A Guide to All Korean Cuisine Honored in K-Drama “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty”! (With Recipes!)
- Disha Paul
- 6 minutes ago
- 7 min read
If you love K-dramas that make you crave food, Bon Appétit, Your Majesty is a feast for your eyes. It mixes palace rivalry, time travel, and romance, but what really steals the show is the food.
Modern chef Yeon Ji-young gets pulled back to the Joseon Dynasty and must cook for King Lee Heon. She combines Korean ingredients with French techniques. The result? Dishes that feel royal, comforting, and surprising!
In this post, we’ll showcase all the Korean cuisine featured in the show, explain why it stood out, and provide recipe ideas so you can try them at home!
Synopsis of Bon Appétit, Your Majesty
Bon Appétit, Your Majesty follows Yeon Ji-yeong (Lim Yoon-a), a talented French chef who is mysteriously transported back to the Joseon Dynasty. She meets King Yi Heon (Lee Chae-min), a treacherous king with a love for food, who appoints her as the royal chef.
Ji-yeong must please the king to save her life, palace life, and face rivals like concubine Kang Mok-ju (Kang Han-na) and Prince Je Seon (Choi Gwi-hwa). Through her cooking, she wins hearts, sparks romance, and brings joy to the palace while blending humor, love, and royal intrigue.
All Dishes Shown in the Drama
The drama shows many dishes, from French cuisine to traditional Joseon and modern Korean food. In this article, we have picked our top 17 memorable dishes from the show.
These range from classic Korean recipes to creative fusion dishes, and we have included beginner-friendly recipes you can try at home.
1. Gochujang Butter Bibimbap (Episode 1)
Ji-young creates a bold and flavorful bibimbap, combining rice with vegetables and a rich gochujang-butter sauce.
Ingredients:
Cooked rice
Mixed vegetables (carrot, spinach, bean sprouts, zucchini)
Gochujang (2 tablespoons)
Butter (1 tablespoon)
Sesame oil
Optional: fried egg
Recipe steps:
Sauté vegetables separately in a bit of oil.
Mix butter with gochujang to create a sauce.
Place rice in a bowl, top with vegetables.
Drizzle sauce over and add a fried egg if desired.
Mix everything before eating.
2. Sous Vide Beef with Korean Seasoning (Episode 2)
Ji Young adapts modern sous vide techniques to season beef with traditional Korean flavours.
Ingredients:
Beef steak
Soy sauce
Garlic, minced
Sesame oil
Pepper
Recipe steps:
Mix soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and pepper. Marinate the beef for 30 minutes.
Cook sous vide at 55°C for 1-2 hours.
Sear quickly in a hot pan before serving.
3. Haute Cuisine (Episode 3)
Ji-young prepares a three-course royal meal with starter, soup, and main.
Starter (Venison Yukhoe with Kelp Chips)
Ingredients: Venison, sesame oil, garlic, sugar, pear, kelp chips
Steps: Slice venison thin, season with sesame oil, sugar, and garlic. Serve on kelp chips with thin pear slices.
Soup (Thick Pea Soup)
Ingredients: Dried peas, water, onion, garlic, salt, pepper
Steps: Boil peas with onion and garlic until soft. Blend to make a smooth soup. Season to taste.
Main Course (Grilled Venison Tongue)
Ingredients: Venison tongue, salt, pepper, oil
Steps: Season the tongue slices and grill until cooked through.
4. Clam and Spinach Doenjang Soup (Episode 4)
Ji-young surprises the court with a simple yet flavorful soup using clams, spinach, and traditional soybean paste.
Ingredients:
Fresh clams
Spinach
Doenjang (2–3 tbsp.)
Onion, garlic
Water or broth
Green onion, salt, pepper
Recipe steps:
Purge clams in salted water.
Boil water with onion and garlic, and dissolve doenjang in a bit of broth.
Add clams, cook until they open.
Add spinach, cook until wilted.
