Japanese consumers pick top K-food recipe from 206 entries

Japanese consumers have chosen an eggplant and paprika keema jang curry — made with Korean-grown paprika, gochujang and ssamjang — as the best K-food fusion dish of the year. The winner emerged after about 500 local consumers tasted and judged three finalist recipes selected from 206 entries submitted across Japan.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation (aT) announced Wednesday that the finals of the K-food Recipe Contest were held Sunday at Hisaya Odori Park in Nagoya. The event was organized to coincide with the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games currently underway in Japan.

Now in its fourth year, the contest invites Japanese consumers to develop their own recipes using Korean agricultural and food products. This year's theme was "My household's recommended dish: fusion recipes using Korean ingredients," with entries accepted across three categories — kimchi, paprika, and jang (fermented sauces) — all major South Korean export items to Japan.

A total of 206 entries were submitted through the website of Japanese culinary media outlet Macaroni between July 17 and Aug. 16. Three finalists advanced after three rounds of judging.

The final verdict was left to local consumers. About 500 people who visited the event tasted all three dishes and cast their votes.

The top vote-getter was the eggplant and paprika keema jang curry in the paprika category. The dish earned high marks for deep-frying the paprika first to draw out its natural sweetness, then combining gochujang and ssamjang to layer in spice and umami.

The kimchi category's napa kimchi lotus root cheese mandu and the jang category's spicy Korean beef rice bowl each earned runner-up honors.

Hayami Mokomichi, an actor and chef based in Japan, also served as a judge. After tasting each dish, he shared his impressions and hosted a talk show on the appeal of K-food. The venue also featured a dedicated space where visitors could learn about and sample popular K-food products, including ramyun, snacks and beverages.

One attendee, identified as Ms. Miyagawa, said she was surprised to discover how many ways Korean kimchi, paprika and gochujang — all readily available at supermarkets — could be used in everyday Japanese home cooking. "It was really useful to learn how to use them through this event," she said.

aT plans to compile the winning recipes into a dedicated leaflet and distribute it to major Japanese retailers, importers and consumers. The organization also intends to run a social media campaign encouraging consumers to cook the winning recipes at home and share photos online, further promoting the use of Korean agricultural and food products.

Jeon Gi-chan, aT's director of export food affairs, said the contest gave Japanese consumers a direct opportunity to deepen their understanding of Korean agricultural and food products. "We will continue our promotional efforts to broaden the consumer base for K-food," he said.