Why Are Korean Food Popular In The USA?

Lija ParveenJun 22, 2024

So many East Asian cuisines such as Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese have long been popular in the United States. Whereas Korean restaurants in the US have mainly catered to Korean Americans for the last 30 years. Recently Korean food has risen in popularity and you can find it even on menus of popular US fast food chains.

Let’s have a look to discover the actual reason for the popularity of Korean food in the US through the website fnbbuzz.com.

Reasons For The Popularity Of Korean Food In The USA:

So many Koreans immigrated since the 1960s to the United States. Unlike Japanese, Chinese, or Thai food, Korean cuisine in the USA remained focused on the Korean population. Restaurants in this country catered to Korean palettes. The food was not marketed to non-Koreans as much.

Go back some years before. As per the information collected from various sources, the first group of Korean labourers arrived in Hawaii in 1903. Since then the 3rd day of January has been marked as the Korean-American day.

Koreans started immigrating to the US for a better life after the Second World War and the Korean War in 1950-1953. Then many Koreans started their small businesses like dry cleaners or convenience stores, and Korean churches started popping up everywhere.

A very famous Korean Town is located in Los Angeles and is the largest Korean population area in the United States. Moreover, there are large Korean populations in New York, Hawaii, and Washington. But interestingly there are a lot of Latinos living in Korea Town.

Afterwards, the changes started with the rise in the popularity of Korean culture. k-beauty, k-drama, k-pop, and other parts of Korean culture became well-known around the world. Korean cuisine was not long before dishes like Korean fried chicken, barbecue, and more started promptly becoming popular in the US. Moreover, traditional Korean dishes such as Jjimdak become famous.

10 Korean Food Recipes: Popular In The USA

It is very hard to say about the best Korean food in the USA, but we can guess some Korean dishes in the United States that are accepted as the best food. Here is a brief description of ten such Korean dishes.

Korean Barbecue: It is the most delicious cut of meat (Pork or beef) and fried directly from personal barbecue. The meat is wrapped in lettuce, perilla leaves, or radish. This food is served with side dishes such as stews, tofu, and kimchi.
Korean Corn Dog: The Korean corn dog is termed Korean street food and coated in a thick batter. Then deep fried and covered with sugar and tomato ketchup. Also, it can contain mozzarella cheese, rice cakes, and fish cakes.
Korean Fried Chicken: The chicken in this recipe is coated in a delicious sauce and is very crispy, juicy, and never dry. Its nickname is Candy Chicken.
Dakgalbi: It is a chicken dish, stir-fried, and very spicy. This dish is made of small pieces of chicken in a sweet and spicy sauce. It is wrapped just like KBBQ. Cheese can be added to mitigate the spicy flavor.
Tteokbokki: This Korean food is perfect for spice lovers. It is the perfect combination of chewy rice cakes and the spicy sauce.
Ramyeon: Recently Korean instant ramen, called ramyeon is already popular in the United States. It is very easy to make. You can add egg or cheese to spice up the dish a little.
Kimchi Jjigae: The easiest Korean dish to make at home is Kimchi Jjigae which is perfect for the winter season. The fermented cabbage dish is used as a side dish and will go with every single Korean meal.
Soondubu: This Korean dish is super silky tofu with a higher water content. Its nickname is ricotta tofu. This food can be eaten directly taken from freeze with adding some sauce for flavoring.
Andong Jjimdak: This steamed chicken is made by braising chicken in a soy-based sauce. These undervalued great dishes are often eaten by students due to huge portions and are quite cheap.
Soju: It is not treated as a food but is Korean distilled alcohol made from rice. It can be available in fancy restaurants or liquor shops in the US.

10 Korean Street Food In USA:

Several Korean street foods are there. Here the names of such ten foods have been mentioned.

Ma Dang Gook Soo
Kosteat
Kozyko
Kimbap House
Chimac Star
Halmoni Grandma’s Dukbokki
Awoolim
Kimbap Paradise
Sinjeon
YupDduk.

Difference Between North Korean And South Korean Food:

North Korean dishes tend to be less spicy overall than South Korean dishes.
North Koreans don’t consume beef, but South Koreans consume much meat.
North Koreans use more fermented bean paste whereas use more red pepper paste in the South Korean style.

9 Most Essential Ingredients For Korean Food:

Hot chili powder.
Roasted sesame seeds.
Soy Sauce
Sesame oil.
Red chili paste.
Rice wine vinegar.
Kimchi.
Short grain rice.
Dried seaweed or Nori.

Takeaways:

Centuries of social and political change have shaped the evolution of Korean food. It shows the complicated relationship between the natural world and many cultural trends, originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in Korea and south Manchuria.

Rice, vegetables, seafood, and meats make up a big portion of Korean cuisine. The traditional Korean diet does not use dairy products. Various ingredients and different types of dishes vary by province. Several regional dishes have become popular nationally.

Hopefully, you have already visited the website fnbbuzz.com to collect more and more information about this type of interesting content. Stay connected and enjoy!

FAQs:

Which Location In The USA Is Best For Korean Street Foods?

For more authentic Korean street foods, you have to visit Korean towns in the bigger cities.

What Typical Korean Cuisine Originated During The Goryeo Period?

The dumpling dish, grilled meat and noodle dishes, mandu, and even black pepper have their roots in the Goryeo period.

Why Traditional Korean Foods Are Called Healthy?

Most of the traditional Korean foods consist of vegetables and fermented items which make the food healthy and often associated with spiritual and physical health.