Notes about Recipes in this book

• Bok choy kimchi

  • rionafaith on January 27, 2019

    Delicious kimchi variation.This marinade is thicker and redder than many I've tried, which I like, but it is a tad on the sweet side -- I think I will omit the granulated sugar next time, as the chopped pear adds enough sweetness.

• Napa cabbage kimchi (Baechu kimchi)

  • hirsheys on July 01, 2018

    This worked well, but was a bit of a megillah.

• Soy and sesame spinach (Sigeumchi muchim)

  • joanhuguet on May 05, 2016

    Delicious and simple side dish. I did not expect to enjoy the texture of cold boiled spinach, but it was a refreshing accompaniment to the barbecued pork recipe.

  • patioweather on March 20, 2018

    I've made this several times from different recipes and this has been my favorite so far. My only complaint is that it made too little. In the future, I would at least double the recipe. Two people alone demolished it as a side, which is sad because it travels well and would have made a lovely lunch for me today.

  • MelMM on January 31, 2019

    3-10-2018 This is super easy. The recipe called for a pound of baby spinach. I used 5 oz (what I had), and made half a recipe of the sauce. Or possibly a tick more than half a recipe. I thought the sauce seemed like too little, but it turned out to be just right. I'm not sure the ratio of spinach to sauce in the recipe would make me happy, but we really liked this the way I made it.

  • Yildiz100 on May 15, 2019

    Delicious and easy. I made a half recipe with 250 grams of spinach, which, after removing large stems and wilted leaves was probably a closer to 225 (a proper half a pound) and I did think it could have used a tiiiiny bit more of the sauce.

  • southerncooker on December 17, 2019

    Made for a side to go with some other recipes for hubby Korean birthday supper. Delicious.

  • Kduncan on November 10, 2020

    Needed something to go with a really spicy dish, and this did the job. Really fast to prep and will make again if I need a cool side dish.

  • et12 on June 29, 2021

    Really enjoyed this spinach. Easy to make and super tasty. Had it in a bowl of bibimbap.

  • Stephenn31 on November 18, 2023

    Delicious and really easy! Excellent banchan. I will definitely make it again.

• Quick soy sauce pickles: daikon (Jangajji)

  • Stephenn31 on November 18, 2023

    Made with radish and it turned out well.

• Quick soy sauce pickles: egg (Jangajji)

  • Stephenn31 on April 04, 2023

    Turned out better than I expected!

• Crunchy sesame bean sprouts (Kongnamul muchim)

  • Yildiz100 on October 13, 2018

    Loved this. In fact, it is my favorite Korean sprouts recipe so far. I used a mild flavored Thai oyster sauce (Maekrua). A more assertive sauce like Panda brand would have been too overwhelming here for my taste since there aren't too many other ingredients in the dish. Definitely stick with the Maekrua.

  • southerncooker on December 17, 2019

    Part of hubs Korean birthday supper 2019. Pretty good.

  • et12 on June 29, 2021

    This was a decent sprout dish. I would have preferred it to have stronger flavours from the oyster sauce but it was very good nonetheless.

  • nicolepellegrini on February 06, 2025

    Just OK, not my favorite bean sprout side dish. Tasted best when fresh out of the pan, wasn't as appealing to me when I served it a little later on.

• Soy-marinated eggplant (Gaji muchim)

  • urmami on October 24, 2016

    Cooking technique is on point; instructions are not. Even this salt junkie could barely take it. You have GOT to rinse the eggplants after salting/sugaring them, or they will taste like the Dead Sea. When I do it again, here is what the process will be: salt, drain, RINSE, and wipe down eggplants; sugar and let sit for 5; cook eggies/make sauce; then combine. The sugar should stay to help caramelize, but that salt's gotta go or you won't get to do the soy sauce. Otherwise, good easy versatile eggplant trick.

• Dried daikon radish muchim (Mumallaengi muchim)

  • Yildiz100 on November 30, 2024

    One cup of soy sauce and 1 cup of gochgaru Makes no sense for 1 cup of dried radishes. I Made 1/4 of the marinade and the radishes were still absolutely swimming. I think there is a mistake and maybe the one cup is meant to be 1 package of dried radishes. The marinade is good though and tastes just like I was hoping so he is is right to suggest equal parts soy sauce and gochugaru!

• Seasoned, blistered shishito peppers (Kkwarigochu muchim)

  • Yildiz100 on March 05, 2018

    There is an editing error in this recipe (E-book version.) The recipe says to add half of the garlic to the sauce but never tells you when to add the other half of the garlic. I decided to omit the other half completely and didn't miss it. However, I do think sometimes with Korean food "more is more" so I might just try adding the full amount next time. I cut the honey in half as I find its smell can be overwhelming. I thought the sweetness was fine like this, but those who love honey could enjoy it as written. After adding the water, the sauce tasted a bit watered down. I omitted the dried anchovies I am thinking that maybe they would have absorbed the water and corrected the balance, so without those it is probably best to cut the water a bit. I was able to fix the problem by adding 1/2 tbspoon additional soy sauce. The final dish was delicious and worth repeating despite the editing error.

