Shrimp in Korean food
Shrimp (새우)
In Korean food, shrimp more often goes in as salted fermented shrimp than as whole shrimp. It is finely chopped into the seasoning, so you cannot see it.
Where it hides in Korean food
Salted shrimp is used to make kimchi and kkakdugi radish kimchi, to season stews, and as a dip for boiled pork. Kkakdugi is mixed with chopped salted shrimp.
Bossam, suyuk and sundae come with salted shrimp for dipping, and many sundae soup restaurants put out salted shrimp instead of salt.
Soft steamed egg is often seasoned with salted shrimp, and rice soups such as haejangguk and bean sprout rice soup are seasoned with it too.
Dishes with haemul, meaning seafood, in the name, such as haemul pajeon, often contain whole shrimp.
Dishes that contain it
Sometimes in it
- Budae-jjigae (army base stew)Salted shrimp is a common kimchi seasoning, so a shrimp allergy is worth mentioning even though no shrimp is added directly.
- GimbapSalted shrimp is a common kimchi seasoning, so a kimchi roll can carry shrimp even though no shrimp is visible in the slice.
- Haemul-pajeon (seafood scallion pancake)Shrimp is the other usual seafood alongside squid, pressed into the pancake so it is hard to pick out.
- JapchaeSeafood japchae tosses blanched shrimp with the glass noodles.
- Naengmyeon (cold noodles)The young radish kimchi on yeolmu naengmyeon can also be seasoned with salted shrimp.
- SamgyeopsalThe kimchi served as a side dish is commonly seasoned with salted shrimp. It comes separately, but it is sometimes grilled on the same grill.
- Sundubu-jjigae (soft tofu stew)Shrimp is another common seafood choice, and the menu name often just says seafood sundubu.
Based on the 14 dishes this site has researched. Dishes not listed here can contain it too.