Traditional Korean cuisine is rich and varied, which does not prevent the country from innovating in terms of street food, with a particular appetite for the cheese that can be found everywhere. What could be more logical than to see the emergence of original pizzas topped with melted cheese… but not only! The world of Korean pizza is separate and the examples you find here may surprise you.
The world of Korean pizza and its crazy ideas
Pizza is sacred in Italy, it is respected in France, and it has variants more or less close to the original recipes around the world. However, nothing prepares you gourmets for Korean pizza. Mixing traditional ingredients and street food , these delirious creations panic pizza lovers in Korea and leave no one indifferent.
Korean pizzas, between tradition and innovation
In South Korea, there are some traditional dishes capable of delighting the finest palates: Bibimbap, Kimbap, Bulgogi or Dak – galbi, to name only the most famous, to which is added an essential ingredient: Kimchi, which is a preparation of fermented and spicy vegetables.
Alongside these traditional dishes, there is a particularly lively street food, with a propensity to melt cheese on everything: fried chicken with cheese, hot dog with cheese, and revisited versions of popular dishes … with the addition of melted cheese. Pizza is a dish of disconcerting simplicity, which lends itself particularly well to the addition of ingredients.
and cheese. It’s no wonder, then, to find revisited versions of classic Italian pizzas in Korea.
However, the creativity of the local chefs and the curiosity of the (younger) inhabitants in the face of culinary novelty have pushed the chefs to design amazing preparations. Of course, there are the pizzas incorporating Kimchi, or those using the ingredients of the aforementioned dishes, but the imagination of the cooks does not stop there.
5 amazing pizzas found on Korean menus
While in Europe, pineapple pizza is still debated, Koreans do not seem to be moved by the revised and corrected pizzas that can be found on the menus of some establishments. Like the Japanese who appropriated the concept , they created some innovative recipes.
Korean pizza
Here are 5 pizzas available at Mr Pizza – the main pizza chain in the country – and in some Korean restaurants, which are not lacking in daring.
1. The octopus , shrimp, coconut and cheese pizza with its egg dough: the list of ingredients alone is surprising, but the mention of the crust similar to flan should overwhelm the purists. 2. The carbonara pizza
: why not mix two delicious dishes into one? The chef responsible for this recipe has certainly thought to himself. The result is a pizza made with cheese sauce, cream and ham that would be automatically banned in Italy.
3. The spoon pizza : the “spoon pizza” is even less encumbered with traditions, since it does not even have dough! Served in an aluminum dish, you can eat it with a spoon (hence its name) or by dipping pieces of bread in it.
4. “Fruit” pizza: there are also fruit pizzas , but they also include processed cheese. The strawberry / cheddar / sugar mix seems very good… 5. The pizzas for animals
! Let’s finish with these mini-pizzas, still available in some pizzerias across the country, for animals. Tiny versions, with steak, salami and cheese without salt, for the good digestion of our 4-legged friends.
We could tell you about the sweet and sour pork pizzas, the versions with shrimp fritters around the edges, or the one with a cinnamon crust, but let’s see what foreigners passing through South Korea think.
The reactions of foreigners to these culinary inventions
While one might expect reactions of rejection from tourists to these Korean pizzas, reviews are rather mixed. Of course, do not ask a Neapolitan chef to admit that it is indeed a pizza (we know Italians are picky about classic recipes ), or even a gourmet to say that the mix of flavors proposed deserve to enter Michelin, but we have to admit that most of the people who test these creations are rather astonished.
For some Americans, who are used to a plentiful filling, there are too many ingredients in Korean pizzas and they are slightly too sweet. However, the urge to take another part is irresistible and the comparison with what Pizza Hut offersin the country is clearly unfavorable to the American brand! The French are often less tolerant, defenders of a noble gastronomy, and certain mixtures like goat cheese / seafood do not pass. Only those who take these recipes for typical street food of the country indulge in eating them from time to time. But for Italians, Korean pizza is evil! Those who can’t resist this surge of cheese, those unlikely mixes, and pasta topped with cheddar cream, say that you just don’t have to call it pizza to be forgiven by your peers.
Certainly, the abundant presence of cheese – addicting as you wish – is no stranger to this pleasant sensation experienced by certain foreign consumers. You just have to consider these dishes as typical Korean dishes, to let yourself be carried away by new flavors.