Korean-Style Foods With Origins In Other Countries
From decadent desserts to fried chicken to instant foods, a look at dishes that have had Korean flare added to them
Source: IG @sylvia_silvy
In Korea you can find all kinds of foods from all over the world, some on the more authentic side, and some that have been sort of Koreanified.
Today we're looking at Korean-style foods with origins in other countries.
Ttungcaron
뚱카롱
Source: G Valley News
Compared to the original French macaron, the Korean version is quite a bit thicker, with a lot more filling and even toppings.
Because of their size, they were nicknamed Ttungcaron, meaning "fat macaron".
It's hard to trace the origins of this dessert, but it has become extremely popular these days.
Source: 내외뉴스통신
French patissiers have called Korean-style macarons innovative and unique.
Aside from the standard round shape, you can also find fun fruit and popsicle shaped ttungcarons.
There are also many flavors to choose from such as matcha, earl grey, and red velvet.
The reason for the popularity of these fat macarons comes down to two main factors, the first being the importance of cost-effectiveness.
Koreans like to feel like their money has been well spent and they're really getting their money's worth and the larger size of these macarons fulfilled that.
The second reason is the culture of posting cute daily life photos to social media.
The quality of photos and the overall aesthetic of the subject matter is very important to Koreans and these macarons are perfect for this because of their variety in color and design.
Croffle
크로플
A croffle is a combination of the words croissant and waffle and is made by cooking croissant dough in a waffle iron.
The result is a crispy and delicious dessert that was an instant hit in Korea.
The croffle first hit Korea in 2018 in Seoul and since then many other cafes have begun making and selling them.
Tteok Cake
떡케이크
Source: Acrofan
In the basic version of this dessert, the base of the cake is made up of Korean rice cake, tteok (떡), and the decorations are red bean flour and smaller rice cakes.
This type of rice cake, called baek-seolgi (백설기), is soft and chewy and little sweet.
In recent years, the designs have gotten more intricate such as the beautiful rose tteok cake pictured.
Since it is considered to be a healthier option and also can be very elegant, it has become a very popular choice for special events such as first birthday celebrations and parents' day.
There are also smaller versions that are made into cute character shapes.
There have also been many other reinvented versions of international desserts that incorporate rice cake, such as lattes with injeolmi (another dessert rice cake) and waffles with injeolmi bean powder.
These types of desserts are popular with people of all ages since they incorporate traditional flavors with foreign ones.
Mugwort and Black Sesame Desserts
쑥, 흑임자 디저트
Mugwort and black sesame might not be flavors you would think of when you think dessert, but they are classic flavors in Korea.
Lattes, ice cream, waffles, and other desserts are now available in mugwort and black sesame flavors.
Potato Hotdog
감자 핫도그
Source: ASIAA
These corndogs are known as Kogo, a combination of Korea and Pogo, a popular Canadian corndog brand.
Unlike the traditional corndog, these have pieces of potato in the batter as well, which become basically like fries when cooked.
Other varieties have come out such as ones with cheese inside, squid ink batter, and ones with spicy sauce.
Seasoned Fried Chicken
양념치킨
Seasoned fried chicken, or Yangnyeom Chicken, which is known as a Korean soul food actually has foreign origins.
This fried chicken has its roots in African American culture in the southern United States and became very popular with Korean people in the 1980s with the addition of the sweet and spicy Korean sauce that is now famous around the world.
Now there are many different flavors such as soy sauce, garlic, and honey butter available.
Gundaeria
군대리아
Source: Hankyung
The name for this food is a combination of the word for army and Lotteria, a famous fast-food chain.
It is a build your own burger set served to soldiers in the Korean military.
Obviously each person has their own preferences and tastes, but this food is one that most agree is one of the memorable menu items when looking back at military days.
Source: etoday
What makes this unique is not just the DIY aspect, but that it contains strawberry or grape jam as an ingredient, which garnered attention of many.
It was featured on variety shows and a YouTube broadcast called Toy Soldiers (가짜 사나이)
Cup Pizza
컵피자
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Source: IG @d.d__do__
With the increase of single person households, easy to cook, individual portioned meals have become more and more popular.
Cup Pizza, manufactured by Ottogi, is an instant food that can be made in the microwave in just 2 minutes and was popular immediately upon its release in 2017.
Since ovens are not a common appliance in Korean homes, the fact that it can be cooked with only a microwave is a major selling factor.
I hope you enjoyed this introduction to Korean-style foods with foreign origins.
Which ones are you curious about trying? Let us know in the comments.
