vegan korean food

The vegan version of a Korean noodle dish that holds a special place in my heart. It is none other than Jajangmyeon, or black bean noodles.

Vegan Jajangmyeon (Black Bean Noodles)

udon noodles (Korean style)

(1 cup) hot water, more as needed

shiitake mushrooms

vegetable oil

chunjang (black bean paste)

garlic,

fresh ginger, minced

scallions, chopped

yellow onion

(1/4 head) green cabbage

sugar

vegan oyster sauce

water

cornstarch

Prepare Mushrooms & Vegetables. Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take out the mushrooms and mince them finely. Reserve the mushroom soaking liquid as well. For the yellow onions and green cabbage, cut them into similarly-sized cubes.

Prepare Black Bean Sauce. In a large pan or wok, heat up 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil on medium heat. Add chunjang (black bean paste) and slowly fry until fragrant and bubbling, about 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn the chunjang. Note: frying the black bean paste (chunjang) here is important — enough oil is crucial here to help develop that signature flavor. Hence the name "Jajangmyeon," which directly translates to "fried sauce noodles." Add the garlic & ginger and fry together until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Follow that with minced mushrooms, scallions, yellow onion, green cabbage, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Deglaze with the reserved mushroom-soaking water and bring to a boil to cook for 3-4 minutes. Note: you want the vegetables to retain their crunchiness, so as to add textural contrast to the sauce. Near the end, pour in the cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon water + 1 tablespoon cornstarch) and stir well to thicken. Finish by stirring in sugar & vegan oyster sauce as well. Taste to adjust seasoning & keep warm.

To Assemble. Boil thin udon noodles according to packaged instructions. Note: make sure not to over-cook these noodles. Firm (al dente) noodles will give you the best Jajangmyeon experience. To assemble, drain the noodles and place them in a bowl. Top with black bean sauce, scallions, thinly sliced cucumbers, and toasted sesame seeds. Enjoy warm.

Impossibly flavorful yet easy vegan kimchi fried rice. The best part: a vegan fried egg with creamy yolk, silky whites, and crispy golden edges.

Kimchi Fried Rice with Vegan Fried Egg

garlic, finely minced

scallions,

fried tofu/bean curd, cubed

well-fermented vegan kimchi (homemade recipe HERE)

gochujang (korean chili paste)

soy sauce

sesame oil

rice

gochugaru (korean chili powder),

seaweed/nori,

sesame seeds, for topping

soft/silken tofu

plant-based milk

white/light-brown miso

yeast

turmeric

black salt (kala namak)

(1/2 cup) plant-based milk

tapioca starch

Make the Vegan Egg Yolk. In a food processor, combine soft/silken tofu, plant-based milk, white/light-brown miso, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, vegetable oil, turmeric, and black salt. Blend until smooth and run through a fine mesh sieve for maximum smoothness. Taste to adjust seasoning & set aside.

Make the Vegan Egg White. In a bowl, whisk together plant-based milk, cornstarch, tapioca starch, and black salt. Combine well and set aside.

Make the Vegan Fried Eggs. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Note: you can also use a non-stick pan with egg molds/rings. Once the oil is hot, carefully spoon in 2.5-3 tablespoons of the egg white component. Immediately turn the heat down (to low heat) and cover to cook for about 1 minute. Once the whites are nearly set, spoon on ~1 tablespoon of the egg yolk component. Cover again and cook until the whites are completely set and the edges are golden-brown & crispy. Note: Heat control is key here, you might burn the whites if you're not careful! Once done, carefully transfer them onto paper towel to blot off excess oil. This recipe yields about 6-7 vegan fried eggs.

Prepare Mise En Place. Start by chopping up kimchi into bite-sized pieces. Note: I recommend using kitchen shears and cutting the kimchi in a bowl, so as to avoid staining & contain all the juices. Squeeze excess liquid out of the kimchi (yields about 4 tablespoons) and separate the squeezed kimchi from the juice. To the juice, add gochujang and toasted sesame oil. Mix well to combine and set aside. For the scallions, remember to separate the white and green parts.

