Milk in Korean food
Milk (우유)
In Korean food, milk usually shows up as cheese toppings, cream sauces, bread and snacks. Cheese is often added even to spicy red dishes, so check the menu name first.
Where it hides in Korean food
Budae jjigae is often topped with sliced cheese that melts into the broth, and many shops let you add it or leave it out when you order. Menus with cheese at the front of the name, such as cheese tteokbokki, cheese dakgalbi and cheese sundubu jjigae, are common too. Barbecue restaurants and bars sometimes serve corn cheese, sweet corn with melted mozzarella.
Besides red tteokbokki there is cream tteokbokki made with a cream sauce. Rose tteokbokki, in a sauce of milk, cream and tomato, is also popular. The name comes from rose pasta, and the sauce contains cream. Street toast is filled with cheese along with egg and ham.
In fried chicken, milk can hide in the meat and the coating rather than the sauce. Soaking raw chicken in milk to remove its smell is a common method, and some batter recipes use milk. Chicken dusted with cheese powder is a popular menu at many chicken brands.
Dairy is common in Korean bread and snacks. Garlic bread filled with cream cheese is counted among the signature Korean breads, and the batter for bungeoppang, a fish-shaped pastry, is sometimes made with milk instead of water. Bingsu is often shaved from frozen milk and topped with condensed milk. Grilled squid sold at cinemas and street stalls is often cooked in butter.
How it is written in Korean
- 우유uyucow milk
- 분유bunyumilk powder
- 유청yucheongwhey
- 버터beoteobutter
- 치즈chijeucheese
These are common words, not a complete list. A word missing here does not mean the ingredient is missing from the food.
Korean law requires packaged food that contains this ingredient to name it in a separate allergy box near the ingredient list. The legal name is 우유.
Dishes that contain it
Sometimes in it
- Budae-jjigae (army base stew)American cheese is often melted into the broth, but at many shops it is an option you choose when ordering or add while eating. If cheese is a concern, ask them to leave it out when you order.
- Dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken)Cheese, rose and corn cheese dakgalbi add cheese or cream to the pan.
- Galbi (grilled short ribs)Cheese back ribs come with melted mozzarella for the pork ribs.
- GimbapCheese gimbap, with a slice of cheese rolled into the filling, is a popular variety on shop menus.
- Hotteok (sweet filled pancake)Some doughs are kneaded with milk instead of water, while others use only water, so it depends on the stall; pizza hotteok is filled with cheese.
- Korean fried chickenSome kitchens soak the raw chicken in milk to brine it, or use milk in the batter — it is hidden in the meat and crust rather than served as a sauce.
- Sundubu-jjigae (soft tofu stew)Cheese sundubu-jjigae melts cheddar or mozzarella on top.
- TteokbokkiCheese-topped and cream-sauce versions are popular variations, so check the menu name before ordering.
Based on the 20 dishes this site has researched. Dishes not listed here can contain it too.
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Sources we checked
This page is based on the references listed here. They were found with AI and actually opened and checked, and nothing on the page is generated while you use it. Source titles stay in their original language, each one comes with a line on what we checked there, and each link opens the other site in a new tab.
How we research and check these sourcesShow the 13 sources behind this page
- Budae-jjigae - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
Budae jjigae is often topped with sliced cheese.
- 떡볶이 - 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전 (opens in a new tab)
Besides the red kind, tteokbokki comes in cheese and cream versions.
- Corn cheese - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
Corn cheese is sweet corn baked with mozzarella.
- Tteokbokki - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
Tteokbokki has cream and rose versions with dairy in the sauce.
- Gilgeori toast - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
Street toast is filled with cheese along with egg and ham.
- 후라이드치킨, bbq스타일 황금올리브치킨레시피(치킨 튀김가루 직접 만드는 법) (opens in a new tab)
This fried chicken recipe soaks the chicken in a milk marinade before coating it.
- Home Cuisine - 닭다리튀김, 후라이드치킨, 치킨 튀김옷 (opens in a new tab)
This fried chicken coating mixes flour and starch with water and milk.
- 생닭 비린내 없애는 우유·쌀뜨물 전처리법, 탈취·연육 원리 차이 < 생활·문화 < 기사본문 - 아던트뉴스 (opens in a new tab)
Soaking raw chicken in milk is described as a way to reduce its smell.
- Your One-of-a-kind Korean-style Bread, K-Bread! | The Official Travel Guide to Seoul (opens in a new tab)
Korean cream cheese garlic bread is a round bread with cream cheese in the middle.
- 붕어빵 - 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전 (opens in a new tab)
Bungeoppang batter is sometimes made with milk.
- Bingsu - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
Bingsu is often shaved from frozen milk and topped with condensed milk.
- 반찬가게 창업ㆍ운영 > 준수사항 > 영업자의 준수사항 > 식품 등의 표시 기준 (본문) | 찾기쉬운 생활법령정보 (opens in a new tab)
Packaged food must name its allergens in a separate box near the ingredient list.
- 식품 등의 표시ㆍ광고에 관한 법률 시행규칙 - 국가법령정보센터 (opens in a new tab)
The annex to these labeling rules lists the allergens that packaged food must declare.