally as well.

How is Korean cream cheese garlic bread different from regular garlic bread?

There are two main differences between the Korean version and the original. 

The first and most obvious difference is that the Korean version is filled with a sweet cream cheese. 

The second difference is in the type of butter used.  Regular garlic bread uses a mixture of butter, garlic, and some Italian spices like oregano or parsley. 

The Korean version uses a butter sauce that more closely resembles a custard.  This mixture contains butter and garlic in addition to eggs, half and half, and sugar.  The mixture is gently cooked over the stove to thicken it into a custard. 

Because of the cream cheese filling and the sweet custardy butter, the Korean version is richer and more decadent than regular garlic bread. 

Ingredients for Korean cream cheese garlic bread

Bread.  This recipe uses two premade, white bread rolls.  Each roll is about 6 inches in diameter and 3 inches tall.  Sure, you could bake your own bread.  But using premade rolls gets you to your garlicky, buttery, cheesy goal quicker.

Cream cheese filling

Cream cheese, sugar, half and half.  Whisk cream cheese with sugar and half and half to make a sweet filling for the bread.  This recipe uses three tablespoons of sugar to six ounces of cream cheese, resulting in a truly sweet filling.

Butter sauce

Butter.  A full stick of butter (½ cup) is melted down as the base of the sauce to dunk your bread in.  Healthy, this recipe is not.  But it sure tastes great.

Garlic.  Two full tablespoons of minced garlic goes into the butter sauce, making sure that this bread has a strong enough garlic flavor.

Half and half.  Dairy is mixed with the butter to create a velvety sauce.

Egg.  The egg is a key ingredient to this recipe because it gives the sauce its custardy texture.  By gently cooking the egg with the other ingredients, the sauce will thicken up and start to get the texture of a loose custard.

Parsley.  The parsley gives the bread a bit of subtle fresh flavor and some color.  Since it’s so subtle, feel free to skip it.

Sugar.  Sugar gives the sauce a sweetness which contrasts so well against the butter and garlic.

For topping

Parmesan cheese.  Shave an ounce of parmesan cheese on top of the bread before baking it to add some umami and to give it a nice crunch on top.

How to make Korean cream cheese garlic bread

To make this recipe, you’ll stuff the bread with a sweet cream cheese filling, dunk it in a butter sauce, and then bake it.

Make the cream cheese filling

Let the cream cheese soften to room temperature.  You can also microwave it for 10-20 seconds to speed up the process.  Once softened, whisk the cream cheese with the sugar and half and half until it’s smooth and no lumps remain.

Slice the bread

First you’ll slice the bread so that you can fill it with the cream cheese filling.  Make four slices about two-thirds of the way through the bread, resulting in eight pieces or sections.  The most important part of this step is to not cut all the way through the bread.  Just cut partly through it.

Stuff the bread

Now that you’ve sliced the bread, you’ll stuff it with the cream cheese filling.  First add the cream cheese to a pastry bag or to a ziploc bag.  If using a ziploc bag, cut off the corner of the bag.

Now pipe the cream cheese directly into each cut you made.  And then pipe more cheese directly into the center of the bread.

Make the butter sauce

You’ll be gently cooking the sauce in a bowl that’s sitting over a pot of boiling water, using a method that’s called a double boiler.  I know, I know.  It sounds challenging and unnecessary, but it’s actually really easy.  It’s also needed to get the butter sauce to the right consistency since it gently cooks the egg and fully incorporates it into the sauce without scrambling it.

To cook the sauce, put two to three inches of water in a large pot and bring it to a simmer on your stovetop.  

Now place a heatproof metal or glass bowl directly on top of the pot.  

While the water’s still simmering, add all of the sauce ingredients to the bowl.  Now cook them, stirring constantly, for about five minutes until all the butter is melted and the sauce thickens.  Remove the bowl from the stove.  

Dunk the bread and top with cheese

Now dunk the bread directly into the sauce.  Use a spoon to pour the sauce all over every surface of the bread.  Try to get the sauce inside all of the cuts you’ve made by repeatedly spooning butter on top of the bread.

Place the sauced bread on a parchment-lined sheet tray.  Shave an ounce of parmesan on top of the bread (half an ounce per loaf).

Bake

Now bake the bread at 400° for 15-18 minutes.  Rotate the tray halfway through baking to ensure even browning.

Tips for making Korean cream cheese garlic bread

Slicing the bread correctly and gently cooking the sauce are key.

1. Don’t cut all the way through the bread

When you make slices in the bread, make sure that you don’t cut all the way through.  Make four even slices in your bread that go two-thirds through the bread.

2. Don’t skip the double boil method for making the sauce 

Double boiling is a method of cooking that stresses heating the ingredients gently.  It’s used for sauces like hollandaise, for melting chocolate, and to create custard.    

To double boil something, bring water in a pot to a gentle simmer.  Then place a heatproof bowl on top of that pot, without touching the water.  Add the ingredients to the top bowl and stir.  

The steam from the simmering water will come into contact with the top bowl and gently cook your ingredients.  This guide gives more information on how easy it is to double boil.

Double boiling can seem intimidating or like it’s not worth the effort.  When I developed this recipe I considered cooking the sauce directly on the stovetop, or even microwaving it, to make the recipe easier and more accessible.

But in the end I chose the double boil method because I really wanted the sauce to achieve a true custardy texture.  

Double boiling is important for the custardy texture because you do not want to overheat the egg.  Cooking the egg too quickly could overheat the yolk and break the emulsion that needs to happen for this sauce.

Once you’ve tried double boiling, you’ll see that it’s actually super easy and also fun to do.  So I encourage you to give it a try to see for yourself how this method improves the texture of your sauce.

What to serve with Korean cream cheese garlic bread

Korean street food.  For a night of Korean street food, try this bread with rose tteokbokki, the Korean rice cakes cooked in a spicy, creamy gochujang sauce.

Print

Korean Cream Cheese Garlic Bread

Stuffed with sweet cream cheese and dunked in a custardy butter sauce, Korean Cream Cheese Garlic Bread is more decadent than the original.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Korean

Keyword Bread, Cream cheese

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• Heatproof metal or glass bowl for double boiling

Ingredients

• 2 small round loaves white bread about 6 inches in diameter and 3 inches tall
• 1 oz parmesan cheese shaved

For the cream cheese filling

• 6 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
• 3 tbsp sugar
• ⅛ cup half and half

For the butter sauce

• ½ cup butter unsalted
• 2 tbsp garlic minced
• ¼ cup half and half
• 1 tbsp parsley minced
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg

For garnish

• parsley minced, for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 400°.

Make the cream cheese filling

• Let the cream cheese soften to room temperature.  You can also microwave it for 10-20 seconds to speed up the process. 
• Once softened, whisk the cream cheese with the sugar and half and half until it’s smooth and no lumps remain.
  

Slice the bread

• Make four slices about two-thirds of the way through both loaves of bread, resulting in eight pieces or sections per loaf. 

