Korean cooking made simple
CAROLINE HWANG is out to prove cooking Korean food is not complicated or difficult.
Korean cuisine has been identified as one of the upandcoming food trends of the past few years, especially as the craze for fermented foods — a cornerstone of the cuisine — gathers pace.
Last year, The New Zealand Herald reported that Korean food retailers and some mainstream supermarkets were reporting sales increases of up to 300% for Korean food products over the past two years.
Hwang grew up in the heart of Koreatown in Los Angeles and her love of cooking came from her grandmother, who looked after her and her brother while her parents were at work.
Despite her love of cooking, she went to art school and became an illustrator, but her passion for food and cooking eventually won over and she began working in kitchens, running an underground supper club and eventually moving into food styling.
This book is her endeavour to show Korean food is the easiest cuisine to cook. All it requires is a few ingredients — salted fermented shrimp, sake, brown rice syrup, Korean dried red pepper flakes and paste, dried seaweed and dried radishes — to get started, she says.
‘‘Once the pantry and fridge has been filled, you should be ready to go.’’
She explains how Koreans often serve food saying
‘‘please eat well’’ as health is of the utmost importance to Koreans and eating well goes hand in hand with that.
Eating is also a communal experience with ‘‘banchan’’, the small dishes served at every meal, meant to be shared, as are the mains.
‘‘The dishes are all meant to be eaten together, with no serving utensils, just personal chopsticks and spoons dipping into the communal pot.’’
Her book contains recipes for many of the banchan found in Korean restaurants and also for shopbought treats, such as melon ice lollies or mochi filled with red bean paste, but without the additives found in bought products.
‘‘For some dishes all it takes is a little marinating and grilling, such as the everpopular Korean barbecue dishes like galbi [marinated short ribs] while others are a onepot meal, like soondubu [soft tofu stew] or kimchijigae [kimchi stew].’’
There is also a stepbystep guide to kimchi as well as easy snacks, dosirak, like kimbap (rice rolls with vegetables).
The book aims to leave the reader nourished and ending their meal saying what Koreans say when they are done with a meal, ‘‘thank you so much. I have eaten very well.’’