Cheese, Spice, and Everything Nice!
Imagine your favorite spicy Korean dish, what would you choose? There’s plenty to choose from! Is it warm tteokbokki, steaming spicy ramyeon, maybe it’s bibimbap mixed with gochujang? Korean food can pack a punch when it comes to spice. If you find the heat a little too overwhelming, there’s something that might help. Cheese! Not only does it deepen the flavor, but it can also refresh your taste buds. Here are some hot dishes that are cheesy but one-hundred percent delicious.
- Cheese Tteokbokki (치즈떡볶이)
Ah, tteokbokki. A classic Korean street food that you’ll find yourself craving at random times. It’s chewy and depending on the type can be very spicy. Tteokbokki gets mentioned a lot and for a good reason! The crunch of the rice cakes and the warm melted cheese is a match made in culinary heaven.
- Cheese Buldak or Fire Chicken (치즈불닭)
Not street food but more filling. Fire chicken is spicy chicken mixed in with rice cakes, and of course, covered in cheese. This dish is so famous, Samyang created a ramyeon flavor. The flavor is called Hot Chicken or most famously known as “Fire Noodles.” Slightly sweet but mostly spicy, fire chicken will blow your mind away. Hopefully, with the cheese, you won’t be needing a glass of milk.
- Ramen with Cheese (치즈라면)
You can add just about anything to ramyeon: egg, chillies, and even cheese! All you need is a slice and a pot. Adding cheese make the noodles creamy depending on the flavor. For example, American cheese adds a creamy factor while using mozzarella makes the noodles chewier. If you’re eating spicy ramyeon, cheese is the perfect way to cool it down a bit.
- Cheese Dak Galbi (치즈닭갈비)
Dak galbi or spicy chicken stir-fry is a meal that you can share with friends! This dish originated in Chuncheon, where it became a famous drinking food. This street food sounds similar to buldak but this chicken is stir-fried. Boneless chicken is marinated in gochujang along with ingredients like rice cakes, scallions, and cabbage. By itself, it’s great but with melted cheese, it’s sweet and savory!
- Army Stew (부대찌개)
Stew with cheese? It’s more likely than you think. Army stew or budae-jjigae is composed of many ingredients like spam, various mushrooms, instant noodles, tofu, sausage, and you guessed it cheese! This is a Korean-style stew but with American ingredients. American cheese is put over the stew which makes it slightly sweet. The tangy flavor of cheese over a warm stew, it’s an amazing experience.
All this spicy gooey goodness to explore! From stew to rice cakes, you can add cheese to just about anything. What would you want to try? Tell us below.
Written by Stephanie Lemus
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