  The most important part of this step is to not cut all the way through the bread.  Just cut partly through it.
  

Stuff the bread

• Add the cream cheese to a pastry bag or to a ziploc bag.  If using a ziploc bag, cut a small slit in the bottom corner of the bag.
  
• First pipe the cream cheese directly into each cut you made.  And then pipe more cheese directly into the center of the bread. Repeat for the second loaf.
  

Make the butter sauce

• Set up a double boiler. Put two to three inches of water in a large pot and bring it to a simmer on your stovetop over medium-low heat.
• Now place a heatproof metal or glass bowl directly on top of the pot of simmering water. This bowl should not directly touch the simmering water.
• While the water’s still simmering, add all of the sauce ingredients (butter, ¼ cup half and half, minced garlic, parsley, 1 tablespoon sugar, and egg) to the bowl. 
  
• Cook the ingredients, stirring constantly, for about five minutes until all the butter is melted and the sauce thickens.  Remove the bowl from the stove.
  

Dunk the bread and top with cheese

• Dunk the bread directly into the bowl with the sauce. 

  Use a spoon to pour the sauce all over every surface of the bread.  Try to get the sauce inside all of the cuts you’ve made by repeatedly spooning butter on top of the bread.
  
• Place the sauced bread on a parchment-lined sheet tray.  Shave an ounce of parmesan on top of the bread (half an ounce per loaf).
  

Bake

• Bake the bread at 400° for 15-18 minutes until the bread is browned.  Rotate the tray halfway through baking to ensure even browning.
  
• Remove the bread from the sheet tray and place on a serving plate. Top with fresh parsley for garnish.

The post Korean Cream Cheese Garlic Bread appeared first on Eats All Day.

Gochujang is an indispensable part of the Korean pantry and is used throughout Korean cooking to flavor soups, marinate meats, and more.

If you aren’t familiar with gochujang, you’re in the right place.  Read on to learn more about this superstar of the Korean pantry and how you can incorporate it into your cooking.

What is gochujang?

Gochujang is a Korean condiment made of crushed red chili flakes (Korean gochugaru), fermented soybeans, glutinous rice, and salt.  Sometimes additional sweeteners are added.

It’s an absolutely essential part of the Korean pantry. It’s key to making so many Korean dishes. From army stew, to tteokbokki, to bibimbap, and more, the spicy Korean paste is always there. 

The word gochujang is derived from gochu, or chili, and jang, or paste or sauce made from soybeans.  

Gochujang is just one of many types of jangs used in Korean cooking.  The term jang broadly refers to sauces or pastes that are made from fermented soybeans.  Gochujang, in addition to doenjang (fermented soybean paste) and ganjang (soy sauce) make up the three most essential jangs of Korean cooking.

There are other jangs, such as eojang (fish sauce), ssamjang (a dipping sauce), and more. 

Jangs in general have been made and used in Korea for centuries.  The gochujang variety first appeared in Korea in the 16th or 17th century soon after the time chili peppers were introduced to the country. 

Traditionally, the spicy paste was made at home by a years-long process of fermenting the ingredients in earthenware jars called jangdoks.  

Today, gochujang is made by factories and the vast majority of Koreans simply purchase it at grocery stores. 

Sunchang County in North Jeolla is the most well-known region for the paste. Its version is regarded as being the highest quality. There’s even an annual festival, Sunchang Gochujang Festival, held there to celebrate this ingredient.

What does gochujang taste like?

Gochujang has a deep flavor brimming with umami. It’s also sweet, spicy, funky, and a bit pungent.  The flavor is difficult to describe. It’s unique and hard to compare to anything else. 

The flavors of umami and funkiness are achieved through the fermenting process and by the soybeans. 

The sweetness comes from the starch of glutinous rice that develops during the fermentation process. 

And the spiciness comes from the chili flakes (or gochugaru). 

Is gochujang spicy?

Spice levels vary depending on the specific gochujang you find.  Some are mild and others can be quite spicy. 

The amount of spiciness is often indicated on the package, with small fire icons showing the level of spiciness of that particular version of the paste. 

Gochujang vs Gochugaru

To many not familiar with Korean cuisine, gochujang and gochugaru might seem to be the same thing.  This confusion is likely because both ingredients start with the word gochu, which means chili pepper in Korean. 

But they’re actually quite different ingredients and can’t be used interchangeably. 

Gochujang is the fermented paste of soybeans, chili, and glutinous rice. On the other hand, gochugaru is simply red chili peppers that have been ground into chili flakes. 

Gochugaru is one of the ingredients used to make gochujang. 

How to use gochujang

This spicy paste has many uses in Korean cooking. It can be used as a base for stews and soups, as a marinade for meat, and in sauces.  It’s also becoming more popular in the West and can be used to flavor typically Western recipes.

Bases for stews and soups

The spicy condiment is often used as a base for soups and stews.  It’s usually mixed with other ingredients and added directly into the stock. It’s a quick and powerful way to get great complexity in a broth.

In Korean Army Stew, it’s mixed with dashi to create a spicy broth:

1

Korean Army Stew with Spam and Cheese

Korean Army Stew is the Korean-American classic that combines a rich & spicy broth with salty spam, sour kimchi, earthy mushrooms, bouncy noodles, chewy rice cakes, and more.

Check out this recipe

In Rose Tteokbokki, it’s mixed with cream, milk, and dashi:

2

Rose Tteokbokki without Fish Cakes

Korea meets Italy in this uber-creamy, smoky, spicy and cheesy Rose Tteokbokki without Fish Cakes recipe.

Check out this recipe

Marinades for meat

Gochujang as a marinade adds foundational layers of depth to the meat before it’s cooked.

Gochujang is a key ingredient for marinating the beef in bulgogi:

3

Korean Beef Bulgogi

Korean Beef Bulgogi – A super easy recipe for Korean BBQ beef with the most flavorful marinade! The thin slices of meat cook quickly, and it’s so tender!!!

Check out this recipe from damndelicious.net

It’s also used to marinate barbecued pork ribs:

4

Korean BBQ Pork Ribs

Tender, moist and flavorful Korean marinated BBQ pork ribs! Choose from two different marinades –sweet and savory or spicy.

Check out this recipe from koreanbapsang.com

Sauces

Gochujang is used as a sauce and can be eaten without being cooked.

In bibimbap, plain gochujang is added right on top of the rest of the ingredients:

5

Bibimbap (Mixed rice with vegetables)

It’s made of a bowl of rice, sautéed and seasoned vegetables (namul: 나물), a bit of hot pepper paste (gochujang: 고추장), and usually a bit of seasoned raw beef, too (yukhoe: 육회). Bibim (비빔) translates as…

Check out this recipe from maangchi.com

It’s one of the key ingredients to ssamjang, a sauce that’s used to dip meat for Korean barbecue:

6

Ssamjang Recipe (Korean Dipping Sauce)

Easy homemade ssamjang recipe! Today I want to share one of the most popular Korean sauce – Sssamjang recipe. Ssamjang (쌈장) is best known as a Korean bbq dipping sauce. It has mildly spicy and salty flavor with nutty fragrant. And, most importantly it compliments well Korean pork belly bbq (Samgyeo…

Check out this recipe from mykoreankitchen.com

The paste can also be used to create a spicy mayo, like on these kimchi fries:

7

Loaded Kimchi Fries (Vegetarian)

Crispy fries loaded with kimchi, cheese, spicy mayo and a smattering of fresh herbs and lime might just be the ultimate party food.

