Pear in Korean food
Asian pear (배)
In Korean cooking, Asian pear is used more often as a sweetener and meat tenderizer than as fruit on a plate. Grated pear melts into marinades, kimchi seasoning and noodle sauces, where you cannot see it.
Where it hides in Korean food
Bulgogi and seasoned galbi are often marinated with grated pear or pear juice, which softens the meat and adds a mild sweetness. The pear dissolves into the sauce, and the meat is marinated before it reaches the table, so it is hard to leave out when you order.
Pear is often grated into the seasoning paste of ordinary cabbage kimchi, and it shows up even more in mild, non-spicy kimchi. White kimchi (baek kimchi) is made with pear, chestnut and jujube; bossam kimchi, a Kaesong specialty, wraps sliced pear and apple inside cabbage leaves; and dongchimi, a radish water kimchi, may have pear in its brine. Kimchi comes to the table as a side dish without being ordered.
Mul naengmyeon, cold noodles in an iced broth, is traditionally served with slices of Korean pear on top. The broth is sometimes made from dongchimi, so pear can be in the liquid as well as on the noodles. For bibim naengmyeon, the spicy mixed version, some recipes chop or grate pear into the chili sauce.
Yukhoe, seasoned raw beef, is commonly served with julienned pear on the same plate, and old cookbooks season the lean meat with soy sauce and pear. Yangnyeom gejang, raw crab in a sweet and spicy chili sauce, is often made with ground pear in the sauce. As a dessert, baesuk is a drink of pear poached with ginger and honey or sugar, with black peppercorns pressed into it, and it is often served in summer or around Chuseok.
Dishes that contain it
Sometimes in it
- BibimbapSome recipes mix pear juice into the gochujang sauce or add shredded pear on top.
- BulgogiGrated pear or pear juice is commonly added to the marinade to tenderize the meat, and it dissolves into the sauce where you cannot see it.
- Galbi (grilled short ribs)Seasoned galbi often has grated pear or pear juice in the marinade to tenderize the meat. It is marinated in advance, so it is hard to leave out when you order.
- Ganjang-gejang (soy sauce marinated raw crab)Ground Korean pear sweetens the chili dressing of the spicy yangnyeom version.
- KimchiGrating pear into the kimchi seasoning paste is common.
- Naengmyeon (cold noodles)Cold broth naengmyeon may be topped with pear slices, and grated pear may go into the spicy mixed-noodle sauce.
Based on the 20 dishes this site has researched. Dishes not listed here can contain it too.