Korean Recipe Measurements: Spoons, Cups, Grams and Salt

Spoons and cups in Korean recipes

A keun-sul (큰술, “big spoon”) is a measuring tablespoon of 15 ml, and a jageun-sul (작은술, “small spoon”) is a teaspoon of 5 ml. These are the same as the standard metric spoons.

A bap-sutgarak (밥숟가락) is an ordinary Korean eating spoon. Level, it holds roughly 8–10 ml, a little less than a tablespoon, but home cooks usually mean a rounded spoonful, which comes close to a tablespoon. When a recipe says “1 spoon,” a measuring tablespoon is a fine substitute.

A keop (컵, cup) in Korean recipes is 200 ml, not the 240 ml US cup. Many home recipes instead use a jongi-keop (종이컵), the standard paper cup, which holds about 180 ml filled to just below the rim. Rice-cooker cups are also about 180 ml.

Pinches, handfuls and “an appropriate amount”

Jeokdang-ryang (적당량) means “an appropriate amount”: add as much as tastes right. Yakgan (약간) means “a little,” usually a pinch for salt or pepper or a small drizzle for oil. Han kkojip (한 꼬집) is a pinch between thumb and two fingers, and han jum (한 줌) is a handful.

These terms are common for garnishes, oil for the pan and final seasoning. Start small, taste, and adjust; with salty fermented seasonings, you can always add more but cannot take it out.

Grams to spoons for common Korean seasonings

Pastes and liquids are denser than water, and flakes are lighter, so the same spoon holds very different weights. These are approximate weights for 1 level tablespoon (15 ml):

1. Gochugaru (chili flakes): about 6–8 g
2. Gochujang (chili paste): about 18–20 g
3. Doenjang (soybean paste): about 17–18 g
4. Soy sauce or soup soy sauce: about 17–18 g
5. Fish sauce or salted-anchovy sauce: about 18 g
6. Granulated sugar: about 12–13 g
7. Honey, rice syrup or oligosaccharide syrup: about 20–21 g
8. Sesame or perilla oil: about 13 g
9. Minced garlic: about 10–12 g (1 clove is about 5 g)
10. Toasted sesame seeds: about 8–9 g

So when a recipe calls for 10 g of gochujang, use a generous half-tablespoon, and for 10 g of gochugaru, about 1½ tablespoons. A small digital kitchen scale is the easiest way to cook from gram-based recipes.

Salt is not one ingredient

Cheonil-yeom (천일염) is coarse, sun-dried sea salt with large, slightly moist, grayish crystals. It is the salt for salting napa cabbage for kimchi, making jang and pickling, because it dissolves slowly and seasons evenly. Kkot-sogeum (꽃소금) is a finer, whiter salt for everyday seasoning. Mat-sogeum (맛소금, “flavor salt”) contains MSG and is used for seasoning laver and quick dishes.

A spoonful of fine table salt weighs much more than a spoonful of coarse salt: about 6 g per teaspoon versus roughly 4–5 g for coarse sea salt, and about 3 g for flaky kosher salt. Swapping them spoon for spoon can make a dish noticeably too salty or too bland, so go by weight when a recipe gives grams.

For kimchi and other pickles, avoid iodized table salt. It dissolves too quickly to salt vegetables evenly, and many cooks find that iodine and anti-caking agents can affect the flavor and fermentation. Use coarse sea salt or non-iodized kosher salt instead.