Season and garnish with green onion.
5. Doenjang Pasta with Buckwheat Noodles (Episode 4)
Ji-young fuses Korean flars with a pasta-style dish using buckwheat noodles.
Ingredients:
Buckwheat noodles
Doenjang
Garlic, minced
Oil
Optional cream for richness
Recipe steps:
Cook noodles and drain.
Sauté garlic in oil, add a small amount of broth, and dissolve doenjang.
Mix noodles with sauce, optionally stir in cream.
Serve with green onions or sesame seeds.
6. Snowflake Schnitzel with Jam Sauce (Episode 5)
A delicate, crispy schnitzel with flaky edges served with berry jam and tartar sauce.
Ingredients:
Thinly sliced beef or pork cutlets
Flour, egg, breadcrumbs
Oil for frying
Berry jam
Tartar sauce (mayonnaise, pickles, lemon juice)
Recipe steps:
Pound cutlets thin, coat in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs.
Fry in medium-hot oil until golden and crispy.
Serve with jam and tartar sauce.
7. Black Sesame Macaron (Episode 6)
Ji-young impresses with a French-style dessert infused with Korean black sesame flavor.
Ingredients:
Almond flour
Powdered sugar
Egg whites
Granulated sugar
Black sesame seeds or paste
Butter (for filling)
Recipe steps:
Sift almond flour, sugar, and black sesame.
Whip egg whites with sugar to stiff peaks.
Fold dry mix into meringue.
Pipe rounds onto parchment and bake.
Mix butter with sesame paste for filling and sandwich shells.
8. Dongnae Pajeon (Episode 7)
A classic Korean green onion pancake enjoyed by palace members and locals alike.
Ingredients:
Flour
Water
Egg
Green onions, chopped
Oil
Optional: seafood
Recipe steps:
Mix flour, water, egg, and salt.
Add green onions and optional ingredients.
Fry on both sides until golden.
Serve with soy-vinegar dipping sauce.
9. Rice Wine Beef Bourguignon (Episode 8)
Ji-young adapts French beef bourguignon using Korean rice wine for flavor.
Ingredients:
Beef chunks
Onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms
Korean rice wine or makgeolli
Broth, soy sauce, seasoning
Recipe steps:
Sear beef, sauté onions and garlic.
Add rice wine and reduce.
Add broth and vegetables, and simmer until beef is tender.
Reduce sauce, adjust seasoning.
10. Kung Pao Chicken with Stolen Gochugaru (Episode 8)
A spicy, flavorful fusion of Kung Pao-style chicken with Korean chili powder. This dish was prepared by Ming chefs during the cooking competition between Joseon chefs and Min chefs. But Fei Xiu, the Ming chef, obtained the gochugaru preparer from Ji Young with the help of Prince Jesan.
Ingredients:
Chicken pieces
Dried chilies, gochugaru
Soy sauce, sugar
Garlic, ginger
Peanuts
Recipe steps:
Marinate chicken in soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sugar.
Stir-fry chilies, add chicken and cook.
Toss in gochugaru and peanuts. Serve hot.
11. Peking Duck Roll (Episode 8)
J-young uses thin wrappers to create a Korean-inspired Peking duck roll.
Ingredients:
Roast duck slices
Thin wrappers
Hoisin sauce or sweet soy + gochujang
Cucumber, scallion strips
Recipe steps:
Warm wrappers.
Add duck, cucumber, scallion, and drizzle sauce.
Roll and serve.
12. Pressure-Cooked Ogyetang (Episode 9)
A royal chicken soup made with ginseng and herbs under pressure cooking.
Ingredients:
Whole chicken
Ginseng, garlic, jujube
Glutinous rice
Water
Recipe steps:
Stuff chicken with rice, ginseng, garlic, and jujube.
Place in a pressure cooker with water and cook until tender.
Serve hot.
