Korean Snacks and Desserts
Sweet Custard Bread (Poolppang)
A popular street food in Korea, most vendors in Seoul advertise these little puffs as "sweet custard bread". But they smell more like pancakes to me while they're cooking, so I describe them as red bean pancake bites. The sweet custard dough is filled with a mildly sweet red bean paste, and they are soft, chewy and delicious.
Bbopki, Traditional Korean Sugar Candy
A traditional Korean candy made of carmelized sugar and a pinch of baking soda, Bbopki is sometimes served on a stick as a lollipop. Bbopki can also be made in round disks with no stick, and is an easy candy to make at home. stamped with a design or shape, and if you manage to eat around the shape without breaking it, then you can get another Bbopki for free.
Green Tea Cake Recipe (Nokcha Cake)
This simple, moist cake is subtly sweet and flavored with green tea (nokcha, matcha). You can add more sugar if you prefer more sweetness, of you can top your green cake with some cream cheese frosting.
How to Make Candied Ginger
I love ginger as a home remedy, whether it's for a winter cold or some indigestion. But candied ginger gets expensive, even if it's hard to eat large quantities of it. So homemade candied ginger is something to make at home if you love the spicy-sweet taste of the crystallized stuff.
Green Tea Ice Cream Recipe
Green tea ice cream is popular all over Korea and you can also find it in Korean restaurants and grocery stores all over the world. It's an easy and addictive ice cream to make if you have natural green tea powder, which you can find in Asian grocery stores and online.
Nut and Rice Cakes (Japgwapyon) Recipe
Koreans eat many different types of rice cakes- in savory main dishes, as snacks and as desserts. These sweet dessert rice cake balls (jap gwa pyon) are made of glutinous rice flour, dried fruit and nuts.
Korean Sesame Candies (Kang Jung)
I used to love these Korean sesame candy (or cookies) growing up, but I never realized how easy they were to do until I tried to make them for a gluten-free friend. They are as easy to make as Rice Krispie Treats and have the same no-bake, few ingredient simplicity.
How to Make Spam Musubi
Like kimbap or sandwiches, spam musubi is a portable snack or meal with endless variations. The traditional and most recognizable musubi is a large rectangular portion of rice topped with grilled Spam and held together by a strip of Nori (seaweed).
How to Grill Chestnuts
Koreans love chestnuts, and they are sold by street vendors and in markets all over Korean cities. My family steamed, grilled and roasted chestnuts often growing up and I love their sweet, nutty smell while they cook; the line from the Christmas song "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" meant more to me than any of my American friends.
Tofu and Sauteed Kimchi (Dubu Kimchi) Recipe
Dubu Kimchi is a popular anju (Korean drinking snack) and a delicious, easy way to use leftover or older kimchi. The vibrant flavors of the sauteed kimchi are mellowed by the soft, delicate texture of the plain tofu.
Korean Red Bean Porridge (Pat Jook) Recipe
Jook (rice porridge) was always eaten in Korea to stretch grains for the poor and to soothe sick, young, or elderly bellies. It's still enjoyed as a snack, as breakfast or another light meal, or as comfort food for the sick. Pat Jook (sweet bean porridge) is smooth and mild with a subtle sweetness, and is a nice change from the many types of savory Korean porridges.
Korean Tuna Croquettes Recipe (Chamchi Jun)
These Korean tuna croquettes (or tuna pancakes or patties) are delicious when eaten hot, but they are also a popular snack or lunchbox food and can be eaten room temperature.
Sweet Korean Ginger Tea
Koreans rarely eat dessert the way Westerners do. Usually a Korean meal is followed by some fresh fruit and maybe a sweet dessert drink. This sweet chilled ginger tea, infused with Asian pear and oranges, is the perfect ending to a Korean meal.
Rice Cakes (Dduk)
Korean rice cakes (Dduk) come in every imaginable shape, color, and size and are eaten, served, or shared at almost every Korean holiday gathering or special occasion. They can be a snack, a fancy present, an appetizer, or a dessert, and at any special occasion there are often different types served together.