🖤 Black is chic.
🕶 Black is cool.
🎩 Black is always fashionable.
Now, black FOOD is the new black.
And if this hasn’t already been news to you…
There’s so much more black food beside Oreo cookies!
While in many parts of the world, activated charcoal powder is a rising star among natural food colorants, South Korea is still blocking its journey to the peninsula because of health concerns. But Korea has its own “black food”. There’s technically no NEED for charcoal. [Who wants to eat charred wood anyways???😝] In fact, there exists a whole array of ingredients which are (some traditionally, some more recently) used to dye all types of food in magnificent black.
First and foremost, there is black sesame. Sesame is an omnipresent ingredient in Korean cuisine (see “About the Name of the Homepage“). The black variation, which is referred to either as heugimja (흑임자) or geomeunkkae (검은깨) in Korean, is less common and generally more expensive than the buff-colored sesame. Regardless of its original scarcity and associated exclusiveness resulting in a higher price, black sesame is nowadays consciously appreciated for aesthetic reasons in food preparation. Just like regular sesame, black sesame seeds are frequently used to garnish foods by adding the final decorative touch. However, black sesame seeds can also star as the main ingredient in a certain dish, favored because they bring the usual taste 👅, smell👃 and nutrients of regular sesame – plus optical effects!👁
Korean rice cakes, aka tteok (떡), which appear in innumerable diversity, may contain black sesame and are then normally vegan.🌱🍡 For instance, injeolmi or other types of glutinous rice cakes can be coated in black sesame. There is also rice porridge, which mainly consists of rice, water and black sesame! This kind of porridge is called heugimja juk (흑임자죽) or geomeunkkae juk (검은깨죽) and it is one of the few veggie-friendly soups and porridges in Korea. It turns darker and richer the more black sesame is mixed into it. Ground black sesame seeds may also be added to tofu and some kinds of Korean jellies, which gives the final product a grayish tone.
vegan Korean jelly with black sesame 
Tofu with black sesame 
Korean porridge with black sesame
Beside these more traditional dishes, foods newer to Korea such as bakery products and modern dessert items, may also be colored with ground black sesame seeds. In bakeries, you can find black cookies, macarons, scones or breads. 🍪🍞🍰 Especially vegan bakeries in Seoul are leading the way in using sesame seeds as a natural and plant-based food colorant. 🌱 Other sweet treats, which you might come across, are bingsu and ice cream with black sesame flavor. 🍦 If you are lucky, one of those artisan gelato stores serves black sesame ice cream on the day you visit!
Black sesame scone from vegan bakery “Ooh Breado” 우부래도, Seoul 2019. 
Bun filled with black sesame cream at vegan bakery “Yummy Yomil” 야미요밀, Seoul 2019. 
Bread filled with black sesame cream from vegan bakery “Ooh Breado” 우부래도, Seoul 2019. 
“Black sesame tofu cake” (흑임자두부케이크) at vegan bakery “Pan Honesta” 빵어니스타, Seoul 2019.
In other parts of contemporary Korean cuisine, however, a whole other ingredient is very popular: Squid ink. 🦑 A recent food trend involves coloring anything ranging between bread, pizza, pasta, even ice cream with this natural ink. 🦑🍞🦑🍕🦑🍝🦑🍦 Apparently, the black and white contrast is a favorite among food designers, so many black foods are accompanied with a white component, such as white powdery garnish, fillings of cream cheese or mozzarella topping. The appearance surely is stunning. 🤩 But be aware, that these products are not veggie-friendly.🚫🌱 According to Wikipedia, the ink is extracted from the dead animal.
“Bomba Pizza” (폭탄피자) at “The Place” (더플레이스), Seoul 2018. 
“Black Sorbet” and other flavors of ice cream at Baskin Robbins, Seoul 2019. 
Salad with black bread served as a side at “Again Refresh”, Seoul 2019. 
Black-colored “Pain brie” (빵브리에) next to other products at bakery “Atti” (아띠), Seoul 2019.