Check out this recipe

To flavor Western recipes

Adding it to tuna salad is surprisingly tasty:

8

Gochujang Tuna Salad

Gochujang tuna salad takes your average tuna salad and makes it special with the addition of sweet, spicy and complex Korean gochujang.

Check out this recipe

It’s also great on vegetables, like roasted butternut squash:

9

Gochujang-and-Sesame-Roasted Winter Squash

This would work with any other winter squash—acorn and delicata don’t even have to be peeled.

Check out this recipe from bonappetit.com

Gochujang substitutes

Since the spicy paste has such a unique taste, it’s really difficult to find a good substitute.

A mixture of Japanese miso paste and gochugaru might be the closest approximation you can find.  Miso, like gochujang, is made from fermented soybeans. So both has a similar flavor profile of umami and funkiness.

To make this substitute, mix one cup of miso paste with a half cup of gochugaru.  If you don’t have gochugaru, you can add a few dashes of cayenne pepper and sweet paprika to the miso paste.  Taste for spiciness and add more cayenne as needed.

How long does it last?

If stored properly in the refrigerator and sealed, it lasts for a long time.  Like two years long. 

Do I need to refrigerate it?

Yes, you should refrigerate it once open to maintain its freshness.

Can I freeze it?

Yes, you can freeze it.  Though when stored in the refrigerator, it lasts for up to two years. Beacuse of its long shelf life in the fridge, freezing shouldn’t be necessary.

Where to buy gochujang?

The Korean paste is becoming popular in the United States. Many local grocery stores carry it in the Asian ingredient section.  

If your local grocery store doesn’t carry it, you’ll be able to find it at Korean, Chinese, or Japanese markets.  

And if you don’t have access to any of these markets, Amazon also sells it.

The post What is gochujang and why you need some now appeared first on Eats All Day.

Tuna salad can seem a bit boring.  Honestly, I don’t personally eat it too often.

But the addition of one simple ingredient – gochujang – really transforms the classic sandwich spread into something more complex, more spicy, and all around more tasty.

What is gochujang tuna salad?

Gochujang tuna salad is similar to classic tuna salad, but with the addition of Korean gochujang paste. 

The ingredients include gochujang, canned tuna, kewpie mayo, scallions, celery and optionally some shichimi togarashi sprinkled on top.

The gochujang adds complexity in flavor to otherwise bland tuna salad. Its flavor is sweet, spicy, a bit pungent, and dripping with umami.  It really transforms tuna salad into something with a lot more flavor. 

The tuna salad can be served like any ordinary tuna salad: on sandwiches, on crackers or flatbread, or with vegetables. 

What is gochujang?

Gochujang is a Korean condiment made of fermented soybeans, red chili, glutinous rice, and salt.

It has a complex flavor profile of deep sweetness, spiciness, a bit of pungency, and a ton of umami.  The flavor is really unique and difficult to compare to any other ingredient.  There’s not a good substitute. 

The spiciness of gochujang can vary, with some being super spicy and others not spicy at all.  There’s often an indication of the spiciness level on the package of the gochujang. 

Gochujang is an absolutely essential staple in Korean cooking.  It gives so many Korean dishes their unmistakable Korean taste. 

It has many different uses such as a marinade for meat, to flavor stews (such as Korean Army Stew) or as a base for sauces (like in the creamy, cheesy Rose Tteokbokki), or as a dipping or topping sauce (for example in bibimbap). 

If you want to cook Korean food, you’ll definitely need a tub of gochujang.  Luckily it’s now pretty popular in the US and you can likely find it in the Asian section of your grocery store.  If not, Amazon also sells it. 

Gochujang paste vs gochujang sauce

When a recipe calls for “gochujang”, it refers to gochujang paste rather than gochujang sauce. The paste is what’s used in cooking and contains only the core ingredients of gochujang.  The paste is sold in small, usually red tubs.  This recipe for tuna salad uses the paste.

Gochujang sauce, on the other hand, is a diluted version of gochujang that’s mixed with other ingredients.  It can be used tableside as a dipping sauce and is generally sold in squeeze bottles. 

How to make gochujang tuna salad

1. Prepare the vegetables.  Slice the scallion into thin rounds and mince the celery into small pieces. 
2. Mix the ingredients.  Add the vegetables along with the canned tuna, gochujang, mayo,  and salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly with a spoon until well combined, with few chunks of tuna remaining.

1. Serve. Enjoy the tuna salad in a sandwich, with crackers, or with vegetables. 

Ingredients

Gochujang.  The Korean fermented paste adds amazing flavors of sweetness, spiciness and umami to classic tuna salad.  Gochujang is now popular in the United States and most grocery stores sell it.  Amazon also carries it.

Canned tuna.  Can’t have tuna salad without the tuna. 

Kewpie mayo.  I love Kewpie mayo because it has more tanginess and deeper umami than North American mayonnaise.  It uses only egg yolks, rather than whole eggs, giving the mayonnaise a much richer flavor.  It’s an iconic Japanese ingredient and definitely worth seeking out!  But if you can’t find Kewpie, you can easily use a North American mayo such as Hellmann’s in this recipe. 

Scallions. Finely sliced scallions add a bit of peppery bite to the salad. 

Celery. Finely minced celery provides crunch and some freshness. 

Shichimi togarashi. A sprinkle of the Japanese spice mix gives the final tuna salad some extra heat.  This ingredient is completely optional, so feel free to skip it if you don’t have it. 

Salt and pepper.  For seasoning.

How to serve gochujang tuna salad

There are a few ways to serve this salad. 

As a sandwich.  Wrap the tuna between two slices of bread and add lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles. 

With crackers or flat bread.  Top some carbs with the tuna salad and eat. 

As a dip with vegetables.  Use celery and carrot sticks to scoop up the tuna. 

Wrapped in nori seaweed snacks with rice.  Wrap some tuna salad and a bit of rice in nori seaweed snacks for a quick take on sushi.  Sushi rolls made with canned tuna and nori are actually quite popular in Japan and can be found at almost any konbini (Japanese-style convenience stores such as 7-11).  This combination would be similar to those rolls. 

Or better yet, as a gochujang tuna melt!  Spread room temperature butter on two slices or bread.  Place the tuna between the two slices, with the buttered sides of the bread on the outside of the sandwich.  Add some cheese inside the bread.  Now add more butter to a nonstick pan on low heat and cook the sandwich on both sides until browned and crisp. 

