Ingredient guide
What these recipes use that your usual shop may not stock: what it is, where to find it, and what you can put in its place.
Anchovy brothKorean base stock made from dried anchovies, usually simmered with kombu kelp; savoury, briny, lightly fishy.1 recipeAsian pearA round, very juicy pear with crisp, slightly grainy flesh like an apple, mildly sweet.1 recipebeef brisketCut from the breast of the cow, streaked with fat; supermarkets often sell it only as stewing beef, while a butcher sells it whole or sliced paper-thin on request.2 recipesBeef short ribsMeaty bone-in pieces of beef rib, well marbled and rich in connective tissue.1 recipecanned chopped clamsCooked, finely chopped clams packed in their own juice, in a can.1 recipeCanned luncheon meat (Spam)Cured, cooked pork pressed into a firm block and canned; salty and fatty, usually sliced and pan-fried.1 recipeCorn flourFinely ground yellow maize, a flour with a mild, slightly sweet corn flavour; not to be confused with pure cornstarch, which British English also calls cornflour.1 recipedangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles)Korean glass noodles made from sweet potato starch, greyish-brown when dried, translucent when cooked, with a firm, springy chew.1 recipedoenjangKorean fermented soybean paste, dark, coarse and strongly salty with a deep, earthy flavour.4 recipesDoenjang (Korean soybean paste)Fermented Korean paste of soybeans and salt, dark and often coarse, strongly salty with a deep, pungent savouriness.1 recipedongchimi brineThe clear, gently sour brine from dongchimi, a Korean radish water kimchi; cool, salty and faintly fizzy.1 recipeDried anchoviesSmall whole anchovies, boiled and dried; salty and intensely briny, the base of many Korean stocks and crisp side dishes.3 recipesdried bracken fern (gosari)!Dried young shoots of bracken fern, soaked and cooked before use; tender yet chewy, earthy, faintly smoky.1 recipeDried fernbrake (gosari)!Dried young shoots of bracken fern that are soaked and boiled before cooking. They are chewy, slightly fibrous and earthy-nutty in flavour.1 recipeDried kelp!Dried sheets of brown seaweed (Korean dashima, Japanese kombu), used above all to give broth a deep, savoury base.2 recipesDried kelp!Dried kelp in stiff, dark green sheets, used mainly to steep in stock, which it gives a deep, rounded savouriness.2 recipesDried pollockAir-dried Alaska pollock, usually pulled into fibrous shreds, mildly savoury and barely fishy.1 recipeFish sauceA clear, amber seasoning sauce made from salted, fermented fish, in Korea usually anchovies; very salty and deeply savoury.4 recipesGarlic chives (buchu)Flat green allium leaves with a distinct garlic flavour, called buchu in Korean cooking.1 recipeGlass noodlesTranslucent starch noodles, in Korean cooking usually made from sweet potato starch: glassy, smooth and distinctly chewy once cooked.1 recipeglutinous riceShort, opaque white rice that turns very sticky and chewy when cooked; despite the name, it is gluten-free.1 recipeGochugaruKorean chili flakes made from sun-dried red chilies, ground coarse or fine. Bright red, fruity, mild to medium hot and slightly smoky.18 recipesGochujangKorean chili paste made from glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, chili powder and salt, thick, hot, salty and faintly sweet.11 recipesGochujang (Korean red chili paste)Fermented Korean paste of chili, glutinous rice, soybeans and salt, thick, spicy, slightly sweet and deeply savoury.1 recipeGreen chiliA fresh chili picked unripe, grassy and bright, ranging from mild to very hot depending on the variety.5 recipesGreen plum syrupKorean syrup made from green, unripe plums (maesil) steeped in sugar: sweet, fruity and tart.1 recipeInstant ramyeon noodlesPre-cooked, fried and dried wheat noodles sold as a block that cook in a few minutes; the Korean kind is thicker and chewier than most others.1 recipekalguksu noodlesFlat, fresh wheat noodles made from flour, water and salt, traditionally cut by knife from rolled-out dough. Soft with a gentle chew.1 recipeKimchiLacto-fermented napa cabbage with chilli, garlic, ginger and usually fish sauce, sour, spicy and savoury.4 recipesKorean chili flakesDried, coarsely ground Korean chilies without seeds, bright red, mild to medium hot, fruity and slightly smoky.1 recipeKorean fish cakeFried paste of white fish and a little starch, usually shaped into thin sheets; springy, mildly sweet and salty, and it soaks up broth.1 recipeKorean herb packetDried roots, barks and fruits, usually in a cloth bag, simmered in chicken broth to give it an earthy, faintly bittersweet note.1 recipeKorean hot mustard pasteA sharp paste of ground mustard seed, usually sold in a tube, whose heat rises into the nose rather than burning on the tongue.1 recipeKorean medicinal