Cup-bap

Cup-bap (Korean: 컵밥) is a Korean street-food offering of bap, cooked rice, served in a paper or plastic cup with a variety of toppings. It was created in the 2000s and became a popular quick meal or snack for students of the private cram schools known as hagwons in the Noryangjin neighbourhood. Long lines at the area's restaurants and a lack of anything but very basic snacks such as hot dogs created demand for fast, cheap and more satisfying meals, which food trucks supplied by stir-frying ingredients in advance in a large pan and spooning the pre-cooked toppings into a cup with rice and egg when an order comes in. Popular kinds include stir-fried kimchi, bibimbap, bulgogi, pork belly and ham, chicken teriyaki, chicken mayonnaise and tuna mayonnaise. Its main consumers are students and others needing a cheap meal. Companies such as GS25 and Ottogi sell pre-packaged versions, and sales of cup-bap have grown in Vietnam and Cambodia.