International Cooking: Food from North Korea

I really didn’t know what to expect when I began researching food from North Korea. Was it just going to be the same as South Korean food, or would I even be able to find anything to make considering the food shortages in the country? A few people suggested I would be cooking ’empty plates’, which might be funny if it were not so close to the truth for many North Koreans. In the end, I was able to find some regional dishes from North Korea, but I also included an example of what the common people might eat when food is scarce.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea, takes up the northern half of the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. Both North and South Korea claim to be the only legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands, which is the primary reason for the ongoing conflict between the two nations.

The first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula was recorded during the early 7th century BC. The region was ruled by a succession of dynasties, eventually becoming the Korean Empire. This empire was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910.

After the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II, Korea was divided into two. The Soviet Union occupied the north, while the United States occupied the south. In 1948, the countries formed very different governments, and a few years later, North Korea invaded the south, starting the Korean War. A ceasefire was declared in 1953, but a formal peace treaty was never signed.

During the following decades, North Korea kept itself more or less isolated from the rest of the world, while South Korea was more open to outside influences. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, North Korea’s economy declined sharply, and a long famine followed a few years later.

Today, North Korea is a dictatorship led by the Kim family. North Koreans are expected to practically worship the current supreme leader, King Jong Un, who stays in power since there are no fair elections in the country. North Korea is considered to have the worst human rights record in the world, and many citizens do not have enough food.

What Do People Eat in North Korea?

North and South Korean dishes do have many similarities, but North Korean food tends to be more traditional, with less outside influences. It is also often less spicy than South Korean food. Available food differs greatly depending on a citizen’s social class.

Rice is the main staple food, though many North Koreans are unable to afford enough to eat so they often combine it with corn, which is cheaper. A variety of noodles are also popular in many dishes.

Kimchi is very popular; it is typically made by fermenting cabbage with seasonings such as garlic, ginger, and chili, but there are many variations. Kimchi is eaten with many meals as a side dish.

What I Made

• Naengmyeon (Pyongyang Cold Noodles)
• Rice with Corn and Kimchi
• Pyongyang Onban (Rice with Soup and Savory Pancake)
• Dububap (Fried Tofu Stuffed with Rice)

Scroll down to read about other popular North Korean dishes I didn’t make!

Naengmyeon (Pyongyang Cold Noodles)

I’ve never really been a fan of cold soups, but this cold noodle soup is very popular in North Korea so I decided to try it. After all, I can always just eat it hot if needed!

I started by soaking some kombu (dried kelp) and a piece of tri-tip in water (in separate bowls). This is to extract some flavor from the kombu, and to remove any blood residue from the meat. Next, I removed the kombu from its soaking water and added the drained tri-tip. I also added leek, onion, garlic, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, black peppercorns, sugar, salt, sake, and light soy sauce. I brought this to a boil, then stirred in some beef Better Than Bouillon and let the stock simmer until the meat was cooked through.

While the meat cooked, I finely sliced some daikon radish and combined it with sugar, vinegar, and fine gochugaru (Korean chili powder). I let that sit in the fridge until I needed it.

Once the meat was cooked, I strained the broth and let the meat cool before slicing. It’s a bit easier to make nice slices when it’s cold. I also cooled the broth.

Shortly before serving, I cooked some soba noodles. There is a specific kind of noodle used for naengmyeon but soba seems close. I rinsed the noodles under cold water after cooking and added them to my bowl.

I topped the noodles with pickled radish, sliced beef, julienned cucumber, and a boiled egg. Then I poured in some broth (I think I added a bit too much so you can barely see the noodles!) and garnished with sesame seeds.

I thought this tasted pretty good, though I have to admit that I heated up the leftovers because I preferred the soup hot.

The recipe I used here is from Seonkyoung Longest.

Rice with Corn and Kimchi

I wanted to make this to give an example of what the average North Korean may eat on a regular basis. Food can be scarce if you aren’t wealthy, and rice is often seen as a luxury. Corn is easier to obtain, so it’s often mixed with rice to make the rice stretch further. This may be topped with chili sauce (such as gochujang, a sweet fermented chili sauce) and kimchi (fermented cabbage and other vegetables).