Umbilicaria growing on a rock, along with other lichens and moss. Korea, 2018.
Yet another natural ingredient, which is used for its black color is a curious organism scientifically referred to as Umbilicaria esculenta. The first time I encountered it, it looked to me like pieces of scorched skin or some kind of dried seafood… 🤔 The Korean name translates to “rock ear mushroom” (seogi beoseot 석이버섯 石耳), in correspondence with the “wood ear mushroom” (mogi beoseot 목이버섯 木耳). The latter is a jelly fungus, commonly used in Asian cuisine and perhaps more familiar by the name Mu Er (Auricularia auricula-judae). Umbilicaria, however, is no fungus. Biologically, Umbilicaria is classified as a type of lichen. What is this mysterious organism? 🕵️♀️
No animal. No plant. No fungus. No alga. No moss.
Lichen.
Lichen are something on their own! Actually, they are symbiotic organisms, which consist of fungi and algae components. Fascinating, eh? 🤓
Lichen Umbilicaria (석이버섯): cooked and seasoned. 
Wood ear mushrooms (목이버섯): fresh and raw.
Its color does not mix with water, so the lichen are ground into powder and then mixed with dry ingredients. Alternatively, it is cut into fine strips and used sparingly for garnish. Supposedly, there exist some kinds of rice cakes, which are colored with it, but I have not seen any recently… It may be rather difficult to find it these days and – contrary to sesame and squid ink products – nothing you will encounter in daily life.
What’s the difference between plant-based and animal-based? How to tell whether something is colored with squid ink? 🦑🌱
In general, foods that have been colored with squid ink have a subtle, but distinct smell to them. Koreans largely categorize this as “fishy smell” (birinae 비린내), but they apply the term to various odors, including those at fish markets but also blood or overcooked soy beans. Hence, it is a rather broad description of (slightly?) differing olfactory experiences. In the given case, the smell is reminiscent of cuttlefish (squid, calamari, sepia etc.) for obvious reasons… 👃🦑 Sesame, on the other hand, brings a nutty flavor. 👃🥜 On top of that, sesame also exhibits deeper, roasted aromas. Depending on your background, you might perceive the smell as more dominant than in familiar sesame products, since Koreans preferably use roasted sesame seeds.
Unfortunately, by the time you smell that something is fishy, you’ve probably also already taken a bite out of it. [Too late….😖]
So let’s take a step back in time and examine the shady food item beforehand. 👀 There are obvious differences in appearance! The skins of sesame normally remain visible, despite having been ground finely. Consequently, black foods can be distinguished based on texture and color-pattern: While squid ink (liquid) creates a smooth and homogeneous tone in the final product, foods colored with black sesame (ground into powder or paste) exhibit tiny black dots and may have a slightly gritty mouthfeel.
But you don’t always get a good look at the object in question… 🔬 […much less permission to dissect it 🥽🔪] So, after all, the best way of knowing the secret behind the color is by doing some research beforehand. 👓 [Apart from reading this article, undertaking certain studies directly prior to purchase are warmly recommended! 📖]
It requires minimal Korean skills to apply the following steps:
- The Korean word for squid ink “먹물” (pronounced meongmul) or more precisely “오징어먹물” (ojing-eo meongmul) is sometimes included in the name of the food product. This is of course the easiest way of identifying it! But the labeling of food items in Korea is “very creative” [not to say random], so you cannot rely on “ink” being mentioned in the title 100% of the time. [Among the image captions here, there are plenty of examples.]
- Ideally, there is an ingredient list which provides the most precise answer. One look at the allergen warning of a food label disclosing the word “오징어” (ojing-eo – meaning squid) is enough to reveal that the color is of animal origin.
- If neither of above options are given, asking the vendor for clarification shall be your final strategy. [Provided they are informed about the products they sell, which is sadly not always the case.] You can inquire about the source of the color by saying something like this:
혹시 오징어 먹물 들었어요?
Hoksi ojing-eo meongmul deureosseoyo?
