7 Vegetarian

Korean Recipes

To Add To Your Foodie Bucket List

From kimchi to fried chicken, certain Korean recipes have been popular across the globe for a while now. And yet, the cuisine carries a notion that it’s not always suited to a vegetarian (or even vegan) diet. That’s certainly not the case! From authentic dishes that champion the veggies to easily customisable versions that simply eliminate ingredients (rather than reinvent a recipe), these Korean dishes are a vegetarian’s delight. 

One of the most famous Korean dishes, bibimbap, is a vibrant mixed rice bowl topped with sautéed or fresh vegetables (like spinach, carrots, and bean sprouts), seaweed, and sweet-spicy chilli paste gochujang. The term bibim means "mixing", and bap is cooked rice. This is highly popular as a vegetarian dish because meat and/or fried egg are toppings rather than part of the core dish. Both of these can easily be omitted for a lacto-vegetarian diet or a vegan version. 

A popular street food, tteokbokki, in the simplest of terms, is a dish made from rice cakes. The reason it makes it to the list of vegetarian Korean recipes is that the main rice cakes and the spicy gochujang sauce (or even soy sauce for a non-spicy version) are plant-based. However, it is commonly served as a non-vegetarian dish in Korea because it’s cooked using an anchovy or kelp broth and typically includes sliced fish cakes (eomuk) or meat. Swap it for a vegetarian broth and skip the additions for a vegetarian version.

A Korean corn dog (often called a K-dog) is a popular street food that’s quite different from its American counterpart. While the latter uses cornmeal batter, Korean corn dogs are made with a slightly sweet, yeasted wheat or rice flour dough. They are heavily coated in panko breadcrumbs, deep-fried until extra crispy, and usually feature a mozzarella filling that lends them the signature, cheesy pull. Many versions also contain small, diced potatoes pressed into the coating. It’s a perfect all-season snack, but especially comforting during the monsoons. 

Arguably one of the most famous Korean side dishes with that unmistakable crunch and tang, Kimchi is a collection of salted and fermented vegetables. Usually made up of radishes and cabbage, kimchi is seasoned with aromatics like garlic, ginger, and scallions and a seasoning paste made by mixing gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) and a sticky paste made from rice flour and water or broth. In some cases, fish sauce may be used as an umami booster, but it can be skipped or swapped with soy sauce for a vegan version.

In Indian cuisine, tofu is often looked at as a vegan alternative to paneer. But in Korean cuisine, it’s not just an alternative but rather a core ingredient around which dishes like the dubu jorim recipe are built. This includes a crispy pan-fried tofu braised in a rich, savoury, and slightly spicy sauce made of soy sauce, garlic, and gochugaru. It can be paired with kimchi, steamed rice, or a simple salad for a complete meal. 

While often compared to sushi because of its appearance, kimbap is very much its own dish. It consists of rice and assorted fillings rolled in sheets of seaweed and sliced into bite-sized rounds. The beauty of kimbap lies in how customisable it is. Vegetarian versions commonly include carrots, cucumber, spinach, pickled radish, egg, and tofu. It's portable, filling, colourful, and one of the easiest Korean recipes to adapt for different dietary preferences, making it a favourite picnic and lunchbox meal.

A Korean speciality, japchae is chewy, stir-fried glass noodles made from sweet potato starch. They are tossed with a variety of colourful vegetables and mushrooms in a sweet soy and sesame oil sauce. This is one of those dishes that’s traditionally plant-based, though modern-day additions may include sliced meat, so always ask when ordering. Its slippery texture and balance of sweet, savoury, and nutty flavours have helped make it one of Korea's most beloved noodle dishes. 

For a while, the list of vegetarian Korean dishes started and ended with Kimchi. But as the aforementioned dishes show, that list can do with an overhaul! From colourful rice bowls to glass noodle stir-fries, Korean cuisine offers far more variety than its popular exports of ramen and fried chicken might suggest. Whether you're looking for a hearty meal or a flavour-packed side dish, Korean cuisine proves that vegetarian food can be every bit as exciting, satisfying, and delicious as its meat-based counterparts.