Why are these Kid-Friendly Korean Foods?
RICE AND NOODLES
Omelette Rice (Omurice) – My childhood favorite
Omurice (Omelet Rice)
Jajangmyeon (Blackbean Sauce Noodles)
Korean Soy Sauce Noodles (Ganjang Bibim Guksu)
Gungjung Tteokbokki (Royal Rice Cake Stir Fry)
Simple One-Pan Korean Glass Noodles (Japchae)
- VEGAN Japchae recipe and TRADITIONAL Japchae recipe with Spinach and Beef
IMPORTANT – these noodles spoil quickly in hot weather so please be careful in taking this outside for picnics in the summer.
Snowman Rice Balls (Jumeokbap)
Folded Kimbap (Kimbap Sandwich)
Fun snacks and sweets for kids
Kids always want snacks when they come home from school, when they are bored, when they are happy..or maybe when they are sad. So these are sure to put a smile on their faces.
Korean Potato Salad Sandwich
Quick Bungeoppang using Crescent Dough
Chapssal Yakgwa without Soju
Kid-Friendly Korean PANCAKES (JEON)
Look at all these jeons and pancakes that you can make for your kids! And we all know kids LOVE jeons because these are mild, crispy and yummy! Also, a great way to hide veggies and when at restaurants, always order these and your kid will be happy.
Korean Zucchini Fritters (Hobak Jeon)
This jeon soft and mildly sweet which makes it perfect for kids. My daughter is a BIG FAN!
Korean Potato Fritters (Gamjajeon)
Wanja Jeon (Korean Mini beef patties)
Pan-Fried Fish and Shrimp Jeon (Saengsun and Saewoo Jeon)
Crispy Zucchini Pancakes (Hobak buchimgae)
All these Jeons can be served at room temperature which is easy for kids. These kid-friendly Korean foods can also be made ahead of time, refrigerated and reheated. Also making them very convenient to have in your weeknight meal plans. Serve them to your kids as a snack or as part of a meal.
Kid-Friendly Korean SIDE DISHES (BANCHAN)
Korean Potato Side Dishe
Bean Sprouts Side Dish (Sukju Namul)
Sweet and Salty Lotus Roots (Yeonkeun Jorim)
Korean Potato Salad
Sweet and Salty Soybeans (Kongjaban)
Soy Maple Glazed Anchovies
Korean Soy Braised Beef – Jangjorim
Steamed Egg in Hot Pot
Egg Roll (Gyeran Mari)
SOUPS
Korean Radish Soup (Mu Deonjang Guk)
Hearty Korean Beef Soup (Gogiguk)
Clear soups like this can help you introduce solid foods to toddlers. Koreans like to add rice to soup and feed to kids with rinsed (to remove the spicy seasoning) and chopped up cabbage kimchi.
Cabbage Soybean Paste Soup (Baechu Deonjang Guk)
Seaweed Soup (Miyeok Gook)
High in iodine, calcium and fiber, seaweed (kelp) is considered a healing food in Korean tradition. Your kids will appreciate that it supports digestion and can help with constipation. This easy recipe highlights the wonderful and delicate flavor of seaweed. Again, mix with some rice and feed some myeolchi bokkeum or rinsed kimchi as a simple side dish.
PORRIDGE
Pumpkin Porridge (Hobakjuk)
The light and digestible pumpkin porridge is another healing food in the Korean tradition high in Vitamin A and C. With well-cooked and blended pumpkin, this sweet porridge resembles baby food and is naturally sweet from the Kabocha squash that I used here.
Black Sesame Porridge (Heukimja Juk)
Porridge is a good option for young toddlers as it falls somewhere between liquid food and solid food. This one’s filled with calcium- and fiber-rich, tummy-warming black sesame seeds perfect for cold weather enjoyment. I hope you will have a fun time cooking for your kids with these recipes!
XOXO ❤️
JinJoo
I used some of these recipes to make for my kindergartner on culture day at her school. I love it!
Oh wonderful!! Soo happy to hear that. Thank you!
This is a great list – it’s really helping me think of lots of meal options. One question I have though, why do you recommend these dishes are for 2 years and up? Was this based on anything in particular? My kid is 12 months, with lots of teeth and appetite. I think he could do most of these unless there’s another reason not to?
Oh I just wanted to be extra safe in case of allergies and whatnot. But no, if your kid has lots of teeth and has no allergies, you can totally try these dishes. Enjoy!
So many of these are my childhood favorites too! With maybe the exception of the porridges at the end, we ate most of these, often!
Thank you for sharing so I can try to make these, too!
That is so wonderful to hear! Yes, I hope you enjoy the porridges.. good luck and thank you so much for taking the time to comment.
I remember the first time I had this dish when I was teaching at an elementary school in Suwon. At first I thought I was eating some sort of noodle and I was wondering what kind of noodles they were because they were just so darn tasty! Then upon closer inspection, I noticed the eyes and realized they were tiny little fish. I gobbled them up (and maybe went back for seconds if there were any left after all the teachers had eaten). Thanks for posting this recipe! I am going to give it a try! I bet it will be fantastic!