Essential Korean ingredients every cook should know

From gochujang to kimchi, Korean ingredients are becoming readily available in British supermarkets thanks to growing interest in Korean cooking and the fermented foods associated with it.

I'm a Korean-born food writer and here are the must-have Korean ingredients you need to stock up on and the dishes they suit…

You'll find many Korean recipes are cooked on the hob. This means many dishes are fast to make and feature flavour-packed staples (see below).

That said, there's also an appreciation for slow food that's rooted deeply in traditional Korean cooking practices.

The meal table is vibrant and filled with assorted banchan (sides) that reflect the four distinctive seasons. Most Korean dishes can be built around assorted seasonings consisting broadly of spring onion, garlic, toasted sesame seeds/oil, sugar and salt.

Rice (regarded as 'the key to prosperity') and fermented and pickled produce are also important to Koreans.

The reason? The geography and harsh winters make agriculture difficult and the Korean War created food scarcity. People had to think outside of the box and so there's a history of preserving ingredients or using ones that last a long time.

Confused by the array of Korean ingredients available? Here's what you can expect from them and how you can use them…

Doenjang (fermented soybean paste)

Doenjang is made from simmered soybeans that are mashed down.

It's hung outside to dry and ferment and formed into dried blocks called meju. It's then submerged in heavily salted water which eventually separates into doenjang and the liquid, guk-ganjang (Korean soup soy sauce).

It's heavily pungent and carries deeply complex, umami flavours. Used as an ingredient to cook with and raw as a condiment, it's salty and earthy, and usually comes in a brown tub next to gochujang in the supermarket or specialist grocers.

When cooked, the smell often reminds me of well-aged parmesan. Combine with peanut butter and mayonnaise and you have a perfectly nutty dipping sauce for crudités.

Or, mix it with butter and you have a flavour bomb which can be stirred through noodles or warm potatoes.

Ganjang (Korean soy sauce)

Visit a Korean supermarket and you'd be shocked by the number of soy sauces available. Jin-ganjang is the most versatile. It's robust enough to stand the heat and is great for stir-frying or braising.

Yangjo-ganjang typically goes through a longer fermentation period and the result is a richer, sweeter sauce. Use it for dishes that don't require cooking.

Guk-ganjang is lighter in colour and salty, similar to a Chinese light soy sauce.

There are also ready-seasoned varieties, where ingredients like fruit, vegetables or seafood are added to enhance the flavour. Japanese soy sauce works well, though, if you can't find ganjang.

Gochujang

Now widely available, gochujang (often found in a red tub) is a chilli paste, with a flavour that's unique to Korea. There's no substitution for it.

The spice comes from gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) which is balanced with fermented soybean powder (meju garu) and sweet rice syrup.

The level of spice can change dramatically depending on the types of chilli used but gochujang will always have a smoky undertone with a salty-sweet umami taste.

Gochugaru

Korean sun-dried chillies are smoky, fiery and have a touch of sweetness. Coarse flakes are used for general cooking but are best known for making kimchi.

You can also buy it as a finely ground powder and this is preferred for soups and stews such as yukgaejang (spicy pulled beef soup), to give the broth a smoother finish. Ground Aleppo pepper makes a decent substitute.

Toasted sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds

Korean sesame oil is nutty in flavour and aroma. It's used as a finishing oil and is great with beef and dark greens. It has a low smoking point, so when cooking with it combine with an oil with a higher smoking point, like sunflower oil.

Sesame seeds add a great crunchy texture. You can also lightly grind them down; this brings out another level of nuttiness. Then stir them into noodles with soy sauce.

Gim jaban (Korean roasted seaweed)

While crispy roasted seaweed thins are mostly enjoyed as snacks in the UK, in Korea, they are regarded as a powerhouse ingredient that can add so much flavour to any dish. I crumble them into dishes to add a salty-sweet umami flavour.

Look for pre-crumbled bags of seaweed labeled as gim jaban from Korean supermarkets or online. Once opened, store in the freezer to keep them crispy.

Tomato ketchup and Worcestershire sauce

Tomato ketchup paired with gochujang became popular in the 1980s in Korea and has remained so. This unlikely duo is often used to add tanginess to kare (Korean curry) or in brown sauce for donkkaseu (Korean pork cutlet).

Originally published January 2024. Updated February 2026.

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