Recipes with vinegar

Gosari Smoked Duck Salad (Smoked Duck & Bracken Fern Salad)

Smoked duck brings fat and smoke, and this salad answers with a sharp soy-vinegar dressing spiked with chili oil plus thin slices of Korean pear that burst with juice. The duck gets only 3 minutes over medium heat, skin side down, to render its fat without drying out the meat. Gosari, the bracken fern Koreans usually eat as a seasoned side dish, is blanched for just 1 minute so it loses any off flavor but keeps its chewy bite. The pear is tossed with a little dressing as soon as it is sliced, which slows browning, and meets the greens only at serving time. Red chard and finely shredded cabbage give the plate a crisp base.

Prep 15min Cook 8min 2 servings

Asian Medium

Tokoroten (Pressed Tengusa Jelly Noodles)

Long, translucent strands pushed through a wooden press give tokoroten its noodle shape, though it is really a jelly made from tengusa seaweed. Tengusa has been gathered around Shizuoka's Izu Peninsula for centuries, and households and small sweet shops there once sold tokoroten as an everyday children's snack. Local accounts say makusa, common on the west side of Izu, sets soft and slightly sticky, while obusa from the east side gives thicker, firmer strands. On its own it tastes of almost nothing, and the topping decides what it becomes: sweet vinegar, mustard, aonori, and sesame make it savory, while roasted soybean flour and dark sugar syrup turn it into a chilled sweet.

🧒 Snacks for Kids

Prep 10min Cook 40min 12 servings

Prep 10min Cook 8min 4 servings

Korean Steamed Eggplant Vinegar Salad

Steamed eggplant, cooled and torn along the grain, comes apart in silky, slippery strands. They are dressed with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili flakes and kept cold, and the more dressing you use, the closer it gets to a chilled salad.

🏠 Everyday

Kimchi Easy

Korean Wild Chive Pickle (Spring Chive Soy Brine)

The soy and vinegar brine goes into the jar only after it has cooled completely, because wild chives lose their sharp, garlicky bite quickly when heated. After one day in the fridge the pickle is ready to eat, and by the third day the brine has reached the small bulbs and the flavor turns rounder and deeper. Slices of hot green chili and a scattering of sesame give it an edge, and it is at its best next to grilled meat in spring, when dallae is in season.

Prep 15min Cook 8min 2 servings

Noodles Easy

Korean Dongchimi Buckwheat Noodles

Dongchimi, a mild radish water kimchi, gives this Gangwon-style buckwheat noodle bowl its broth, chilled in the freezer until almost slushy so the clean, lactic tang comes through at its sharpest. There is almost no fat in the bowl, making it a natural follow-up to rich pork dishes like samgyeopsal or boiled suyuk.

Grilled Octopus & Water Parsley Salad

Octopus that has already been boiled goes into a very hot pan for 2 to 3 minutes without turning, picking up a charred edge while the inside stays pleasantly chewy. The vinegar dressing, with gochugaru and garlic, starts sour and finishes with gentle heat. Minari, Korean water parsley, brings a cool grassy scent and a green that stands out against strips of red pepper.

Prep 20min Cook 15min 2 servings

Asian Medium

Chinese Crispy Chicken with Scallion Soy Dressing

Twice-fried chicken thigh in a potato starch coating is sliced onto torn lettuce and buried under sliced scallion and cheongyang chili, a sharp Korean green chili. The sauce, equal parts soy sauce and vinegar with sugar, is poured over just before eating.

⚡ 20-Minute Recipes 🏠 Everyday

Korean Seasoned Gamtae Seaweed

Thin, green gamtae seaweed is harvested in winter along Korea's southwest coast, including Garorim Bay near Seosan. This recipe uses plain dried gamtae, not fresh fronds or the kind seasoned with oil and salt. Because it softens fast once it meets liquid, the seaweed is torn into large pieces, the soy and vinegar dressing is scattered widely, and the mixing is a lift rather than a press, done right before eating.

