• DKennedy on July 20, 2022

  A birthday gift (Korean themed basket) from my cookbook group. This book has made it to my favorites shelf! A wonderful read, it has taught me a lot. And the recipes I have tried have become staples (eg. soup base).

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Rice (Bap 밥 )

  • czalikowski on April 15, 2026

    This is a standard recipe for us- made weekly in bulk and stored to be used as a base for whatever we have to top. Excellent texture and color.

• Vegetable broth

  • DKennedy on July 28, 2022

    Wonderful. Actually great as a soup in addition to being a base for soups.

  • czalikowski on January 02, 2026

    Incredibly flavorful broth that would be great on its own- takes a while to cook (almost 4hrs) but worth it! The aroma is also fabulous.

• Omma’s Korean BBQ sauce

  • jenburkholder on November 10, 2021

    Tasty. Marinated and cooked some soy curls in it, made a nice topping for a bowl of bibimbap.

  • paisleymonsoon on September 26, 2023

    This was just okay. I used it for the Korean BBQ burger in this book and also as a chicken marinade. It seemed more salty than I would have liked.

• Spicy soy sauce dressing

  • jenburkholder on January 14, 2022

    Really tasty dressing. Definitely some nontraditional ingredients in there, but the whole tastes lovely.

  • patioweather on March 07, 2024

    Tasty but I am not sure this iteration will take over as my fridge sauce.

  • ShayLRoss on February 04, 2026

    It's a great mix, goes well with noodles and rice.

• Perilla leaf focaccia

  • tacoquokka on March 30, 2026

    Easy to follow recipe that resulted in perfectly soft and fluffy focaccia. Perilla leaves added flavor but weren’t overpowering. Will make this again!

• Dressed kale (Kale moochim 케일 무침)

  • alysekstokes on September 04, 2025

    I made this as part of banchan spread, and it was great. The flavor is nutty and savory. I like the use of kale instead of spinach as it provides a more toothsome texture and seems to hold up in the fridge longer. This is a perfect accompaniment to spicier banchan dishes or to a richer, spicy main dish.

  • lorloff on November 01, 2025

    I made this with a mixture of Tuscan kale and fresh beet leaf greens. It was really great and got better the second day.

  • sophie_lfm61y on March 05, 2026

    This was so easy and delicious, I’ve had a container of doenjang that I’ve been unsure how to use - and now I know that I will quickly use up the tub with this recipe

• Roasted doenjang-glazed onions

  • crandall57 on January 14, 2026

    We really enjoyed these easy to prepare onions. Because of my gluten allergy, I had to make some changes. I replaced the two tablespoons of doenjang with one tablespoon each of white and red miso and one teaspoon of gluten free gochujang. I wouldn't let too much dressing stay on the onions or the pan, as the excess burnt a little. We will make these again.

• Battered squash (Hobbahk jeon 호박전 )

  • jenburkholder on August 16, 2022

    Fine, but every time I fry in potato starch I’m reminded of why I usually avoid doing so - likes to form a skin, rather than getting crisp. Mild, sweet pancakes with home-grown zucchini.

  • crandall57 on January 23, 2026

    We enjoyed the zucchini prepared this way. They were great with the Spicy Soy Sauce Dressing.

• Braised lion’s mane mushrooms

  • crandall57 on March 08, 2024

    Delicious and easy. I didn't have mushroom dashi, so I added a 1/2 teaspoon of black mushroom powder. I served it over rice Pad Thai noodles. Made this again using vegetable broth and mushroom powder. Because of a gluten allergy, I used Tamari and low salt Tamari in place of the soy sauces. I served it over gluten free ramen noodles.

• Stir-fried mung bean sprouts

  • christineakiyoshi on April 16, 2024

    I liked this simple recipe. Used rice noodles and added a little gochujang to spice it up even more. 4 stars

• Tofu cakes (Dooboo jeon 두부전)

  • jenburkholder on May 02, 2022

    Good! We sauteed the shiitakes and carrots, because throwing them in raw seemed weird, and that was a good choice. Texture is soft but not unpleasantly so, and they cooked up pretty and golden. Served with a mayo-spiked gochujang sauce, and the slightly rich sauce worked well with the fairly ascetic fritters (an oxymoron?). Also made kale muchim, rice, and gamja jorim. Would make again.