  • sosayi on March 26, 2018

    The editing error made it into the print copy, as well. I just added it to the wok a few minutes after the peppers, which seemed to work. Good recipe, but I think my anchovies were too dry? Or they needed to sit in the sauce to marinate/plump up for longer? Because they were hard as a rock. Oops. Loads of flavor in this dish, though, and I enjoyed it.

  • Yildiz100 on December 08, 2018

    Made again and subbed Korean rice syrup for the honey, but used the full two tbs. Sweetness was just right. Only added 1 tbs of water, and still wasn't happy. The sauce was too thin and didn't cling to the peppers. If omitting anchovies, omit all water.

• Spicy stir-fried fish cake (Eomuk bokkeum)

  • patioweather on March 19, 2018

    These are extremely easy to make. I was worried about the quantity of sugar in the recipe but followed it anyway and was pleased with the result.

  • Yildiz100 on October 10, 2018

    Very good, very easy. Tasted too salty at first, but once they cooled to room temp (the suggested serving temperature) the salt was absorbed into the fish cakes and they no longer tasted over salty. I did reduce the sugar a bit, but would try the full amount next time to see what I prefer. Make a half recipe (4 sheets). More than that can't be browned easily, even in a rather large pan.

  • jenburkholder on August 05, 2025

    Halved the granulated sugar. Very good, very easy. Makes a lot!

• Soy-braised tofu (Dubu jorim)

  • hirsheys on March 18, 2018

    My version of this did not come out perfectly because I'm not very skilled at browning tofu. I'm not sure if I was supposed to use non-stick or if I just didn't use enough oil at first, but my tofu stuck pretty badly. That said, I enjoyed this dish a lot - the sauce is tasty and it's easy enough, despite my lack of skill browning tofu. Will definitely keep this in my back pocket.

  • Yildiz100 on December 08, 2018

    I usually like tofu in restaurants and am never happy with my tofu at home, but this was delicious. I had the same problem with the tofu sticking. I will use nonstick next time or try to be more patient and wait till the tofu develops a thicker crust and releases from the pan. I accidently used a tbs instead of a tsp of sesame oil, so the sauce was a bit oily, but still delicious. ETA made again with nonstick. No problems now. I really love this dish. Definitely my favorite homemade tofu dish. However I did notice this time that the ingredients list calls for some minced red chili but the instructions never tell you to add it. No problem though, I have never used it and it is wasn't missed.

  • MelMM on January 31, 2019

    3-11-2018 I like this version of braised tofu better than the one in Maangchi. This is one to repeat.

  • jenburkholder on March 29, 2021

    This was fine (dubu jorim is always good), but I prefer the one from Maangchi. I don't love the ginger in it and miss the onions. Plus, 18oz blocks of tofu are nearly impossible to find, so it's kind of an awkward amount - even the ones at the Korean market are 16 now, and most of the rest are 12 or 14.

• Bubbling egg (Gyeran jjim)

  • kitchen_chick on September 24, 2017

    The ingredients are eggs, anchovy stock, salt, and scallions. The other ingredients listed here are for the stock, which also requires scallions.

• Koreatown potato salad

  • mjes on May 02, 2017

    Very nice (mashed) potato salad similar to the Japanese. I prefer to steam rather than boil my potatoes, I also went with a kewpie mayonnaise for a more Asian taste. As I am an hour away from a Korean shop that carries the suggested yogurt drink, I already have my excuse to repeat the recipe with the optional ingredient.

  • patioweather on March 19, 2018

    I made this recipe with half American mayo and half kewpie. I found it really underwhelming. I think I prefer a sharp or acidic element in my potato salad to counterbalance all of the sweetness and richness.

  • sosayi on March 26, 2018

    I enjoyed the crunch of the apple in this version of potato salad, and found the sweetness a great foil for spicy accompaniments. Would repeat in the right situation, but not something that would make it into rotation.

  • tges on November 08, 2021

    I love this gamja salad. Very much like the ones served in K-town, Sydney.

  • Yildiz100 on April 21, 2022

    My feelings exactly mirror sosayis. This is good, the apple is nice, I will make it again, but probably not frequently.

  • Stephenn31 on June 21, 2025

    I liked this surprisingly more than expected. I didn’t add the apple and used kewpie mayo instead. I usually like more acidic potato salads but this really worked. The potato mash at a loose level maybe helped absorb some flavours. Great with the carrot crunch

  • billie109210 on February 18, 2026

    I really enjoyed this potato salad. I liked the sweetness and the crunch of the apples and carrots.