Print

Gochujang Tuna Salad

Gochujang tuna salad takes your average tuna salad and makes it special with the addition of sweet, spicy and complex Korean gochujang.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Korean

Keyword Gochujang, Kewpie Mayo, tuna

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 2 5-oz cans water-packed tuna drained of water
• 1 tbsp gochujang
• ⅓ cup Kewpie mayo or substitute any other mayo
• 2 scallions
• ½ large stick celery
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• pinch shichimi togarashi for sprinkling on top, optional

Instructions

Prepare the vegetables

• Slice the scallion into thin rounds.
• Mince the celery into small pieces.

Mix the ingredients

• Add all of the ingredients except the shichimi togarashi to a medium bowl.
  
• Mix thoroughly with a spoon until well combined, with few chunks of tuna remaining.

Garnish and serve

• Place the tuna salad in a serving bowl and garnish with shichimi togarashi.
• Enjoy the tuna salad in a sandwich, on top of crackers, or as a dip with vegetables and pieces of nori.

The post Gochujang Tuna Salad appeared first on Eats All Day.

And the jam is what really makes the difference.  This jam packs a deeply concentrated burst of banana flavor right into your milk.  

This recipe is perfect for when you have extra bananas lying around that are starting to get too ripe. Really ripe bananas will give the milk a super sweet, fruity taste.

History of Korean banana milk

Korean banana milk was first created in South Korea in 1974. 

At the time, the Korean government was trying to persuade residents to start drinking milk because of its health benefits. The problem was that average Koreans thought the flavor was bland, and so milk didn’t take off in a big way. 

So leave it to a corporation named Bingrae to solve the issue. They decided to add flavors to milk, believing that the sweeter versions of the beverage would be more popular. 

And they were. Banana-flavored milk turned out to be a hit. 

Today, over 800,000 bottles of banana milk are sold in Korea each day. 

Banana is the most popular flavor of milk in Korea. But other flavors like strawberry, chocolate, and melon are also sold throughout the country. 

How to make homemade Korean banana milk

1. Prepare the jam. Mash two bananas in a medium bowl until almost completely smooth. Add in the coconut cream, brown sugar and a few drops of lemon juice and stir until combined. 
2. Cook the jam. Cook the jam over low heat for 15 minutes. Stir it very often, almost constantly, to prevent scorching. If the jam starts to scorch while cooking, remove it from the heat for a minute to let it cool a bit and then return it to the heat to resume cooking. 
3. Blend the jam with milk. Add 3/4 cup jam along with milk to a blender and blend at high speed until completely combined. 
4. Serve. Serve the milk right away, while it’s still fresh. 

Do I really need to make the banana jam?

Many recipes for Korean banana milk just use fresh bananas blended with milk.  But there are two problems with this.

First, the fresh banana method results in a drink that has a consistency that’s closer to a milkshake rather than a milk.  The texture of Korean banana milk should be light, just like normal unflavored milk.

Second, since this method just adds fresh bananas, the end drink doesn’t have a very deeply banana-flavored profile.

Reducing the bananas into a jam solves these problems.  

The jam is super banana-flavored with slight hints of caramel and coconut.  And since you’re only adding a few tablespoons of the jam per cup of milk, rather than a full banana, the end consistency is still light and milky.

Tips for making homemade Korean banana milk 

1. Watch out for burning the jam. Cook it really slowly on low heat. And stir it very frequently, or better yet, constantly.  If the jam starts to burn or brown too much, remove it from the heat immediately to let it cool down for a minute. 
2. Use overly ripe bananas. Using overly ripe bananas will help to produce a sweeter, more banana-flavored milk. 
3. Use whole cow milk. This recipe just won’t be the same with reduced fat milk or any vegan milk alternatives. 

Ingredients

Whole milk.  Can’t have banana milk without the milk. 

Bananas. Can’t have banana milk without the bananas.

Coconut cream.  This recipe has a very subtle coconutty taste that’s not overpowering.  The main reason I add coconut cream is because of its high fat content which helps to fry and caramelize the bananas. This frying process gives the end drink a more complex, rich taste. 

Brown sugar. Brown sugar adds much needed sweetness to the drink. It also caramelizes the jam, providing depth of flavor. 

Lemon juice. Just a few drops of fresh lemon juice helps to balance out the milk and provide a tiny bit of brightness. 

Yellow food coloring. This is totally optional. But if I’m drinking banana milk, it might as well be yellow banana milk 😄

What is coconut cream 

Coconut cream is similar to coconut milk. They’re both made from coconuts and water. 

The main difference is that coconut cream has a much higher fat content than coconut milk. 

This is because there’s less water added to coconut cream than to coconut milk, so the cream has a higher coconut-to-water ratio. 

Coconut cream substitute

This recipe uses coconut cream rather than coconut milk because of the cream’s high fat content. The fatty cream is cooked with the bananas and helps to fry and caramelize the bananas, resulting in more concentrated flavor. 

If you can’t find coconut cream, you can use the cream layer from a can of normal full-fat coconut milk.  Reduced fat coconut milk will not have nearly as much (or any) cream, so make sure you have a full-fat version. 

To get at the cream, open the can without shaking it.  And then scoop out the solid part of the coconut milk.  This is the cream part of the coconut milk. 

There will be leftover liquid milk in the can. Take just a tablespoon of this liquid and mix it with the solid. 

How to serve Korean banana milk

Banana milk is great on its own or served with sweet desserts like this Japanese strawberry sando.

Print

Homemade Korean Banana Milk

This version of homemade Korean banana milk cooks down bananas with coconut cream, creating a flavorful jam to use as the base for your milk. 

Course Drinks

Cuisine Korean

Keyword Banana

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4 glasses

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

• 2 bananas
• ⅓ cup coconut cream
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 3-5 drops fresh lemon juice
• 4 cup whole milk
• yellow food coloring optional

Instructions

Make the jam

• Mash the bananas in a medium bowl until almost completely smooth.
• Add in the coconut cream, brown sugar and a few drops of lemon juice and stir until combined.
• Cook the jam over low heat in a small saucepan for 15 minutes. Stir it very often, almost constantly, to prevent scorching.

  If the jam starts to scorch while cooking, remove it from the heat for a minute to let it cool a bit and then return it to the heat to resume cooking.

Blend and serve

• Add ¾ cup of the jam, all the milk, and a few drops of yellow food coloring (optional) to a blender and blend at high speed until completely combined.

  You might have a bit of extra jam, which can be saved for making more banana milk later.
• Serve the milk right away, while it’s still fresh.

The post Homemade Korean Banana Milk appeared first on Eats All Day.

This recipe is completely vegetarian.  There’s no meat involved.  And I think that’s a good thing.  

Leaving the meat out lets all that pungent kimchi take center stage, with loads of cheese, spicy mayo, and fresh herbs rounding out the dish. 

What are kimchi fries?

Some might call kimchi fries an abomination. I call them delicious. 

