The Best Street Food in Korean Street Markets
I am so embarrassed to admit that although I grew up in southern California, up until recently the only thing closest to Korean street food I’ve had was Korean BBQ. Don’t get me wrong! I love Korean barbeque and I ate it A LOT! However, there are SO MANY different popular Korean street food options out there… it’s pretty crazy! In this article, you will be exposed to some of the best street food in Korean street markets, such as street food Korean chicken, Korean sandwiches and so much more! Be ready for some mouth-watering Korean street food recipes, too!
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Introduction to Korean Street Food
The first time I was exposed to a lot of these different Korean street foods (found below) was through Netflix, believe it or not. (They have some GREAT food documentaries on there)!
In these documentaries, I learned that street food plays a large role in Korean food culture.
Some popular traditional Korean street food include the following:
- Hotteok: Pancakes filled with brown sugar.
- Chapssal-tteok: Rice cake made of glutinous rice.
- Dalgona (or Ppopgi): Baking soda and sugar candy (you may have recognized this in the popular Korean Netflix series called Squid Game).
- Bungeo-ppang: A Korean pastry shaped like a fish and filled with red bean paste.
- Roasted sweet potato
- Roasted chestnuts
**FYI roasted sweet potatoes and roasted chestnuts sell especially well during the winter months.
Although these popular Korean street foods are still around, there have been many super interesting (and mouth-watering) additions throughout the years.
Also, interestingly enough, a lot of the foods found in Korean street markets have evolved to include foods that are influenced by other cultures. Some examples include the following:
- Churros: Spanish deep-fried pastry covered with cinnamon and sugar.
- Kebobs: Pieces of seasoned meat cooked on a skewer.
- Chinese Tanghuru: Candied fruit lollipop.
Read further to learn about some of the best street food in Korean street markets.
FAQs
What are popular Korean street foods?
Some of the best and most popular Korean street foods include the following Korean street food meals and snacks (they will are described more in detail further down the article):
- Bindaetteok: Mungbean Korean pancakes
- Dakgangjeong: Twice fried chicken
- Gilgeori Toast
- Soondae: Korean blood sausage
- Tteokbokki: Stir-fried rice cake
- Bungeo-Ppang: Korean fish-shaped pastry
- Dalgona (or Ppopgi): Korean sweet treat traditionally made with baking soda and honeycomb sugar
- Ddakkochi: Grilled chicken kabobs
- Gamja-Hotdog: Hotdog (or “corndog”) covered in yeast batter and french fries
- Hotteok: Pancakes filled with brown sugar
- Jjinppang: Korean-style steamed buns
- Roasted sweet potato
What is Korean street food called?
Street food in Korean is 길거리 음식 (gilgeori eumsik). The world gilgeori means street and the word eumsik means food.
Is street food legal in Korea?
A lot of street food vendors in Korea operate illegally (though there are those who do operate legally, too).
Unfortunately, since these vendors are not legally regulated, food hygiene inspectors do not inspect these vendors’ foods and food stations.
Fortunately, however, there are cities all over Korea that are trying to work with street vendors to make them legal (Korea Herald).
Is Korean street food healthy?
Although Koreans often incorporate a good percentage of their meals with vegetables, unfortunately, and generally speaking, Korean street food may not be very healthy.
The reason for this is because, generally speaking, a large amount of food has to be cooked within a short period of time. This results in a large amount of oil being used to deep fry the food they are selling (which is not a healthy way to eat any kind of food).
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Best Korean Street Food Meals
So, similar to many other street foods all around the world, street food in Korean street markets can be a meal or a snack.
We’ll talk about the meals, first.
Bindaetteok
Ok, so this is such a yummy Korean street food!
It’s mungbean Korean pancakes!
[FYI, they’re not sweet like traditional American pancakes. In fact, they’re not even made with milk, eggs, or flour]!
So, what are mung beans? Well, they are a type of bean that is green. They look like this:
The first time I had mungbean Korean pancakes was actually in Pittsburgh (it’s weird to me that I never ate it when I lived in southern California… either way I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to try it)!
If you ever get the chance to eat this, and you can’t handle hot spicy food, make sure to have a glass of milk or piece of bread to tame the spiciness, haha.
(I have to do that. It’s still totally worth it, though)!
The reason I say this is because it’s often made with kimchi (kimchi is made with Korean red chili paste).
I must add that I TOTALLY recommend this food. It’s seriously one of the best street foods I’ve had in my entire life!
Dakgangjeong
This Korean dish is sometimes spelled Dak-gangjeong. It’s basically Korean twice-fried sweet and spicy chicken.
Korean fried chicken is a super, duper popular street food in Korean street markets!
And it’s so easy to make, too!
Take a look at this YouTube video from Maangchi. I’m warning you, though. It’ll make you salivate:
Street Food Korean Fried Chicken
Also, you can click here to access her recipe!
Gilgeori Toast
Gilgeori is Korean toast that’s super common in Korean street food culture!
It’s got a buttery, yet sweet and sour taste to it, and it’s made with lots of cabbage as well as some onions, carrots, and egg.
It’s SUPER easy to make at home, too!
For this reason, if you’re looking for a great breakfast meal, you should give this Korean street toast a try 😉
Here’s an easy Korean street toast recipe from Korean Bapsang.
Soondae
The Korean soondae (also spelled sundae) is a blood sausage. This kind of food has been around for a VERY long time – since around the years 918-1392.
Soondae is basically cow or pig intestines that are filled with different ingredients, one of which is blood (called seonji).
Besides blood, other key ingredients may often include any of the following:
- Rice
- Vegetables
- Minced meat
- Glass noodles (called dangmyeon)
- Kimchi (fermented cabbage)
- Soybean sprouts
- Scallions
- Doenjang (soy bean paste)
So, what do you eat with Sundae? Well, it’s often served with steamed organs such as liver (gan) and lung (heopa).