• Braised potatoes (Gamja jorim 감자조림)

  • patioweather on March 07, 2022

    We had a feast and this was everyone's favorite dish. Someone called it "stupid good."

  • jenburkholder on May 02, 2022

    Excellent. Made just according to the recipe, then kept snagging bites the whole evening. Had with the tofu cakes from the same book, rice, and an improvised kale muchim. Definite repeat.

• Cucumber kimchi

  • alysekstokes on November 13, 2021

    I used Kirby cucumbers for this, and they held up well. This was not my favorite cucumber kimchi, as I found the final product a bit too sweet. I would try again with less/no sweetener added.

• Brussels sprout salad

  • BlueSkies21 on April 27, 2026

    Good flavor but very time consuming to make. Requires lots of chewing so best as a side rather than a main dish

• Fermented soybean stew (Spicy doenjang chigae 된장찌개)

  • jenburkholder on October 25, 2021

    Good. Added the tofu later, as I find it tends to break up if you add it too soon. Doesn't taste much different from any other doenjang jjigae, but the sautéing of the gochugaru at the outset was nice.

• Kimchi stew (Kimchi chigae 김치찌개)

  • ShayLRoss on February 08, 2026

    This is fantastic with the black beans! I was so grateful for this recipe as I had some potatoes, onion, and kimchi I wanted to use up, and this was simple and perfect to make.

• Silken tofu stew (Soondooboo chigae 순두부찌개)

  • jenburkholder on January 09, 2022

    Decent, but not my favorite, sundubujjigae. I used sun tofu (i.e. not cartons of silken) and just one tube for half a recipe. Fine starter recipe but nothing to distinguish it.

  • jeannette_8sseqb on April 30, 2026

    A little spicy for me, but quick, easy, and really tasty!

• Potato stew (Gamja tang 감자탕)

  • Acarroll on September 28, 2022

    This was a salt bomb, with no salt added. I could only eat a few bites before tossing.

• Potato and leek soup (Gamja guk 감자국)

  • bfurrow on December 31, 2024

    I used better than bouillon instead of making broth. Would try homemade next time. Soup is quick to throw together and tasty. Lacking a little depth that maybe homemade broth would provide.

  • czalikowski on January 02, 2026

    Absolutely incredible soup that I will be repeating, for sure. The homemade broth is a definite must, it creates an amazing flavor complexity that I was not expecting. I ended up doubling the veggies called for- so I ended up with a soup that was more substantial than intended- still delicious.

• Korean glass noodles (Japchae 잡채)

  • jenburkholder on June 25, 2022

    This was a good but ultimately fairly standard japchae. I did enjoy the additional quantity of vegetables relative to the average. Topped with bulgogi soy curls.

  • mpo on January 07, 2023

    This was good but I’m not sure every vegetable needed to be cooked separately when they have the same cooking time. I’d make again but figure out how to cut down on prep and cook time.

  • crandall57 on January 23, 2026

    This was good, but needed a boost in flavor. We put extra Tamari and hot sauce on when we served it.

• Kimchi noodles (Kimchi guksoo 김치국수)

  • ShayLRoss on February 04, 2026

    Great recipe, especially with the addition of the spicy soy sauce dressing. I will need to adjust the kimchi and noodle ratio next time, I felt like I could have added way more kimchi!

• Angry penne pasta

  • jenburkholder on January 17, 2022

    Very tasty and super simple. I threw some basil into the blender with the sauce. The gochujang adds a lot and makes the sauce a lot more interesting than a standard arrabiata.

  • TrishaCP on March 24, 2022

    We really liked this dish. I omitted the fresh chile only because I forgot about it (one of those nights), but it was plenty spicy without it. I think I was expecting some sweetness from the gochujang, but there wasn’t any, probably due to the tomatoes.

• Rice cake arrabbiata (Tteokbokki)

  • jenburkholder on July 08, 2022

    Very nice. Tastes like home cooking. The sauté times are too short, though. We added more zucchini and omitted cabbage.

  • Apollonia on March 13, 2025

    This was just ok for us. As with other commenters, the veggies took a lot longer to cook than called for, and the dish never quite came together.

• Korean BBQ black bean burgers

  • antimony on March 14, 2023

    This was a seriously involved recipe for black bean burgers, but they were really excellent. Honestly: I will definitely make the slaw and the caramelized onions again, but I might just make them to go with store-bought burgers.