“Has squid ink been added to this?” 🦑
If the reaction is “Neh” (네), a “Yaeh” (예) or a vigorous nod, you know that your hypothesis has been confirmed. 🧐
Korean dishes which are traditionally considered Black Food
Beside black sesame, there are other foods of which black variations exist.
One of these are black soy beans and other types of black-colored beans. [There are indeed numerous different kinds!] Using them in cooking results normally in a darker colored product but not in a rich black tone of the entire food. For instance, tofu and soy milk made from black soy beans exhibit a grayish tint instead of the regular cream-colored tone. In order to achieve a stronger color effect, however, black sesame seeds may have been used additionally.
Black Kongguksu, Seoul 2019. 
Pan-fried tofu made with black beans (검정두부부침) at “Baeknyeonok” 백년옥, Seoul 2017. 
Various types of soy milk, including soy milk produced with black beans and black sesame, Seoul 2019.
Moreover, there are also variations of rice, which are black. Although, there are diverse types of rice, ranging from round-grain, long-grain, wild rice and glutinous rice, the general Korean name for black-colored rice is heukmi (흑미 黑米). This name stands in contrast to regular white rice (baekmi 백미 白米), which is the peeled form of “brown rice” (hyeonmi 현미 玄米). Although raw black rice appears to be black, in cooked form, the color turns out to actually be dark purple. When mixed with other ingredients, such as white rice, the black rice dyes its surroundings purple. Hence, foods that have black rice mixed into them, exhibit a purple tint. 💜
“Black Rice Ciabatta” from vegan bakery “Ooh Breado” 우부래도. 
Vegan burger at “Yummy Yomil”. Bread contains black rice flour. 
Two-colored rice cake made with plain (white) and black rice (purple). 
Rice mixed with black rice, fruit and seeds, wrapped and steamed in lotus leaf , Seoul 2018. 
Black rice-flavored gelato among various other flavors at Giolitti, Seoul 2019.
Apart from ingredients that are labeled “black” but actually aren’t thaaat black when used in cooking, there is one dish that is typically considered as black food: Jjajang myeon (짜장면). Koreans have even dedicated a day to it – April 14, the “Black Day”! To be more precise, the day is not entirely dedicated to the dish itself, but rather to singles: On the occasion of “Black Day”, when singles order this dish, they come out as lonely. 🥢👤 Hopefully another soul discovers them eating all alone by themselves and joins them. 🥢👤🥢👤 Enjoying food in company, makes everything taste better, doesn’t it?! 🥢👥😊 Perhaps the meal of Jjajang myeon shared over some good conversations develops into something more? 🥢👥 💘 Who knows…? 🥰 [Before we delve into romantic day-dreaming, let’s get back to the topic!] Apart from facilitating finding at least an eating partner… What IS Jjajang myeon??? In short, it is an originally-Chinese-but-Koreanized-dish featuring long wheat noodles with a “black” sauce, which is normally neither halal, nor kosher, nor veggie-friendly. ❗️🐷🚫🌱 (Unless you know a veggie-friendly restaurant whose menu includes Jjajang myeon or you possess advanced Korean language skills to customize it.) [More details in a future Instagram post. Possibly in mid-April…]
Veganized Jjajang myeon (짜장면) at Gawon (가원), Seoul 2019. 
Regarding the color… Decide for yourselves, whether you would term the color of the sauce as black. 🤨 Anyhow, this dish is (officially) designated as black food in Korea….
Black is black. Or is it not?
Okay, I admit. Korea’s black foods are not quite the same as charcoal-colored foods. If you prefer to avoid animal-based black food 🚫🦑, your only reliable friend is black sesame.💚🌱 Beside the color being less intensive and the possibility of spotted patterns or grainy textures, there is also a certain taste and smell associated with each of these natural food colorants. Charcoal, on the other hand, is more neutral in flavor and the black tone seems more impressive.
But why not choose a food BECAUSE of its specific flavor?
Why not choose a food BECAUSE it contains more minerals and nutrients than plain versions?
You just got to love black sesame. 🖤
