Sesame Sprinkles

18/04/2025

If you are exploring the city and getting hungry, how about a snack on the go? 🥡 Seoul has a large variety of street food, and most food vendors gather around sight seeing locations or populated areas!

Find out which kinds of street food are vegan-friendly, and then find them while you're exploring Korea! 🍡🍠🥞

Street food is fun! Finding vegan Korean street food, however, can be difficult. In contemporary Korea, the food world is speckled with hidden fish sauce, animal-based soup stock and dairy componen…

12/02/2025

Today is Jeongwol Daeboreum, the first full moon of the lunar new year! 🌕

On this occasion, Koreans traditionally eat vegan food all day. The main meal features ogokbap 오곡밥 (five grain rice) and mugeun namul 묵은나물 (side dishes made from dried vegetables and herbs).

https://sesamesprinkles.home.blog/2022/02/15/jeongwoldaeboreum/

Fifteen days after the Lunar New Year, the full moon appears in the sky. 🎑 This first full moon of the year is called Jeongwol Daeboreum (정월대보름) in Korean and it has particular significance in trad…

29/12/2024

Another all-time favorite:
Korean instant noodles. 🍝

The diversity ranges between cold and spicy mixed noodles (bibimmyeon 비빔면) to Chinese-Korean noodles with black sauce (Jjajangmyeon 짜장면). And yes, there are several vegan options! 🌱

Instant noodles… Hate them or love them. ❤️🍜🤬 It is indisputable that they are quick to prepare and easy to eat. And sometimes, there are situations in which we need something just like that.…

22/12/2024

Serving today:
Ramyeon 라면 (or ramen) - instant noodles in soup. 🍜

Who would have thought, that Korea offers more than a dozen varieties of vegan-friendly ramen?! Some are available at local supermarkets, others are available at vegan shops or organic food stores, a few can only be ordered online.

What comes to your mind when you hear “instant noodles”? Junk food. Quick. Convenient. Cheap. Addictive. Flavor enhancers. Palm oil. Emergency food. But what about “vegan”??…

21/12/2024

Today is the longest night of the year! 🌃
Winter solstice, or dongji 동지 in Korean.

Traditionally, the food eaten on this day is Patjuk 팥죽! This dish is traditionally vegan and gluten-free!

It’s tiiiiiime!!!! It’s THE time of the year again! What time? Christmas time?🎄 Right, Christmas is coming up. ✝️ And so is Hanukkah. 🕎 But before that, we have another important event:…

19/12/2024

If you are allergic to certain foods, it is crucial to check for allergens before you begin eating.

Communicate your needs to the people who provide you with food, e.g. as you order at a restaurant. When you buy something at a store, you can check the packaging for the allergen warning.

Here is a list of allergens in Korean.

By the way, many allergens are animal-based, so reading the allergen warning is a quick way of checking whether a food product is plant-based or not! 🚫🥛 (the only exception being certain kinds of fish)

Here is a compilation of sources of food allergens, which provides their Korean names as well as their most common spelling on Korean food labels. It is sorted by type of allergen and its origin in…

17/12/2024

One of the most important tools for getting along in Korea (in terms of food and in general!) is knowing the local language. Sharpening your language skills may seem difficult and time-consuming, but the Korean alphabet is relatively easy to learn! 🔡

Knowing how to read and pronounce Korean letters is like having a simple knife at hand. 🔪 It allows you to cut things into bite-sized portions and enjoy your food better.

In other words, you can decipher signs, menues, ingredient lists, allergen warnings and more. 🏷👓

Additional bonus: You can properly pronounce your favorite dish!

So you want to learn Korean? But you don’t know where to start? How about starting with the basics: Learn the Korean alphabet, which is called hangeul (한글). In 2020, there was a daily online …

16/12/2024

Which tool enables you to eat almost all kinds of food?
A spoon. 🥄

It may not be the most elegant way for eating everything, but it will transport food into your mouth!

In the same way, these Korean language essentials support your food experience with basic communication skills and table manners.

Communication is an important tool in life. 🗣️ Particularly for vegans, vegetarians or other people with dietary restrictions. If you travel to Korea, you cannot expect people to understand English…

15/12/2024

As an appetizer, please enjoy this list of veggie-friendly Korean dishes! 🍲🥗🍜🥟

There are many dishes in Korean cuisine that are either vegan by default, or that can be quickly customized at a restaurant.

This section introduces Korean dishes that are either traditionally vegan / vegetarian by default or are available in veggie-friendly versions. Behind each link, you will find more information abou…

15/12/2024

Sesame Sprinkles explores the world of Korean food, while providing information about typical ingredients, meat-free dishes as well as food communication. 🍚🇰🇷🗣

This page and the corresponding homepage (www.sesame-sprinkles.com) are particularly designed to help people who struggle finding plant-based food in Korea.

You will get essential tips on how to survive in Korea as a vegan or vegetarian! 🌱

Besides a large platter filled with a vast array of local fruits, vegetables and grains, the menu includes veggie-friendly Korean dishes, so people following a vegan or vegetarian diet don't need to go hungry due to lack of information. 🌶🥬🍠🧄

There are also suggestions for eating out, e.g. where to find dairy-free Bingsu, Korean temple cuisine or vegan fine dining! 📍🏘

Whether you're visiting Korea briefly, living in the country for months, or are simply interested in Korea's food culture, Sesame Sprinkles is your guide for navigating the food jungle! 📒🗺

Join the culinary adventure and learn about Korean food with Sesame Sprinkles! 💚