  • paisleymonsoon on September 26, 2023

    The burgers were far soggier than I'm used to making. They also ended up sweet and my daughter didn't think they had a lot of taste, despite the inclusion of Korean BBQ sauce. I probably spent a couple of hours with this recipe since I had to make the sauce from scratch (even though we skipped the slaw, just using regular slaw veggies from a package instead). So, it seemed like a lot of work for something my daughter didn't really like. The burgers do freeze well, which is a good thing since it's going to take a long time to get through them.

• Korean-style toast

  • avogel on May 21, 2022

    Definitely an involved process for a sandwich but worth it! Love the combination of textures and balance of savory and sweet here.

• Spicy crunchy garlic tofu (Kkanpoong tofu)

  • alysekstokes on November 13, 2021

    Big flavors with great texture. It's key to make sure you're using potato starch (not potato flour), but it brings a really beautiful crunch to the dish. The crunch does fade upon reheating, but the sauce has a ton of flavor and it holds up nicely. Make sure to press/dry the tofu well. I wrapped my tofu in a tea towel and pressed for about half an hour. Drying it helps it crisp up well and really cuts down on the splatter. I also found it important to use a very flavorful garlic powder—make sure it smells pungent and intense from the jar!

  • jenburkholder on November 23, 2021

    Very tasty. I ran out of potato starch and subbed in part cornstarch - still worked great. Sauce was a little thick (sticky!), could cut down the starch in that.

  • TrishaCP on January 01, 2022

    This tastes great- I especially love adding garlic and onion powder to the dredge for the tofu. I completely agree that there is too much starch in the sauce. I would definitely reduce it by half.

  • christineakiyoshi on January 03, 2022

    Have had this twice. Second time reduced the brown rice syrup a little. Used potato starch one time and cornstarch another. It is really delicious and the family said it was the best meal over the holiday.

  • meginyeg on March 02, 2022

    We really enjoyed this. My sauce ended up a bit thick but it was still tasty. We will make this again.

  • patioweather on April 02, 2022

    This tofu was crunchy and amazing. Going in our regular line up.

  • cbk15 on June 08, 2022

    This recipe has become one of my go to weeknight dinners, even with the shallow frying it goes quick. I’ve made a few modifications, I freeze and defrost my tofu first to make it more “meaty” and it crisp ups better. I double fry it to again help with the crispiness. I also eliminate the carrots and whole chilies. With the way I fry the tofu the leftovers hold up well

  • paisleymonsoon on September 29, 2023

    I used this for salmon instead of tofu, and it was delicious. It's a bit sweet for my taste, so I think I'll try it without sweetener next time (I used a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup instead of brown rice syrup). But it was deliciously spicey in all the right ways. 7 cloves of garlic is my kind of garlic level.

  • katiesue28 on January 17, 2025

    This was good, but I do think it’s important to use the full amount of syrup. I also recommend squirting some lime juice on it all at the end to make it pop. I loved the frying technique and will be using it again and again!

  • sophie_lfm61y on March 05, 2026

    This was pretty easy and yummy, not sure it’s my favorite sticky-crunchy type of tofu recipe though, but it’s solid. Did oven baked crispy tofu instead of frying it

• Braised tofu (Dooboo jorim 두부조림)

  • jenburkholder on January 14, 2022

    Excellent dubu jorim. Was worried that the vegetables on top wouldn’t cook through, but they did. Will make again.

  • patioweather on March 08, 2024

    Easy way to get in some vegetables, especially with a mandolin.

• Lemon and coriander blueberry muffins

  • MVitek on June 04, 2022

    Remarkably fluffy for a vegan muffin, but it needs a crumb topping for some texture contrast. It made 12 regular size muffins.

  • Melissa_427 on September 04, 2023

    I used coconut oil in place of the vegan butter, so I got a bit of coconut flavor which masked the coriander, but not completely! I'm not vegan, so don't always follow through on all the vegan aspects of baking, but this morning, I did. So, my first time baking with aquafaba which was interesting and resulted in a very delicious muffin. Also used frozen blueberries as per availability and rubbed the lemon zest in the sugar rather than adding it to the dry mix as per personal baking preferences.

• Tofu hot pot

  • voodoooffood on February 09, 2024

    Pg 253 in the hardback edition I have