Prep 8min Cook 1min 2 servings

Kimchi Easy

Korean Soy-Vinegar Carrot Pickles

Carrot brings its own sweetness to this soy and vinegar pickle, so each bite reads as three clear notes: sweet, salty and sour. Cutting the sticks to an even 0.5 cm keeps every piece pickling at the same speed, which is what gives the jar a uniform crunch. Onion, whole garlic and a halved Cheongyang chili (a hot Korean green pepper) season the brine. The jar is ready after about 24 hours in the fridge and works as a sharp, crunchy foil to fatty grilled meat.

At least 1 day 4 servings

Noodles Medium

Korean Dongchimi Cold Naengmyeon

Naengmyeon noodles cook for well under a minute, get scrubbed in cold water, and are snipped a few times with scissors so the icy broth reaches every strand instead of a tangled knot. Draining them well after rinsing keeps the clear dongchimi broth from turning cloudy. The broth, seasoned with vinegar and sugar, is chilled until it is close to slushy, the point where the cool radish fragrance is most vivid. Boiled beef lays a lean, meaty base under the tang, pear and cucumber add sweet crunch, and half a boiled egg rounds out the bowl.

Grilled Squid & Bellflower Root Salad

Bitter, crunchy doraji (bellflower root) and sweet-tart orange segments meet over squid seared hard on high heat. Scoring the squid body in a crosshatch keeps it from curling as it cooks, and 1 to 2 minutes per side is enough to leave it bouncy. Shredded by hand and soaked in salted water for 5 minutes, the root loses its harsh bitterness and mixes in without tasting raw. After the soak it is rinsed and squeezed dry so it does not water down the dressing. A dressing of yuzu marmalade, vinegar and chili flakes adds floral acidity and a low hum of heat that links the three.

Prep 22min Cook 8min 4 servings

Prep 50min Cook 7min 4 servings

Seasoned Korean Wild Lettuce

Godeulppaegi is one of the more bitter Korean greens, and most of the prep time goes into soaking it in cold water after blanching. If a taste says it's still too sharp, change the water and soak it again, then dress it with gochujang and vinegar.

🏠 Everyday

Kimchi Medium

Korean Vinegared Bellflower Root Pickle

No soy sauce goes into this pickle: deodeok, a mountain root prized for its fragrance, sits in vinegar, sugar and salt alone, leaving its own aroma in front. Pounding the split roots flat with the back of a knife loosens the dense fibers and lets the brine work its way between them, and a day of chilling turns the texture pleasantly chewy. Chili flakes and sesame oil go on only at serving time, which keeps the red bright, and the dish is served cold.

Prep 25min Cook 8min 2 servings

Noodles Easy

Korean Acorn Jelly Somyeon

Slippery acorn jelly and fine wheat somyeon sit together in cold, tangy dongchimi broth, the liquid from radish water kimchi. Every mouthful mixes two kinds of softness. At least 1 hour in the fridge sharpens the broth's sweet-tangy balance. The jelly holds thin strips best when it is cut straight from the fridge, and the boiled noodles turn springy only after a hands-on rub under cold water strips off their surface starch. Kimchi brings a spicy edge and cucumber a cool crunch, while sesame oil stays in the background, just enough to stop the noodles sticking without masking the broth's clean acidity. It suits hot summer days when appetite runs low.

Korean Jellyfish Salad (Chilled Mustard Vinegar Dressed Cold Dish)

Hot mustard hits the nose first, then the vinegar's tartness follows and leaves the mouth feeling cool and clean. The jellyfish is sliced thinly along the grain to match the cucumber and bell pepper strips. The dish is chilled in the fridge and eaten right away, before warmth can soften its crunchy snap. Familiar as a starter at Chinese restaurants in Korea, it is easy to make at home with ready-to-use jellyfish that has already been desalted and cooked according to the package.

Prep 20min Cook 2min 4 servings