India binges on Bibimbap and Tteokbokki, while devouring Squid Game

Unlike Squid Game, investing is not generally a lose-everything scenario — although it can be if you put all your eggs in one basket: it was devastating for those who did so with Woodford. (Representative image: Reuters)

Besides their Korean origin, what's common between Bibimbap and Squid Game? Well! both are being binged by Indians in abundance.

Following the craze around the Korean action drama, Indians have begun  experimenting with Korean food and that's not just ramen. Online food ordering sites such as Zomato have witnessed a 45 percent increase in Korean cuisine orders in the last few weeks.

People are ordering Kimchi fried rice and Tteokbokki besides Bibimbap. While Bibimbap is a rice dish topped with sautéed vegetables and meat, Kimchi fried rice, as the name suggests, is a rice main course cooked with kimchi, a side dish consisting of salted and fermented vegetables.

Tteokbokki, on the other hand, is a stir-fried rice cake dish served with boiled egg.

"Larger traffic is from Delhi-NCR, followed by Mumbai and Bengaluru. However, smaller cities such as Surat, Pune and Jaipur are not too far behind," a Zomato spokesperson told Moneycontrol.

According to Anurag Katriar, founder of Indigo Hospitality Pvt Ltd, the South Asian cuisine resonates well with the Indian tastebuds as it has the sharpness Indians relish. "The dishes are flavourful and on the spicier side," he said.

These dishes are mostly present across premium restaurants with the average ticket-size ranging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500. However, given the trend, experts believe there's a huge scope for mass premium outlets to come up.

"I don't think there are too many chefs in India specialising in this cuisine right now. If explored, this can be an interesting option of affordable dining," said Katriar.

The love for Korean cuisine syncs with the love for Korean flicks. Squid Game became Netflix's biggest series launch of all time with 111 million viewers last week.

Popularity for the show is such that it has topped the charts in 80 countries. It has also beat previous topper Bridgerton, which gained 82 million households in its first 28 days.