Kimchi fries are typically some version of French fries topped with kimchi and other ingredients like cheese, spicy mayo, meat, herbs and so on. 

The fries were first created in 2010 by Tex Mex-Korean BBQ restaurant Chi’Lantro in Austin, Texas. 

The original recipe from Chi’Lantro has become a bit of a sensation, and nowadays you’ll find many recipes for kimchi fries around the internet. 

This recipe is an alteration to Chi’Lantro’s original. The main difference is that the original uses meat, while this recipe is vegetarian.

But even without the meat, the kimchi, spicy mayo, cheddar cheese, cilantro and lime in this recipe all work together to pack a ton of flavor.  

If you’re looking for a recipe with meat, check out this version from Woks of Life that uses bacon.

How to make crispy French fries

Making super crispy fries at home isn’t as hard as it seems. Follow these steps and you’ll have crunchy fries in no time. 

Use Russet potatoes

Russet potatoes are ideal for fries. They have less moisture than other types of potatoes, letting them get super crispy on the outside while maintaining a fluffy center. 

Cut the potatoes

Peel the potatoes and then slice them lengthwise to ¼” slices. Now slice those into ¼” fries.

Soak the potatoes

Soak the potatoes in cool water for at least one hour and preferably more. You can soak them for up to 24 hours. 

The soaking process removes excess starch from the outside of the potatoes, which helps to achieve the perfect crispness. 

Dry the fries after soaking

Place the fries on a paper towel-lined tray to start drying them. Take more paper towels and blot the French fries dry.  Let the fries sit out for about 30 more minutes to let them fully dry.

The drying process is important because excess water can lead to limp fries. 

Fry the potatoes twice

The double frying method is the real key.  The first frying session fully cooks the potatoes and brings their moisture out. The second frying session, at higher heat, quickly crisps the outside of the fries and leaves their centers fluffy. 

Fry the potatoes in 350° oil for around five minutes until starting to turn a golden color. Remove them from the oil and set them on a paper towel-lined tray. 

Turn the heat up to get to 400° oil.  Now add the fries back into the oil and fry for an additional 30-60 seconds, until the fries achieve a golden brown color. 

Remove the fries to a paper towel-lined tray. Salt them immediately, while still hot. 

Ingredients

Russet Potatoes.  Russet potatoes are the best to use for fries.  Their low starch content yields fries that are super crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Oil for frying.  I personally love to use peanut oil for making fries.  It has a high smoke point and imparts a subtle nutty flavor on the fries.  If you don’t have peanut oil, a neutral oil with a high smoke point like canola works perfectly.

Cheddar cheese.  You’ll grate a sharp cheddar cheese and top your fries with it.  Put it in the oven’s broiler for 2-3 minutes to get it all melty.  

Kimchi.  After broiling the cheese, you’ll top the fries with pungent, spicy kimchi. 

Spicy mayo (Kewpie mayo + sriracha + gochujang + lime juice).  After the cheese and kimchi, you’ll add a quick homemade version of spicy mayo with sriracha, gochujang, and fresh lime juice.  

Kewpie mayo from Japan is preferred for this recipe, but any North American mayo will work great too.

Cilantro.  Blanket the fries with some fresh cilantro to provide some freshness.

Scallions.  Sliced scallions provide some more freshness and a nice oniony bite to the finished dish.

Jalapenos.  Add on some freshly sliced jalapenos for even more spice and a nice crunch.

Lime wedges.  And finally, serve the kimchi fries with fresh lime wedges on the side to give some more acidity to the dish.

What else can I add to kimchi fries?

I think this recipe is perfect as is.  It’s loaded with flavor and hits all the right notes of crunchiness, pungentness, spiciness, cheesiness, freshness, and acidity.

But if you want to add even more to kimchi fries, here are some ideas.

More spicy Korean vegetables.  For even more freshness and spiciness, make a moochae (the fresh radish salad known as a “cheat kimchi” since it’s so quick to make at home). Chop it into bite-sized pieces and add that to the fries along with the kimchi.

Bacon.  Crisp some bacon, crumble it, and add it with the kimchi on top of the cheese.

Bulgogi.  If you want to go all out, make some Korean bulgogi and add it to the fries.

Bean sprouts.  Bean sprouts have a mild flavor and a nice crunchy texture that would work really well on top of kimchi fries.

How to serve loaded kimchi fries

Kimchi fries should be served immediately, while still hot, to make sure your fries are crispy and your cheese is melty.

You can reserve some of the toppings (sliced jalapenos, cilantro, and scallions) and spicy mayo on the side to add to the fries as you’re eating them.

What to serve with kimchi fries

These kimchi fries are loaded with so much flavor that they’re a meal unto themselves and can be served as a main course.  

They can also be served as a side to a bigger meal or during a party.

For a completely over the top meal, serve the kimchi fries along with these crispy Asian brussel sprouts (which also happen to be loaded with a ton of flavor) and a creamy sushi bake.

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Loaded Kimchi Fries (Vegetarian)

Crispy fries loaded with kimchi, cheese, spicy mayo and a smattering of fresh herbs and lime might just be the ultimate party food.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Korean

Keyword French Fries, Kewpie Mayo, Kimchi

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Soaking potatoes and then drying them 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 Russet potatoes
• ¾ cup kimchi roughly chopped
• 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese grated
• ½ bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 jalapeno thinly sliced
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• ½ lime cut into wedges, for serving
• oil for frying such as peanut or canola

For the spicy mayo

• ½ cup Kewpie mayo or other mayo as substitute
• 2 tsp sriracha
• 1 tsp gochujang
• ½ lime juiced

Instructions

Prepare the potatoes

• Peel the potatoes and then slice them lengthwise to ¼” slices.
• Slice the potatoes again lengthwise into ¼” fries.
  
• Soak the potatoes in cool water for at least one hour and preferably more. You can soak them for up to 24 hours. If soaking the potatoes for more than an hour, keep them in the fridge.

Make the spicy mayo

• Mix the Kewpie mayo, sriracha, gochujang, juice from ½ lime, and a pinch of kosher salt in a small bowl until combined.

Make the French fries

• Once the potatoes are done soaking, place them on a paper towel-lined tray to start drying them. Take more paper towels and blot the French fries dry.  Let the fries sit for about 30 more minutes to let them fully dry.
• Heat the oil on the stove in a heavy pan to 350°.
• Add the potatoes to the oil and fry them for around five minutes until starting to turn a golden color. Remove them from the oil and set them on a paper towel-lined tray.
• Turn the heat up to get the oil to 400°.
• Add the fries back into the oil and fry for 30-60 seconds, until the fries are a golden brown color.
• Remove the fries to a paper towel-lined tray. Salt them immediately, while still hot.
  

Assemble the kimchi fries

• Preheat your oven's broiler on high heat.
• Place the fries on an oven-safe serving dish and add the shredded cheddar on top.
• Broil the fries and cheese in the oven for two to three minutes, and remove once the cheese is melted.