Make the Kimchi Fried Rice. Heat ~1 tablespoon of oil in a wok/pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. First add garlic & scallion whites and cook until fragrant, about 30-45 seconds. Add chopped kimchi and sauté until lightly browned, then follow with fried tofu/bean curd and cook to get some color as well. Add a bit more oil and go in with leftover rice. Break the rice up and add the prepared sauce (kimchi juice, gochujang, and toasted sesame oil). Toss everything to combine and stir rigorously to ensure there are no big lumps of rice. At the end, allow the rice to sit undisturbed in the wok/pan for about 1 minute to develop a slightly-charred, crispy crust underneath. Ladle finished rice on a plate and top with scallions (the reserved green part), gochugaru (if desired), dried seaweed/nori, toasted sesame seeds, and a vegan fried egg. Serve warm.

<em>This Vegan Tteokbokki (Spicy Korean Rice Cakes) is chewy, saucy, spicy, and loaded with veggies! A plant-powered twist on the classic Korean street food.</em>

Vegan Tteokbokki (떡볶이) with Vegetables

(590 ml) low-sodium vegetable broth (homemade

green onions, roughly chopped;

cabbage,

carrots,

garlic (3 to 5 cloves)

gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)

gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes; optional)

low-sodium tamari or soy sauce

cane or coconut sugar

shiitake mushrooms, chopped into bite-sized pieces

(450 g) Korean rice cakes (thawed if frozen)

sesame oil (optional)

sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Add the vegetable broth to a deep pan or pot and bring to a simmer over high heat. Add the cabbage, white parts of the green onions, carrot, and garlic; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the gochujang (paste), gochugaru (flakes), tamari, and sugar. Add the mushrooms and simmer for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the rice cakes to the pan/pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The rice cakes will soften and grow a larger, while the sauce will decrease and thicken.

Turn the heat off and stir in the green onions and sesame oil (optional). Top with sesame seeds, then serve warm.

This was delicious!!! The whole family loved it. I doubled it to serve 4 and used an extra cup of broth since I used dried shitake instead of fresh. So, so good! Thanks for an excellent recipe.

A great balance of spicy, chewy, and borderline healthy. I was excited to make this with the weather turning colder this past week - 10/10.

Food for the soul: Crispy fried tofu coated with an amazing Korean-style sweet &amp; spicy sticky sauce. Makes a perfect weeknight dinner along with freshly steamed rice. 

Korean Spicy Fried Tofu

(400 g) block medium -firm tofu, twice frozen-and-thawed

scallion, segmented

white sesame seeds,

vegetable oil,

ginger,

ketchup

mirin

sriracha

tamari soy sauce

rice vinegar

maple syrup

chili paste

gochugaru, chili flakes

Prepare the Tofu. For this recipe, we’re working with twice frozen and thawed tofu. As the name suggests, the tofu has been frozen, thawed, frozen again, and completely thawed again. Using a heavy object or a tofu press, press the tofu down for at least 15 minutes, pressing out as much liquid as possible. At the end of the pressing, the height of the tofu should have halved. Using your fingers, pull away chunks of the tofu. You should get chunks that aren’t completely even and look naturally pulled. Carefully place the tofu pieces in a ziplock bag along with cornstarch. Shake the bag to evenly coat all the tofu pieces.

Fry the Tofu. In a pan, heat up a generous amount of vegetable oil on medium-high heat (think about shallow-frying). Once the oil is hot, fry the tofu pieces until each side becomes golden-brown and crispy. Remove from the oil and drain on a kitchen towel to remove excess grease. Set aside.

Make the Sauce. In the same pan (there should still be a little bit of oil), fry ginger and garlic on medium heat until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add in all the remaining sauce ingredients, combine well, and bring to a boil. Once the sauce reaches your desired consistency (for me, this usually takes no reduction at all), taste for seasoning, and remove off the heat.

To Finish. Remove the pan from the heat and add the tofu back into the sauce. Add the scallion segments as well. Stir to coat evenly. Finish with a sprinkle of white sesame seeds. Enjoy warm with rice.

A vegan version of the ubiquitous Korean soft tofu stew. It's spicy, rich, and flavorful — one of my favorite dishes to eat on a cold winter day.

