Name: Korean Banana Milk - 바나나 우유
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: PT-476000H57M36S
Total time: 5 min
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 1 ripe banana, peeled and chopped; 1/3 cup water; 3/4 cup milk or unsweetened oat milk; 1 tablespoon sugar, pure maple syrup, or honey (optional, you don’t need it if the banana is very ripe); 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)

Korean Banana milk is mildly sweet and very refreshing! It can be served as a light breakfast or enjoyed as a mid afternoon pick me up. Only 4 ingredients needed!

For such a simple drink, Korean banana milk is surprisingly tasty!

I didn’t know about this famous Korean drink until I moved to NYC and discovered one of my favorite Asian grocery stores, H-Mart. Every time I went there I would spend a good chunk of time exploring the aisles for new Korean food and drinks I hadn’t tried before.

I’m a huge fan of anything banana flavored so when I saw Binggrae’s banana milk displayed in the chilled drinks section, I knew I had to try it. Korean banana milk is both sweet and savory, floral and silky. It takes a minute to get used to the taste but after a few gulps it’s easy to see why it has become such an iconic drink.

It’s simply delicious and addictive!

The homemade version is different than what you get at the store – it’s not as complex in flavor but much more refreshing!

What is Korean Banana Milk?

Korean banana milk, or banana uyu, is a popular South Korean flavored drink made famous by Binggrae, a famous Korean beverage and snack company. It was first introduced in 1974 and instantly became a hit after the government encouraged their citizens to drink more milk. And since bananas were considered a luxury at the time, banana milk became a favorite among the nation.

The bottle’s original shape was inspired by a traditional Korean jar although you can now find banana milk sold in small milk cartons.

BTS Jungkook’s Favorite Drink

I’m sure you’ve heard of BTS, Korea’s most popular export, and currently the world’s biggest band. BTS is so huge that they consistently manage to sell out big venues such as Wembley Stadium, Citi Field stadium, and the Rose Bowl Stadium (which holds 90,000 seats), to name a few.

Everything they touch seems to turn into gold, so you can imagine how happy Binggrae, Korea’s biggest distributor of banana milk, was when one of their members, Jungkook, shared his fondness for this fruity beverage.

His love for it is so well known that it inspired memes and drawings, and also caused sales to shoot up globally.

Where can I buy Korean Banana Milk?

Korean Banana milk can be found in most Korean supermarkets (such as H-Mart), some Korean bakeries, and big Chinese grocery stores may also carry it. You can also buy it online from Amazon or Grocery.com.

Ingredients for Banana Milk

Banana: Medium size and as ripe as you can find. The riper the banana is, the sweeter the banana milk will be.
Water: Water is used to thin out the consistency so the drink feels more like a drink than a smoothie.
Milk: You can use whole milk, 2% or skim milk. To make it vegan, use unsweetened oat milk as it has less of an aftertaste. Oatly is by far my favorite brand as it tastes very close to regular milk (I eat cereal with it all the time).
Sugar: Use granulated sugar if you want straight up sweetness, or use pure maple syrup or honey for sweetness and a hint of floral.
Pure vanilla extract (optional): Adding 1/4 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract will infuse the banana milk with caramel and jasmine flavors.

Kitchen Tools Needed

Blender or immersion blender
Cup

How to Make Korean Banana Milk

Gather all of your kitchen tools and ingredients.
Peel the banana and put it in a blender along with the remaining ingredients.
Blend until smooth and serve.

Since bananas change color so quickly, it’s best to drink it as soon as it’s blended. You can keep it in the fridge to drink later but the color will become darker, the longer you leave it. The liquid may also begin to separate. so make sure to shake it well before drinking.

Other popular Asian drinks you may like:

Did you like this Korean Banana Milk Recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!