  Check the oven often to prevent burning.
• Add the chopped kimchi directly on top of the fries and cheese.
• Add the spicy mayo on top of the kimchi.
• Add the chopped cilantro, scallions, and jalapeno directly on top.
• Serve immediately with fresh lime wedges and more cilantro, scallions, jalapeno, and spicy mayo on the side.

The post Loaded Kimchi Fries (Vegetarian) appeared first on Eats All Day.

Rich kimchi-flavored broth.  Salty spam, hot dog, and bacon.  Healthyish tofu and mushrooms.  Bouncy, chewy noodles and rice cakes (Yes, two kinds of carbs).  

And finally, for even more indulgence, it’s all topped off with melty American cheese.

There’s definitely a lot going on in this dish.  And that’s what makes it such an epic meal. 

What is Korean Army Stew

Korean Army Stew, or Budae Jjigae, was invented in Korea sometime shortly after the armistice of the 1950s Korean war. 

The name “Army Stew” refers to the American ingredients of spam, hot dog, bacon and cheese that were brought to Korea by the American military.  There was a surplus of these ingredients after the war ended, and they found their way into Korean recipes.

Korean Army Stew is considered to be one of the first Korean-Western fusion dishes made.  It’s still popular today, along with many other Korean-Western fusion recipes (such as Rose Tteokbokki and Bulgogi Kimchi Pasta). 

A collision of flavors and textures

The best part about Korean Army Stew is that it has so many different toppings with so many contrasting textures and flavors.  No bite is ever the same.  

I personally loved combining some of the toppings into one single bite!

Try a bite with mushroom, bacon, and rice cakes.  

Next try out tofu, kimchi, and some scallions.  

And next try noodles and spam.

And on and on.  It all makes for a really fun eating experience that never gets old.

Ingredients in Korean Army Stew with Spam and Cheese

Toppings

Spam, hot dogs, and bacon.  Salty, savory processed meats are the defining ingredients of this stew and can’t be skipped.

Tofu.  Tofu absorbs the flavor of the broth and provides a soft texture that contrasts against the other ingredients. 

Shimeji Mushrooms.  This recipe uses shimeji mushrooms.  If you have trouble finding them, almost any other kind of mushroom would work.  Get creative and add a mix of enoki, shiitake, king oyster, or even button mushrooms.

Instant ramen noodles.  Fast-cooking instant ramen noodles soak up the delicious broth and add to the kitchy nostalgia of the dish.

Rice cakes.  Add even more carbs with bouncy, chewy rice cakes. 

American cheese.  The best part about using American cheese is that it dissolves into the broth, adding creaminess and saltiness.

Broth

Dashi.  Using dashi powder to create a quick broth speeds up the cooking process and adds an instant punch of umami.

Gochugaru.  Gochugaru adds a spicy, slightly fruity flavor to the broth and gives it a deep red color.  It isn’t as spicy as it looks.  

Rice wine.  This recipe uses Chinese rice wine, but any kind of rice wine would work.  If you don’t have a rice wine on hand, it can be skipped.  Avoid using rice wine vinegar.

Soy sauce.  Soy sauce adds saltiness to the broth.

Sugar.  Sugar adds some sweetness.

Garlic.  Garlic is the only aromatic used in the broth.  No onions or ginger here.

Gochujang.  The Korean fermented paste adds an amazing undertone of sweetness, spiciness and savoriness.  Gochujang is now popular in the United States and can be found in most grocery stores.  Amazon also carries it.

Spam and cheese in Korean food?

Yes!

Cheese has become incredibly popular in Korea, especially among typical bar food.  

And spam, while no longer used very often in most of the US, remains popular throughout many countries in Asia and the Pacific.

How to make Korean Army Stew

Prepare the toppings by chopping them into bite-sized pieces.  Chop the bacon into 1.5” slices.  Chop the miniature hot dogs in half.  Slice spam and tofu into 1 ½” pieces.  Chop the rice cakes in half.  Chop the root ends off of the shimeji mushrooms and discard.  Slice the scallions.

Make the sauce.  Mix gochugaru, rice wine, soy sauce, minced garlic, sugar, gochujang, and black pepper in a small bowl until combined.

Make the dashi.  Mix dashi powder and 3 cups water into a medium bowl, and stir until dissolved.

Add toppings to the pot.  Add all ingredients except for the sauce, dashi, rice cakes, noodles, cheese, and scallions to the pot.  

Next add the sauce and dashi.  First add the sauce to the middle of the pot.  Then add the dashi to the side of the pot, without disturbing the sauce.

Cook.  Cover the pot and cook on the stove for 8 minutes over medium heat.

Add the noodles, rice cakes and cheese.  Add the instant ramen noodles and rice cakes to the stew.  Lay the American cheese slices directly on top of the noodles.  Cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes.

Garnish and serve.  Garnish the stew with the sliced scallions and serve right away.

Tips for making Korean Army Stew

1. Cut all the ingredients into bite-sized pieces.  Cut all the ingredients into smaller, bite-sized pieces so they can be easily eaten.  If you cut the ingredients into smaller pieces, you can also eat a few different things in one bite, creating nice flavor and texture combinations. 
2. Don’t overcook the ramen noodles.  Overcooking the noodles will make them soggy.  Cook the noodles for just 2-3 minutes, until they’re beginning to soften.  Once you take the stew off the heat, the noodles will continue to cook and will begin to soak up the broth.  
3. Use refrigerated rice cakes, rather than frozen ones.  Refrigerated rice cakes cook quicker than frozen ones and don’t splinter while they cook.  

What else can I add into Korean Army Stew?

Korean Army Stew is very easily customized to your liking.

It was originally made with whatever was on hand, even using pineapple at some point.  Here are some other ideas:

• Canned baked beans
• Napa cabbage 
• Red bell pepper
• Ground pork
• Frozen dumplings or wontons
• Frozen corn

Spam, hot dogs, and bacon is a lot of meat.  Do I need to use all of these?

This recipe is really flexible and can be customized however you like.  

Want to skip the bacon?  No problem.

But try to use at least one of these meats, or it won’t be a true Army Stew. 

Why American cheese?

Some Army Stew recipes call for using more high quality cheeses like cheddar.  

But I completely recommend using American cheese for this recipe.

American cheese dissolves super quickly into the broth, creating even more flavor.  You’ll end up with a richer, creamier, saltier both.

Resist the urge to go fancy and stick with the classic!

How to serve Korean Army Stew with Spam and Cheese?

If you have a countertop burner, you can use it right at the table, hot pot-style, to keep the stew warm and bubbling.

If you don’t have one, just serve the stew in individual bowls like any other soup. 

What to serve with Korean Army Stew

Since Korean Army Stew already has so many different ingredients and flavors, it’s best to serve it alongside lighter sides.

Rice.  Korean Army Stew is usually served with white steamed rice.

Moochae.  The Korean radish salad dish adds a fresh, crunchy contrast against the rich stew.