herb mixA ready-made blend of dried roots, barks and fruits from Korean herbal tradition, simmered in broths and removed before serving.1 recipeKorean radishKorean radish, shorter and stouter than Japanese daikon, with a greenish shoulder — firm, juicy, mildly peppery and slightly sweet.7 recipesKorean radishKorean radish (mu), shorter and stouter than daikon, often pale green at the top, with firm, juicy, mildly sweet flesh.1 recipeKorean soup soy sauceA pale, very salty Korean soy sauce made from fermented soybean blocks, used to season soups and vegetable side dishes.7 recipesKorean/nashi pearA round, very juicy pear with crisp, slightly grainy flesh, closer to an apple than to a soft pear.1 recipeMackerelAn oily sea fish with a robust, savoury flavour and firm, dark flesh.1 recipeMirinA sweet Japanese rice wine for cooking that gives sauces and marinades a mild sweetness and a light gloss.1 recipemisugaru (roasted grain powder)A fine powder of roasted grains and legumes, usually barley, rice and soybeans, with a nutty, toasty, faintly sweet taste.1 recipemung bean sproutsSprouted mung beans with a crisp white stem and a small green-hulled head, juicy and mild.1 recipenaengmyeon noodlesThin, greyish Korean noodles made from buckwheat flour and starch, strikingly chewy and elastic, used mainly for cold noodle dishes.1 recipeOligosaccharide syrupA clear, runny syrup made from oligosaccharides, more mildly sweet than sugar — the everyday Korean sweetener for gloss and body.2 recipesOyster sauceThick, dark seasoning sauce made from reduced oyster extract, salty-sweet and deeply savoury.1 recipePerilla leavesLarge, serrated leaves of Korean perilla, a plant of the mint family, strongly aromatic with a note somewhere between mint, anise and fresh grass.1 recipePerilla oilOil pressed from toasted perilla seeds, deep golden, nutty with a grassy, herbal undertone.1 recipeRadish sproutsYoung radish seedlings with two small leaves, fresh, juicy and distinctly peppery like radish.1 recipeRice cakesKorean tteok: steamed and pounded rice dough, usually shaped into finger-thick sticks or oval slices. Firmly chewy and mild, not to be confused with puffed rice cakes.4 recipesRice flourFinely milled flour from glutinous rice that turns chewy, elastic and sticky when cooked.1 recipeRice vinegarA mild, pale vinegar made from rice, less sharp and slightly sweeter than wine vinegar.3 recipesRice waterThe cloudy water left from rinsing raw rice, used as a base for stews and soups.1 recipeRice wineA clear, mild wine made from fermented rice, used in Korean cooking mainly for marinades and to tame fishy smells.6 recipesSalted shrimpTiny shrimp packed in plenty of salt and fermented, a very salty, savoury paste with the small shrimp still whole.3 recipesSeaweed!Dried seaweed, in Korean cooking mainly miyeok (wakame), gim (nori) and dasima (kombu), with a salty, briny flavour.1 recipeSesame oilDark oil pressed from toasted sesame seeds, with a strong, nutty, roasted aroma; usually added at the end in small amounts as a seasoning.21 recipesShiitake mushrooms!East Asian mushrooms with a brown cap, used fresh or dried, with a strong, savoury flavour.3 recipesShiitake mushrooms!Savoury brown-capped mushrooms, used fresh or dried; the dried ones are especially aromatic.1 recipeShishito peppersSmall, thin-walled green peppers from Japan, mild and slightly grassy, with the occasional hot one among them.1 recipeSoybean sprouts!Sprouted yellow soybeans with a large yellow head and a long stem, crunchy and mildly nutty.2 recipesSoybean sprouts!Sprouted yellow soybeans with a large yellow bean head and a long, crisp stem, nuttier and sturdier than ordinary bean sprouts.2 recipessweet red bean pasteAdzuki beans cooked down with sugar into a thick, sweet paste, either sieved smooth or left coarse with whole beans.1 recipeSweet rice flourFlour ground from glutinous rice, a particularly starchy rice variety; once cooked it turns chewy, elastic and sticky.5 recipessweetened condensed milkThickened, heavily sweetened milk, syrupy and caramel-sweet.1 recipesweetened red beansSmall red beans cooked soft and thickened with sugar, left whole or mashed to a paste. Sweet, gently nutty, creamy.1 recipesyrupIn Korean cooking this usually means a light starch or rice syrup (mulyeot, jocheong): thick, mildly sweet, and used for gloss.2 recipesTuna fish sauceKorean seasoning sauce made from tuna or bonito extract and soy sauce, salty, smoky and full of umami, much milder than anchovy fish sauce.1 recipewasabiA sharp green paste made from the rhizome of the wasabi plant, served in Korea mainly with raw fish.1 recipeYoung ponytail radish with greensA small young radish, thumb to finger length, used together with its long leaves; the root is firm and crunchy, the greens pleasantly bitter.1 recipe