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.
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.
- 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 14 dishes this site has researched. Dishes not listed here can contain it too.