Pickle.  Round out your meal with the brightness of a pickle, such as this quick pickled celery.

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Korean Army Stew with Spam and Cheese

Korean Army Stew is the Korean-American classic that combines a rich & spicy broth with salty spam, sour kimchi, earthy mushrooms, bouncy noodles, chewy rice cakes, and more.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Korean

Keyword Noodle, Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

For the sauce

• 1 ½ tbsp gochugaru
• 1 ½ tbsp rice wine
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 ½ tsp gochujang
• 10-12 grinds black pepper

For the stew

• 1 tbsp dashi powder
• 2 oz spam
• 6 miniature hot dogs
• 1 strip bacon
• ¼ cup kimchi
• 1 handful shimeji mushrooms about 10-15 mushrooms
• 1 package instant ramen noodles
• 1/2 cup Korean rice cakes
• 2 slices American cheese
• 2 scallions sliced on a bias, to garnish

Instructions

Prepare the stew toppings

• Slice the spam into 1 ½” pieces. 
• Chop the bacon crosswise into 1" pieces.
• Chop the miniature hot dogs in half.
• Slice the tofu into 1 ½” pieces. 
• Roughly chop the kimchi.
• Chop the rice cakes in half.
• Chop off the root ends of the shimeji mushrooms and discard.

Make the sauce

• Mix the gochugaru, rice wine, soy sauce, minced garlic, sugar, gochujang, and black pepper in a small bowl until combined.

Make the dashi

• Combine the dashi powder with 3 cups water in a medium bowl, and stir until dissolved.

Cook the stew

• Add all ingredients except for the sauce, dashi, rice cakes, noodles, cheese, and scallions to the pot. 
• Add the sauce to the middle of the pot.
• Add the dashi to the side of the pot, without disturbing the sauce.
• Cover the pot and cook on the stove for 8 minutes over medium heat. The stew will begin to boil.
• Add the instant ramen noodles and rice cakes to the pot.  Lay the American cheese slices directly on top of the noodles. 
• Cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes.

Garnish and serve

• Garnish the stew with the sliced scallions and serve right away.

The post Korean Army Stew with Spam and Cheese appeared first on Eats All Day.

If you love Korean barbecue as much as I do, I’m sure you’ve had moochae a bunch of times.  The famed radish salad is an essential part of the Korean barbecue experience, providing refreshing pops of freshness between those bites of sweet, salty barbecued meat. 

Moochae is often referred to as a “cheat kimchi” since the two taste so similar and since moochae is much easier to make.  While kimchi needs days to weeks to ferment, moochae can be ready in just minutes.

What is moochae?

Moochae is a popular Korean side dish made by adding shredded radish (this recipe uses daikon) to a mixture of gochugaru, fish sauce, garlic, sugar, salt, and sesame oil.

While the recipe is so easy to make, it has a nicely complex flavor.  The radish provides a fresh crunch which contrasts against the spicy, savory flavors of gochugaru and fish sauce.

How to make this easy kimchi alternative

1. Prepare the daikon and scallion.  Peel the daikon with a vegetable peeler and then cut it lengthwise into thin slices.  Then cut the thin slices into matchsticks.  Chop the scallions into thin rounds.
2. Make the sauce.  Mix the gochugaru, fish sauce, sugar, minced garlic, sesame oil and salt in a small bowl.
3. Combine.  Combine the daikon, scallions, and sauce in a bowl.  Massage the sauce into the daikon.
4. Rest in the fridge.  Rest the daikon for around 30 minutes in the fridge to let it absorb all that flavor.

Tips for making moochae

1. Use gloves while mixing the radish and sauce.  I personally don’t use gloves when I mix spicy ingredients.  But I know that others have found that the spice may remain on their hands and could later burn their eyes.  So, if this kind of thing bugs you, use gloves or just a spatula to do the mixing.
2. Give it a good massage.  Gently massaging the sauce into the radish allows the flavors to really dig in.  It also improves the texture of the end dish, resulting in more flexible, bendable pieces of radish.
3. Stir it once or twice while it’s in the fridge.  While resting in the fridge, the amazing sauce will fill the bottom of the bowl.  Stir your moochae once or twice while it’s resting, to evenly distribute the sauce across all your radish.

Daikon vs. Korean radish

Daikon and Korean radishes are quite similar, and can easily be substituted for each other in almost any recipe.  So feel free to use whichever you can find for this recipe.

Since moochae is of course a Korean dish, the Korean radish would be more traditional.  But both daikon or Korean radishes taste excellent in moochae.  We’ll use daikon in this recipe, since it’s what I had on hand and since it’s more readily available in the United States.  

How are the two radishes different?

Taste.  Korean radishes are slightly more peppery than daikon, and daikon are a bit more sweet.

Texture.  Korean radishes are more crunchy than daikon.

How to serve moochae

Since Moochae has a strong, spicy flavor of its own, it’s best served alongside other spicy or meaty dishes.

Main course.  Try moochae with a Rose Tteokbokke, a Korean Army Stew, or this Hawaiian style Meat Jun.  The radish provides a great contrasting freshness alongside these meaty dishes.

Rice.  Round out your meal with some rice.

Beer.  Beer and Korean food is an epic combination, and always makes for a good night 🙂 

You can also incorporate moochae into other Korean-inspired dishes. For example, try adding moochae on top of these kimchi fries.

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Moochae – Easy Kimchi Alternative

Moochae, the spicy Korean radish salad, is an easy alternative to kimchi and can be whipped up in just a few minutes.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Korean

Keyword Daikon

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Rest in fridge time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

• ½ of a whole daikon
• 2 scallions
• 1 ½ tbsp gochugaru
• 1 ½ tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ¼ tsp Kosher salt
• 1 large garlic clove minced

Instructions

Prepare the vegetables

• Peel the daikon with a vegetable peeler and then cut it lengthwise into thin slices.  Then cut the thin slices into matchsticks. 
  
• Gently squeeze the julienned daikon over a sink to remove excess moisture.
• Chop the scallions into thin rounds.

Make the sauce

• Mix the gochugaru, fish sauce, sugar, sesame oil, salt and minced garlic in a small bowl.

Combine

• Add the daikon and scallions, along with the sauce, to a medium bowl.  Use your hands or a spatula to massage the sauce into the daikon.

  If you are sensitive to spice, use gloves while massaging by hand.

Rest

• Rest the moochae for around 30 minutes in the fridge to let it absorb the flavors.
• While resting in the fridge, stir the moochae once or twice in order to evenly distribute the sauce onto the radish.

The post Moochae – Easy Kimchi Alternative appeared first on Eats All Day.

Rose Tteokbokki starts with the traditional tteokbokki ingredients of rice cakes, gochujang and gochugaru.  

After that, you’ll layer in cream, milk, bacon, smoked sausage, and cheese for a truly unique combination of flavors that’s unlike any Korean dish you’ve had before.

