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.
How it is written in Korean
- 대두daedusoybean, the word used on food labels
- 콩kongsoybean, or beans in general
- 된장doenjangfermented soybean paste
- 간장ganjangsoy sauce
- 두부dubutofu
- 청국장cheonggukjangquick fermented soybean paste
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 대두.
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.
- Gamjatang (pork bone stew)Doenjang (soybean paste) seasons the vegetables and the broth, and soy sauce is often added as well.
- Ganjang-gejang (soy sauce marinated raw crab)Soy sauce is the brine the crabs sit in for days, so it soaks into the meat and roe under the shell as well as the liquid served alongside.
- 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.
- Jajangmyeon (black bean noodles)Chunjang, the black paste that gives jajang sauce its color, is fermented from soybeans along with flour, and many cooks also add soy sauce while stir-frying.
- JapchaeSoy sauce is the main seasoning and is tossed through the noodles with everything else, so it coats every strand.
- Jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup)Soy sauce is a usual seasoning for the jjamppong broth, and some cooks add doubanjiang, a bean paste, to the chili stir-fry.
- Mandu (Korean dumplings)Crumbled tofu is almost always part of a Korean mandu filling, soy sauce seasons it, and the dipping sauce on the side is soy sauce mixed with vinegar.
- 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.
- Hotteok (sweet filled pancake)The savory glass noodle and vegetable filling is seasoned with soy sauce; the sweet sugar filling is not.
- 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 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 9 sources behind this page
- Meju - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
Doenjang, ganjang and gochujang are all made from meju, blocks of fermented soybeans.
- ‘한국 장 담그기 문화’ 유네스코 인류무형문화유산 등재 - 정책뉴스 | 뉴스 | 대한민국 정책브리핑 (opens in a new tab)
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.
- Gochujang - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
Gochujang is made with meju powder and is the base of ssamjang and the vinegared chili dip chogochujang.
- Ssamjang - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
Ssamjang is doenjang mixed with gochujang.
- Namul - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
Namul vegetable dishes can be seasoned with soy sauce, doenjang or gochujang.
- Soybean sprout - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
Soybean sprouts are a common ingredient in Korean side dishes.
- Banchan - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
Banchan are small side dishes served with rice and set in the middle of the table to share.
- 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.