The year's most Googled recipe: bibimbap

Google's "Year in Search" revealed that the world's most searched recipe in 2023 was that of bibimbap. Korean searchers were also interested in pickled garlic and different varieties of kimchi.

Traditional bibimbap topped with a variety of sauteed and seasoned vegetables and an egg yolk, served in a hot stone pot [SHUTTERSTOCK]

The food recipe that saw the largest increase to its search queries on Google this year was that of bibimbap, the humble Korean dish whose name translates to “mixed rice.”

The U.S. tech giant released its annual “Year in Search” on Monday, listing the global queries that its search engine fielded the most often in 2023. Topics ranged from people to events and pop culture.

Bibimbap's queries saw the most growth compared to last year, followed by recipes for Spain’s espeto, or skewered and roasted fish, typically sardines, and Indonesia’s papeda, which is congee made from sago starch.

Korean Google users, on the other hand, looked up recipes for pickled garlic, seasoned oysters, potato salad, fresh radish kimchi and green onion kimchi.

Other Korea-related global searches for this year included girl group Fifty Fifty's “Cupid,” which ranked fifth, and BTS member Jungkook's “Seven,” which ranked 10th, for global song searches.

Netflix original series “The Glory” was a hit both in Korea and overseas, with the drama placing first among Korean Google users and seventh among global users. HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Netflix originals “Wednesday” and “Ginny & Georgia” were the top three globally trending television shows.

For movie trends, this summer's cultural phenomenon "Barbenheimer" was the talk of the town. “Barbie,” directed by Greta Gerwig, dominated global searches, while “Oppenheimer,” directed by Christopher Nolan, topped Korea's search list.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]