Soy in Korean food
Soybean (대두)
Almost every basic Korean seasoning paste is fermented from soybeans. If you avoid soy, look at the seasoning before you look for tofu.
Where it hides in Korean food
Soy sauce (ganjang), soybean paste (doenjang) and chili paste (gochujang) are all made from meju, a block of fermented soybeans. Korean jang-making is on the UNESCO intangible heritage list, and jang is counted with rice and kimchi as the core of the Korean table.
Spicy gochujang is a soy seasoning too. It is made with meju powder, and it is the base of the red sauce on bibimbap and tteokbokki and of the vinegared chili dip served with raw fish.
The ssamjang served with lettuce wraps at barbecue restaurants is doenjang mixed with gochujang. Even when the meat itself is unseasoned, the paste on the side carries soy.
Vegetable side dishes are often dressed with soup soy sauce, doenjang or gochujang, and soybean sprouts and tofu also come to the table as side dishes. Side dishes arrive with the meal without being ordered.
Dishes that contain it
Usually in it
- BibimbapGochujang is made with fermented soybean powder (meju), and some places serve soy sauce or doenjang instead. Where the gochujang comes separately you can decide how much to add, but every sauce option carries soy.
- Budae-jjigae (army base stew)Tofu is one of the listed core ingredients, and the red seasoning is gochujang, which is fermented from soybean powder.
- BulgogiSoy sauce is the base of the marinade, and the meat is left to soak in it before cooking, so it runs right through the slices.
- Dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken)The red marinade is built on gochujang, fermented from soybean powder, with soy sauce added to the seasoning.
- Galbi (grilled short ribs)Marinated galbi soaks in soy sauce, and even plain grilled ribs are wrapped with ssamjang or doenjang, both made from fermented soybeans.
- GimbapThe burdock root in a standard roll is braised in soy sauce, and the fish cake or spinach is often seasoned with soy sauce too.
- JapchaeSoy sauce is the main seasoning and is tossed through the noodles with everything else, so it coats every strand.
- SamgyeopsalThe meat itself is plain, but it is eaten with ssamjang, a dipping paste of fermented soybean paste and gochujang, set on the table for every wrap.
- Sundubu-jjigae (soft tofu stew)The whole stew is built on soft tofu, which is curdled soy milk — soy is the main ingredient here, not a trace in the seasoning.
- TteokbokkiThe red sauce is gochujang, which is fermented with soybean powder; the milder brown version swaps it for soy sauce, so soy is there either way.
Sometimes in it
- Haemul-pajeon (seafood scallion pancake)The dipping sauce served with it is soy sauce mixed with vinegar, so soy comes on the side rather than in the pancake.
- Korean fried chickenPlain fried chicken may skip it, but both classic sauces carry soy: the red sauce is gochujang-based with soy sauce, and the brown glaze is soy sauce itself.
- Naengmyeon (cold noodles)The mixed version, bibim-naengmyeon, is dressed with a sauce made mainly from gochujang, which is fermented from soybean powder.
Based on the 14 dishes this site has researched. Dishes not listed here can contain it too.