13. Roasted Silkie Hen Stuffed with Rice (Episode 10)
Ji-young celebrates the Joseon victory over the Ming cooks by serving a royal dish to Yi Heon and Prince Jinmyeong. The whole silkie hen is stuffed with glutinous rice, jujube, chestnuts, ginseng, and milkvetch root, rubbed with butter, and roasted in a style reminiscent of Peking duck. She completes the presentation with Korean-style mustard sauce and macarons.
Ingredients:
Whole silkie hen (or small chicken)
Glutinous rice
Jujube (red dates)
Chestnuts
Ginseng and milkvetch root (or substitute with dried herbs)
Butter
Korean-style mustard sauce
Macarons for serving
Recipe steps:
Clean and prepare the hen.
Cook glutinous rice slightly, then mix with jujube, chestnuts, ginseng, and milkvetch root.
Stuff the hen with the rice mixture.
Rub the outside of the hen with butter.
Roast in the oven until golden and cooked through.
Serve with Korean-style mustard sauce and macarons on the side.
14. Dumplings in Soup (Episode 10)
After her release from prison, Ji-young serves Yi Heon a light and meaningful lunch of dumplings in a clear broth, accompanied by assorted banchan. This dish highlights the growing bond and equality in their relationship.
Ingredients:
Dumplings (store-bought or homemade, meat or vegetable filling)
Clear chicken or vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Scallions or herbs for garnish
Assorted banchan (kimchi, pickled vegetables, etc.)
Recipe steps:
Bring broth to a gentle boil.
Add dumplings and cook until tender.
Season the broth with salt and pepper.
Serve hot with scallions or herbs sprinkled on top.
Plate with banchan on the side for a complete royal-style meal.
16. Joseon Restaurant Meal (Episode 10)
With Prince Jinmyeong unable to tolerate the antidote, Ji-young serves a full Joseon-style meal. The menu includes gourd-shaped rice cakes and sujebi (hand-torn noodles) in a rich, nourishing broth made from ox feet, velvet antler, and cheongung root to restore his health.
Ingredients:
Gourd-shaped rice cakes (or regular rice cakes)
Flour and water for sujebi (hand-torn noodles)
Broth ingredients: ox feet, velvet antler, cheongung root (or substitute with beef bones and herbs)
Salt and pepper to taste
Recipe steps:
Prepare broth by simmering ox feet, velvet antler, and herbs for several hours.
Shape rice cakes or use store-bought varieties.
Make sujebi by mixing flour and water, tearing it into pieces, and adding it to the boiling broth.
Serve the broth hot with rice cakes and noodles in bowls.
17. Soy Meat Gujeolpan and Eggplant Pie (Episode 10)
To celebrate the birthday of Queen Dowager Jahyeon, Ji Young creates a vegetarian-friendly feast. She prepares a soy meat gujeolpan with nine delicacies arranged around a stack of jeon (Korean pancakes) for wrapping. An eggplant pie is served on the side.
Ingredients:
Soy-based meat or tofu
Assorted vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, spinach, cucumbers)
Jeon (Korean pancakes)
Eggplants
Pastry or flour for pie
Seasonings: soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, salt, pepper
Recipe steps:
Slice and prepare vegetables and soy meat, lightly sauté with seasoning.
Arrange nine fillings on a platter around stacked jeon pancakes.
Prepare eggplant pie by roasting or sautéing eggplants, placing them
in pastry, and baking until golden.
Serve the gujeolpan with pancakes for wrapping, and eggplant pie on the side
Final Thoughts
Bon Appétit, Your Majesty makes food part of the story, not just decoration. The fusion dishes demonstrate respect for Korean tradition while pushing boundaries with French techniques. The recipes above prove that many of these beautiful dishes are doable at home with some tweaks.
Trying them at home gives a taste of the drama’s heart. Cooking becomes a way to feel connected with the characters and tradition.
Which dish from Bon Appétit, Your Majesty, are you most excited to cook at home? Share your cooking results or plan in the comments!