20 Korean Soup Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular soup in Korea? ›

Kalguksu. Kalguksu is a favorite summertime dish of many South Koreans, usually served during rainy seasons and on windy summer days. It consists of handmade wheat flour and egg noodles in a broth that is usually made with shellfish, dried anchovies, and kelp.

According to the Taste Atlas Awards, the international food database, the Filipino favorite, Sinigang, is hailed as the best soup in the world.

Samgyetang

This hot stew made with chicken and ginseng is a popular dish in Korea and is traditionally eaten when a person is sick with a cold or flu. This is because of the chicken, which is often said to be 'hot' food, and the ginseng, which supposedly helps to fight off the sickness and make you feel better.

Guk (국), also sometimes known as tang (탕; 湯), is a class of soup-like dishes in Korean cuisine. Guk and tang are commonly grouped together and regarded as the same type of dish, although tang can sometimes be less watery than guk.

is a hearty full of flavour spicy soup best taken while. its bubbling hot and pair with our white rice to help. balance out the heat.

Miyeok-guk (미역국) (also rendered as miyuk guk) or seaweed soup is a non-spicy Korean soup whose main ingredient is miyeok, or seaweed. It is traditionally eaten as a birthday breakfast in honor of one's mother and by women who have given birth for several months postpartum.

Notable examples include beef and goat noodle soup served by Wattana Panich in Bangkok, Thailand, which has been cooking for over 49 years as of 2024, and oden broth from Otaf*cku in Asakusa, Japan, which has served the same broth daily since 1945.

There are four main categories of soup: Thin, Thick, Cold and National. These types of soup are widely recognised in today's modern kitchen.

Soups and stews: Koreans often enjoy soups and stews for breakfast. This might include haejangguk, considered to be a hangover cure, which consists of pork, cabbage, coagulated ox blood, and vegetables in beef broth, or galbitang, which is a thick soup made from short ribs.

Do Koreans eat soup everyday? ›

Soups are a common part of any Korean meal. Unlike other cultures, in Korean culture, soup is served as part of the main course rather than at the beginning or the end of the meal, as an accompaniment to rice along with other banchan. Soups known as guk are often made with meats, shellfish and vegetables.

Rice and banchan are typically served with a soup or stew alongside. Seoyoung notes that the main thing to be aware of is where you place your soup bowl in relation to your rice bowl.

Kimchi is often hailed as the national dish of Korea and is an integral part of Korean meals. This fermented vegetable dish, most commonly made with napa cabbage and Korean radishes, is seasoned with a mixture of spices, including chili pepper, garlic, ginger, and more.

It usually consists of dried napa cabbage, vegetables and meat in a hearty beef broth. One type of haejangguk, seonjiguk, includes sliced congealed ox blood (similar to black pudding) and another type, sundaeguk, includes a kind of blood sausage made with intestine stuffed with pig's blood and other ingredients.

The soup we like to have on the side is called dwengjang jigae (된장찌개/soybean soup) which normally consists of soybean paste, radish, zucchini and tofu. The earthiness of the soup matches so well with the zestiness and spiciness of the bibimbap, it's a combo we definitely recommend.

Yes, Koreans often eat rice and soup at the same time. In fact, a traditional Korean meal usually consists of rice, soup, and several side dishes, which are collectively called "banchan". Rice is considered the staple food in Korean cuisine and is typically served in a separate bowl from the soup.

Kimchi-jjigae 김치찌개

Kimchi stew is one of the most-loved of all the stews in Korean cuisine. It's a warm, hearty, spicy, savory, delicious dish that pretty much everyone loves. As long as they can handle spicy food, I never met a person who didn't like kimchi-jjigae.

Nongshim Shin Ramyeon

Probably the most famous ramyeon in Korea and abroad, Nongshim Shin Ramyeong (농심 신라면) is a staple in many households. It is quite spicy, especially if you are not used to Korean spice, and contains small chunks of beef and flakes of vegetables.