To make this, I simply combined cooked rice and corn and topped it with homemade kimchi and a drizzle of gochujang.

Kimchi

Kimchi is seen as both North and South Korea’s national dish. It tends to be more spicy in the south, but it’s otherwise made in a very similar way. Cabbage is combined with various other ingredients, then fermented for at least a week before it’s ready to serve. There are many varieties of kimchi; I went with a recipe that was simple and didn’t require ingredients I would have to make a special effort to obtain.

I started by cutting cabbage into bite-sized pieces (some types of kimchi call for keeping the cabbage in bigger pieces or even wedges). I tossed it with salt and added enough water to cover it, then let the bowl sit, covered, for around 12 hours.

I drained the water from the cabbage, then combined the cabbage with shrimp paste, daikon radish, green onions, gochugaru, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, and a little sugar. I stuffed this into a jar, put the lid on, and let it sit for about 24 hours. After this, I removed the lid to let out any built-up gases, then put it in the fridge where it sat for around a week before I used it.

I thought this was pretty good but it was spicier than I was expecting! It didn’t taste very strong after a week but it will build in flavor the longer it sits.

The recipe I initially started using for this one turned out to have incomplete steps so I found a similar recipe and used those directions but the original recipe’s ingredients (except for smoked paprika, which I didn’t feel was very traditional).

I used the ingredients from a recipe on Medium and the directions from National Foods.

Pyongyang Onban (Rice with Soup and Savory Pancake)

This popular chicken and rice dish is often eaten during weddings and holidays in North Korea. It is typically topped with a mung bean pancake, though the mung bean flour was a bit hard to come by so I used chickpea flour instead (that was something I had left over from previous countries).

I started by boiling chicken thighs, daikon, ginger, onion, and green onion in water to make the broth. I added some soy sauce towards the end. I shredded the cooked chicken meat and set it aside.

Then I made the pancakes by whisking together chickpea flour, regular all-purpose flour, an egg, salt, and minced garlic. I stirred in some finely sliced green onion and let the batter sit while the broth was simmering. Then I cooked a ladleful at a time to make small, thin pancakes.

I assembled the bowls by first adding cooked white rice, then topping it with chicken. I added some broth and a pancake, and finished with julienned cucumber, carrot, and omelet, as well as a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

This was good, with the pancakes being my favorite part of the dish. I’d like to try making them with mung bean flour some time as I’m sure the flavor wasn’t quite right, but they were delicious!

The recipe I used here is from The Lunar Cat.

Dububap (Fried Tofu Stuffed with Rice)

This appetizer is made by frying tofu, stuffing it with seasoned rice, and topping it with a flavorful sauce. I’ve never really enjoyed tofu, but I’ve been meaning to try it fried and I decided now was the time.

I started by letting the tofu sit on paper towels for a bit to absorb excess moisture, then I cut it into small triangles. I sprinkled it with salt and let it sit for a few more minutes, before tossing it in potato starch. The recipe called for ‘Korean frying mix’ but I had the potato starch sitting there and thought I would try that.

I fried the tofu in oil on all sides until crisp (though the potato starch did not let it brown much) and set it on a wire rack to drain.

While the tofu cooled a little, I combined some freshly cooked rice with a little sesame oil and sesame seeds. Then I made the sauce by stirring together soy sauce, gochugaru, garlic, sesame seeds, sugar, sesame oil, green onion, and a little water.

Once the tofu had cooled a little, I made a slit in each triangle. I stuffed each with a spoonful of rice and topped them with a little sauce.

I have to say, these were amazing! I think a lot of things taste better when fried, and for me, this is really the only way I’ve ever enjoyed tofu. It also helped that the sauce was delicious.

The recipe for these is from Aeri’s Kitchen.

Other Popular North Korean Dishes

TBD – it was hard finding dishes to make let alone extra ones this week, but I will do more research and fill this in soon!

Final Thoughts

This was a decent week; I didn’t make a lot but I still found more North Korean dishes than I expected. My favorite was definitely the dububap, but I also really liked the naengmyeon.

Next week, I will be cooking food from North Macedonia.