The Korean soondae can also be made in a tteokbokki soup or stirfry.
(My Korean friend informed me that a lot of people like to dip their soondae in the sauce that’s used to make tteokbokki).
You MUST see how YouTuber Keemi makes her soondae in a soup. Take a look!
Street food Korean sundae blood sausage
Tteokbokki
So, in case you did not already know, tteokbokki is a spicy stir-fried rice cake.
It’s made from a garae-tteok (long and cylinder-shaped rice cake) called tteokbokki-tteok.
Wait, so what is exactly is rice cake?
Rice cake is basically puffed rice that’s pressed together. Think of Quaker’s rice cakes that are sold almost EVERYWHERE here in the United States. It’s similar to that (I absolutely LOVE these Quaker rice cakes with peanut butter).
Interestingly, and fortunately, there are SO MANY different varieties of this very popular street food. Some of these variations include the following:
- Haemul-tteok-bokki (seafood tteokbokki)
- Galbi-tteokbokki (marinated grilled ribs)
- Jajang-tteokbokki (sweet bean sauce)
- Jeukseok-tteok-bokki (hot pot tteokbokki)
- Curry tteokbokki
- Rose tteokbokki
Also, Tteokbokki can be served and eaten with the following:
- Scallions
- Fish cakes (Eomuk)
- Boiled eggs
FYI, tteokbokki is often seasoned with a very popular Korean red chili paste called gochujang (my Korean roommate used to use this brand).
However, if you’re like me and you can’t handle spicy sauces too well, you can also season tteokbokki with Korean soy sauce (ganjang). You can find it on Amazon here.
[FYI, soy sauce tteokbokki is also known as royal court tteokbokki].
To help you understand this better, here is a popular Korean tteokbokki recipe I found on YouTube by very popular Korean food Youtuber – Maangchi:
Street food Korean gungjung tteokbokki
Now, doesn’t that look SOOOO delicious!!??
Best Korean Street Food Snacks
Bungeo-Ppang
Bungeo-Ppang is a sweet pastry that is often filled with sweet red bean paste.
However, in place of sweet red bean paste, many street vendors use these other delicious fillings:
- Choux-cream
- Chocolate
- Pizza toppings
What makes this Korean street pastry SO distinctive is its shape. It’s shaped like a fish!! The name truly reflects this, because it literally means “carp bread”.
This sweet pastry is made with baking powder, milk or water, wheat flour, and sometimes eggs. It’s then cooked on a fish-shaped waffle iron-looking grill.
When it’s about halfway cooked, the filling is added and then another layer of the batter is added so that the filling is enclosed in the middle of the pastry.
Ddakkochi
Ddakkochi is basically Korean grilled chicken kabobs (yum)!
These Korean chicken skewers are often coated with either a sweet and salty coating or a sweet and spicy coating.
The difference between these kabobs and the super popular Japanese yakitori (chicken and green onion skewers) is the flavor that is used for the sauces.
These sauces are distinctly “Korean flavor”. Meaning, they use spices and ingredients that are typical in Korean cuisine.
For example, one of these spices and ingredients is the spicy gochujang.
As mentioned earlier, gochujang is a super popular red chili paste used in Korean cuisine. My Korean roommate in college (and very good friend) used to use it ALL THE TIME!
Also, these Korean chicken skewers are PERFECT for a backyard barbeque!
If you’re interested in making these for your next Korean (or American) barbecue event, look no further than these recipes for ddakkochi made by My Korean Kitchen.
(She includes both the spicy and non-spicy sweet versions).
Gamja-Hotdog
OK, so I’ve been seeing these ALL OVER social media lately!
There’s good reason for it too, as it is SUPER appetizing! It’s basically a Korean french fry hot dog (or corn dog) on a stick.
Yes, haha! Awesome, right!?
This is probably THE FUNNEST street food in Korean street markets! It’s SO COOL.
They’re so convenient, too, because you don’t need a plate. In other words, you can eat this delicious Korean street food on the go!
Do you want to know the differences between the American corn dog and the Korean version?
Watch the very well-done video below by Joshua Weissman to find out:
Korean Street Corn Dog with Cheese
Jjinppang
These sweet Korean steamed buns are yummy and they’re a super, super, super-popular street food in Korean street markets.
It’s recommended to eat these when they’re fresh and hot, or else they harden and they just don’t taste the same.
These Korean steamed buns sold in street markets are generally filled with a sweet red bean paste (delicious).
I highly, highly recommend you try them if you’ve never had them before!
Here’s a recipe for delicious sweet Korean steamed buns by Maangchi. You definitely should consider trying it out!
Dalgona (or Ppopgi)
Ok, so dalgona is another SUPER POPULAR Korean sweet treat! It’s made with baking soda and melted honeycomb sugar.
After it’s done cooking, it turns out looking like a caramel-colored whipped cream.
Have you seen the really popular Korean Netflix series called Squid Game?
Well anyway, this Korean candy was featured in that movie during one of the games.
Remember when the characters had to use a needle to carve out the shape that’s imprinted on the cookie-looking thing? Yea, that’s a Korean dalgona (a hardened version of the caramel-colored whipped cream).
Here’s the recipe by Korean Bapsang.
Final Thoughts on Best Street Food in Korean Street Markets
I had a lot of fun writing this information for you about Korean street food and I really hope you found it all very interesting and helpful!
Although my favorite Korean street foods are the Mungbean Korean pancakes (Bindaetteok) and Korean-style steamed buns (Jjinppang), I highly recommend you try any of the foods mentioned above!
Also, let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.