What is Rose Tteokbokki without Fish Cakes

When first hearing the word “rose”, you might think that this is a delicate dish that tastes like flowers.  But there aren’t actually any flowers in this recipe.  Instead, “rosé” describes the color of the sauce.  

By mixing brick red gochujang with milky white cream, you’ll end up with a lighter-colored sauce that’s reminiscent of a rosé wine.

And let me tell you that the final sauce is anything but delicate.  Rose Tteokbokki is an out-of-this-world collision of spicy, creamy, smoky, and cheesy flavors.  This is comfort food at its best.

Is Rose sauce traditional?

Nope, it’s not.

Rose sauces are one of the latest food crazes to hit Korea, and are part of a larger trend of Korean-Western mashups.  

The sauce is most popularly used with this Rose Tteokbokki, but it also finds its way into a variety of pasta dishes, like this Shrimp Rose Pasta.

What makes it different?

It’s a modern Korean and Italian fusion.  Rose Tteokbokki is a combination of Korean and Italian foods, bringing Korean rice cakes, gochujang and gochugaru together with Italian mozzarella, parmesan and heavy cream.

It uses heavy cream & milk.  If you haven’t tried a creamy Korean dish yet, you’re in for a surprise.  Dairy works shockingly well with the spicy and pungent flavors of gochujang and gochugaru.  

No fishcakes.  Most Rose Tteokbokki recipes call for fishcakes, but this recipe leaves them out.  Instead, we’ll focus on bringing smoky flavors to the dish by adding bacon and smoked miniature cocktail sausages.  

Why is this recipe without fish cakes?

While most Rose Tteokbokki recipes call for fish cakes, this recipe leaves them out.  The fishy, spongy cakes are great in tteokbokki, but I find that they clash with all the meat we’ll be adding to this dish.

This recipe really leans on smokiness as a defining taste.  Leaving out the fish cakes lets the smoky, meaty goodness of the bacon and sausages shine through.

How to make Rose Tteokbokki

1. Cook the bacon.  Saute the bacon over medium-high heat in a pan for about 4-6 minutes, until golden.  Once finished, remove the bacon but leave in the fat.
2. Fry the onions, miniature sausages, and garlic.  Add the onions and miniature sausages to the bacon fat and fry for 4-6 minutes.  Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
3. Pour in the cream, milk, and dashi.  Pour in the liquids and stir well.
4. Add the gochujang, gochugaru and salt.  Add in the gochujang, gochugaru and salt and stir well.
5. Bring to a boil.  Bring the sauce to a boil.  Turn down the heat to medium and simmer for around five minutes.
6. Add the rice cakes.  Add the rice cakes and simmer for around 3-4 minutes.  Stir often so that the rice cakes don’t stick to the pan.
7. Top with cheese and broil.  Top with both cheeses and then broil in the oven for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
8. Garnish with scallions and serve.  Remove from the oven, garnish with scallions, and serve right away.

Ingredients for Rose Tteokbokki

Korean rice cakes (Garaetteok).  Chewy, bouncy rice cakes provide the foundation of this recipe and the vessel for that spicy, creamy, smoky sauce.

Gochujang.  The traditional fermented paste is an essential part of this recipe, providing those unmistakable Korean flavors of sweetness, spiciness, and savoriness.  Gochujang has become popular in the United States, and you’ll likely be able to find it in the Asian section of your local grocery shop. Check out some other recipes that use gochujang like this spicy army stew with spam and cheese or this easy gochujang tuna salad.

Gochugaru.  The ground Korean chili ups the spiciness.  Rose tteokbokki is less spicy than traditional tteokbokki, so we’ll only use two teaspoons.  Want it to be more spicy?  Feel free to add some more in. 

Heavy cream & milk.  The addition of heavy cream and milk are what makes this dish “rose”.  Creaminess brings the dish over the top and will absolutely surprise you if you haven’t tried Korean rose sauce yet.  

Dashi.  Dashi rounds out the sauce with added umami.

Bacon.  To build smokiness, we’ll use bacon and alllll of its fat in this dish.

Miniature smoked cocktail sausages.  For even more smokiness, we’ll add the miniature cocktail sausages.  And fry those in bacon fat for good measure.

Mozzarella & parmesan.  Top the dish with two kinds of cheese.  Low moisture, shredded Mozzarella provides melty stringiness.  And parmesan provides a sharp end to the dish.

What kind of miniature sausages do I need?

This recipe uses “Lil smokies”, which are miniature smoked cocktail sausages that are available in most grocery stores.  You might have had them in pigs-in-the-blanket before.  

This type of sausage works best, since we want our end dish to be super smoky.  But you can substitute any kind of small sausage, or even chopped hot dogs, and it’ll turn out great.

What to serve with Rose Tteokbokki

Since Rose Tteokbokki is so rich, you’ll want to round out your meal with fresh or acidic sides that cut through the creaminess.

Pickles.  A crisp, acidic pickle, like this Quick Pickled Celery, provides much needed freshness between bites of creamy, spicy rice cakes.

Sauteed greens.  Sauteeing some greens like spinach or gai lan and adding toasted sesame oil make this meal healthy.  Kind of.

Beer.  Add crisp, hoppy beer.  An IPA would be a great choice.

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Rose Tteokbokki without Fish Cakes

Korea meets Italy in this uber-creamy, smoky, spicy and cheesy Rose Tteokbokki without Fish Cakes recipe.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Korean

Keyword Korean rice cakes

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 2 slices bacon sliced crosswise in 1/2" pieces
• 1/2 medium onion thinly sliced
• 8-10 miniature smoked cocktail sausages such as "Lil smokies"
• 3 cloves garlic smashed, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup dashi
• 3 tbsp gochujang
• 2 tsp gochugaru
• 2 1/2 cups refrigerated Korean rice cakes
• 1/2 cup low-moisture mozzarella shredded
• 1/4 cup parmesan shredded
• 2-3 scallions sliced, to garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven

• Preheat your oven's broiler to high temperature.

Cook the bacon

• Add the sliced bacon to a cool pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Saute the bacon for about 4-6 minutes, until golden. 
• Once finished, remove the bacon but leave its fat in the pan.

Fry the onions, miniature sausages, and garlic. 

• Add the onions and miniature sausages to the same pan with the bacon fat. Fry, stirring occasionally, for 4-6 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the sausages begin to char.
• Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.

Make the sauce

• To the same pan with the onions, pour in the cream, milk, and dashi.
• Next add the gochujang, gochugaru and 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Stir well.
• Bring the sauce to a boil.
• Once boiling, turn down the heat to medium and simmer for around 5 minutes, until very slightly reduced.
• Add the rice cakes and simmer for around 3-4 minutes.  Stir often so that the rice cakes don’t stick to the pan.

Top with cheese and broil

• Top with both cheeses, starting with the mozzarella and finishing with the parmesan.
• Put your pan in the oven, around 3 inches from the flame, and broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese it melted. Check the cheese often to ensure it doesn't burn.

Garnish and serve

• Remove from the oven, garnish with scallions, and serve right away.

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