OUR KOREAN KITCHEN

We bought this book in 2015 when some of the recipes were serialised in The Guardian.One of these recipes was superb so we bought the book.This was a mistake.The "Meat" section of the book - why I bought it - is tiny, and most of it is either stupid, bad, or pictures. The meat section loses two pages to two pictures of a storm drain.There are a lot of pictures in the book, mostly of the authors.The book has sat on the shelf for four years. Every time you get it out you flip through the sections on pancakes (too fiddly) or Korean Banquet (get real) and then you put it back.Tonight, looking for a gochujang pork bok choi sort of recipe I went to it again, found it yet again to be total garbage, and destroyed it.It felt good.I'm going to start removing the useless parasites from my house, and this book is Number One.2* since there's one good recipe, and that's online.

It's taken me a while to explore the book. It didn't immediately grab me but I do keep coming back to it.Things we have enjoyed:Kimchi fried riceKimchi stewKnife cut noodlesChicken and potato stewGrilled pork belly with sesame dipDeep fried sweet and spicy chicken wingsThere's a mix of very simple recipes and some that not particularly complicated but might require some time in the kitchen.I've skipped the recipes with the more niche ingredients but you'll definitely need some gochujang and gochugaru.

I am korean myself, and I purchased two copies to give out as gifts to two of my foreign friends. The recipes in the book are easy to follow and well written for even someone cooking and eating Korean food for the first time. As most recipes in the book use less fishy ingredients than 100% authentic recipes, everyone seemed to enjoy the food (Some never had Korean food before but still enjoyed it). There are bit too much texts for me, but it is well worth reading thoroughly. I would have been perfect if every recipe had a photo of finished dish to give an idea of what it looks like. Regardless, It definitely plays its part in introducing Korean cuisines to the western world.

I wish I could get the Family to make this food.May venture a trip if I can find the ingredients. Tried two places already. Failed.

After a bit of research I chose this book over several others & am so pleased I did. It's packed with beautiful photos & recipes. The recipes are easy to follow & don't come with a massive list of ingredients unlike some. I bought some ingredients online as we don't have an Asian supermarket but everything was easy to source. Tried several recipes that have all been tasty but you get the feeling they're doing you good too!