Kimchimari

The last time I took part in Kimjang (Korean tradition for making a lot of Kimchi to last through the winter months) was when I was still living at home in Seoul. Our family was quite large back then and we lived in a home where our back yard actually had buried kimchi jars. If […]

I recently bought some brisket from an American grocery store. But when I brought it home and cooked it, it looked and tasted different from the Yangjimeori(양지머리 – also labeled “brisket”) that I usually buy from the Korean supermarket. And this is not the first time– it has happened to me many times before and […]

This Korean Gogiguk (고깃국) or Beef Soup/Broth is probably one of the simplest soups to make ever. It is also one of the most important to learn because it can be the foundatio for many other Korean soups such as Mandooguk (만두국), Yukgyejang(육계장), Mooguk (무우국)…etc.  But you may be surprised how wonderful it tastes- just […]

I still remember the very first time I made Kimchi Jjigae all by myself – it was when I was visiting my brother in Virginia. The winter snow storm that year (1984? 1985?) was so bad that we were stuck in his apartment for almost a week with no means of getting to a store. […]

I can’t believe that this has actually happened! I am now a contributor to Chosun.com (a major Korean news site). Thank you for all your support (especially my loyal subscribers) and encouraging comments – they always help me going. Go to http://english.chosun.com and then you will see an image in the home page that links […]

In Korea, you can find ddukbokki/tteokbokki in many different places and also served in many different ways. There are even restaurants that serve just different kinds of ddukbokki which are called 떡뽂이 집 (“ddukbokki jip” which means House of Ddukbokki). These places serve ddukbokki with different sauces and with different choices of noodles (쫄면 Jjol […]

This Oyi Namul(오이나물) is also sometimes called Oyi Bokkeum (오이볶음) which literally means cucumber stir fry. When you saw the name of the dish, you might have thought – “What? Stir fry cucumbers? How can that taste good?”.  But you will be surprised how good this tastes – the slightly pickled cucumbers have such a […]

These jeons serve as a great side dish to any Korean meal with spicy soups or jjigaes. They are also great for lunchboxes because they keep well and taste good even when they are not warm. The only thing is that it takes a bit of effort and time to make it, and that’s why […]

My daughter called me the other day and asked me to post my Bugeo (dried pollock) Gook recipe because she wanted to make some for herself in her dorm. This is always one of the first things she asks me to make when she comes home from college. This soup is also one of the […]

This is probably one of the best known Korean dish other than Kimchi. I offer several substitutions and variations that you can try. They will all taste good but I think it is good to have options in case you don’t have all the ingredients or if you prefer one ingredient over another. I start […]