Vegan Sundubu Jjigae (Soft Tofu Stew)

kombu (dried kelp)

mushroom bouillon

MSG (optional)

gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)

yellow onion, roughly chopped

scallion, finely chopped

vegan kimchi (homemade recipe HERE)

base broth (or more, adjust to preference)

tube (350 g) extra-soft silken tofu

Prepare the Base Broth: In a medium-sized pot, add kombu (dried kelp), dried shiitake mushrooms, and room temperature water. Bring the water to a boil, lower to a simmer, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Once 15 minutes is up, remove mushrooms u0026 kombu and add mushroom bouillon u0026 MSG (optional). Note: MSG and mushroom bouillon both bring umami flavor, but in slightly different ways. Mushroom bouillon deepens mushroom flavor; MSG increases umami flavor. Whisk until thoroughly combined and taste to adjust seasoning. Set aside.

Make the Soft Tofu Stew: Start by heating a small pot or dolsot ttukbaegi (stone pot) with vegetable oil and toasted sesame oil over medium-high heat. Note: if using a stone pot, it will take slightly longer to heat up. Once the pot is hot, add gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) and toast them until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic, yellow onion, scallions, and stir fry until onions become slightly softened u0026 translucent. Add vegan kimchi and fry together for about 1 minute. Follow that with light soy sauce, base broth, and lastly the extra-soft silken tofu. Use a spatula to break up tofu into into chunks. Bring the stew to a boil and cook everything together for 5 more minutes. Note: the amount of base broth you add determines the consistency of the stew. If you prefer to have a thicker consistency, add less base broth. The rice flour slurry in the kimchi brine also helps thicken the stew. If still not thick enough at the end of cooking, I recommend adding a slurry that contains 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water.

To Finish: Once the stew is done, add back your shiitake mushrooms (you should slice them first if they aren't already). Taste to adjust seasoning. Top with fresh scallions and serve warm with white rice.

These vegan Korean BBQ burgers are made with tempeh for a delicious protein packed meal. The burgers are glazed with Korean BBQ sauce for an extra punch of savory and topped with kimchi slaw for the perfect veggie burger!

Vegan Korean BBQ Burgers

tempeh

tbsp low sodium tamari (substitute soy sauce)

tbsp oil

tbsp gochujang (substitute sriracha, or leave out)

tsp doenjang (substitute miso)

tsp rice wine vinegar

ginger

bread crumbs

burger buns

mayonnaise

Korean BBQ sauce (below)

Kimchi slaw (below)

Crumble the tempeh into chunks and add to...

Crumble the tempeh into chunks and add to a pot along with all of the ingredients except for breadcrumbs. Bring to a boil, then partially cover with a lid and turn the heat down to simmer. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the water is mostly absorbed and boiled off. Stir a couple of times. If after 15 minutes water still remains, pour any excess off.

Transfer the tempeh to a mixing bowl and...

Transfer the tempeh to a mixing bowl and let cool down enough to handle. To speed this up, place it in the freezer for about 5 minutes.

Add the breadcrumbs to the mixing bowl and...

Add the breadcrumbs to the mixing bowl and using your hands mash the mixture until it comes together. Add more breadcrumbs if it is very wet and won't hold together, and add liquid (water, a little tamari, or more oil) if it is too dry and crumbly.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces and form...

Divide the dough into 4 pieces and form them into patties.

Heat a skillet over medium low heat, add...

Heat a skillet over medium low heat, add oil and cook the burgers about 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

Glaze the top of the burgers with the...

Glaze the top of the burgers with the Korean BBQ sauce.

Enjoy on toasted buns, slathered with vegan mayo...

Enjoy on toasted buns, slathered with vegan mayo (see note for gochujang mayo option) and topped with kimchi slaw.

Top 6 vegan korean food recipes from across the web

The most viewed vegan korean food recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

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Top 6 vegan korean food recipes from across the web

The most viewed vegan korean food recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Vegan Jajangmyeon (Black Bean Noodl...

Kimchi Fried Rice with Vegan Fried ...

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Korean Spicy Fried Tofu

Vegan Sundubu Jjigae (Soft Tofu Ste...

Vegan Korean BBQ Burgers

The most viewed vegan korean food recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine