Korean Temple Cuisine: Where Cooking Meets Philosophy

When foreigners describe Korean food, a few key ingredients often come up: perhaps pungent garlic, maybe boozy soju, and definitely sizzling, fatty meat. But Korean temple food—the millenia-old cuisine originating from Buddhist temples—upends these flavor stereotypes with food that is steeped in millenia-old, uniquely Korean tradition. 

Korean temple food has been around for over 1,600 years, and its food and techniques are centered on Buddhist philosophy. In observance of the Buddhist principle of mercy and reverence for life, temple food does not use meat and usually omits animal products. Garlic, onion, green onion, chives, and leeks are avoided because they may interfere with Buddhist practice. But despite these limitations, temple food uses an incredible array of techniques to create beautiful and flavorful dishes.

For many of these dishes, time is an essential ingredient. Fermented sauces like doenjang (soybean paste), gangjang (soy sauce), and gochujang (chili paste) add punch and umami. Pickling ingredients like lotus root boosts their longevity and flavor; and, of course, different types of carefully-aged kimchi are plentiful.

An array of different side dishes

Temple food fits into a lot of buzzy new food categories: farm-to-table, plant-based, zero-waste, minimalist, seasonal. But temple cuisine has a deep philosophical base that transcends diet fads—for many Buddhist practitioners cooking is its own meditation. Many will grow their own vegetables, gather their ingredients, and prepare meals with a deep appreciation and gratitude for where their food is coming from. 

In 2015, Jeong Kwan, Buddhist monk and one of Korea’s most famous chefs, described her philosophy of cooking to the New York Times. “That is how I make the best use of a cucumber. Cucumber becomes me. I become cucumber. Because I grow them personally, and I have poured in my energy.”