  • KarinaFrancis on May 17, 2026

    One of my favourite sides at a Korean bbq, now I can make my own, the balance of flavours is spot on. It makes a lot more than you think it will when you read only 2 potatoes in the recipe, I tripled the recipe and will have the opportunity to see how it holds over a couple of days

• Kimchi pancake (Kimchi jeon)

  • L.Nightshade on April 05, 2018

    I had very old kimchi, the last of a gallon I made at least a year or two ago, so I thought this would be a perfect use for it. I used purchased Korean pancake mix, and had a little trouble with the texture. When I plopped the first 1/2 cup into the skillet, it ended up as a mound of onion and kimchi in the center, with thin liquid spreading out to the borders of the pan. So I added another scoop of the pancake mix. I ended up with thicker-than-desired cakes, sort of like the IHOP version of jeon. But they tasted great! I made three types of banchan to go along, and that was dinner!

  • Yildiz100 on January 13, 2019

    I had the same problem as L. Nightshade, but I didn't add any extra mix. I just spread the veggies out as best I could. This ended up spreading the batter too much and making an irregular pancake. I think this would work best in a very small frying pan-the size of the desired pancake, so you can spread everything oit and not have batter running away from the veggies.

  • KarinaFrancis on January 10, 2022

    I found the batter to be quite runny. When I fried the pancakes they were beautifully crispy on the outside, but a bit doughy on the inside. The flavour was great so I’ll try again, maybe reduce the amount of soda water to 1/2 cup.

• Jeon dipping sauce

  • Yildiz100 on October 05, 2019

    Too heavy on the sesame oil. Lacks salt and acid.

• Scallion pancake (Pajeon)

  • KarinaFrancis on April 18, 2022

    Good but the crispy pancake still eludes me. Needs a lot of shallots.

• Seafood and scallion pancake (Haemul pajeon)

  • kitchen_chick on January 10, 2018

    Some of the listed ingredients are for anchovy stock (daikon radishes, jalapeño chiles, kombu, dried anchovies). If you have either cold sparking water or anchovy stock, you don’t need to buy these ingredients for this dish. (I really wish the indexer for this book made this clear. It’s a bit misleading.)

• Kimchi fried rice (Our mildly insane kimchi bokkeumbap)

  • clcorbi on March 24, 2017

    Really good flavor (especially from the final drizzle of gochujang and melted butter), but to my taste, the ratio of kimchi and onions is too high for the amount of rice.

  • kitchen_chick on September 05, 2017

    Ingredient list here includes both the fried rice and kimchi ingredients. If you already have kimchi, then this is a much simpler recipe than it looks from the ingredient list.

  • Yildiz100 on January 18, 2018

    I subbed in turkey bacon. The point of this recipe is to have lots and lots of bacon for the amount of rice, but since turkey bacon really isn't going to have the same effect, I reduced it to just three slices and had to use a bit of oil for frying since there wasn't any rendered fat. I thought the balance of rice and other ingredients was just right. Even with significantly less bacon, I did not need to add any extra salt. What really makes this dish amazing to me is the gochujang butter. Once added everything suddenly became more than the sum of its parts. It was very rich and fully flavored. I thought I would miss the soy sauce, but with the meatiness of bacon and the soy umami in the gochujang, I didn't miss it at all. This replaces the version in Small Victories as my new favorite kimchi fried rice.

  • sosayi on March 05, 2018

    I cut this in half, which when served with Steamed Eggs (Maangchi) was a great amount for breakfast for two. I thoroughly enjoyed the almost equal ratio of kimchi to rice and that gochujang butter! Loved it. I did sub green onions for regular onions, which worked just fine.

  • hirsheys on March 10, 2018

    I followed the recipe pretty closely but wasn't able to get the fully caramelized bottom that I would have wanted, because I had to turn the wok off for a minute or two to throw all the windows open when I set the smoke detector off. (Sigh.) I don't have much to add to the rest of the reviews except that while I really liked this version, I also really love the one from Small Victories, and I'm not sure which I prefer. This one has a stronger bacon taste and that yummy butter, but perhaps because the kimchi I have is on the milder side, the bacon sort of overpowered it. The Small Victories one also has a neat method of caramelizing the kimchi that I think brings out the flavor of the kimchi even more. Anyway, this one's definitely a hit, but I'm not sure it's the one I will turn to the next time I have a craving.

  • MmeFleiss on April 16, 2018

    We love this recipe so much that I've already made this twice in the past month.

  • Bloominanglophile on November 13, 2018

    Made this to use up an opened jar of kimchi and leftover basmati rice. Because I had 4 cups of rice, I doubled all ingredients except the kimchi (which I drained after looking at the recipe from Small Victories). I decided not to add the liquid back to the rice because I didn't want to push the spiciness, and I like fried rice on the dry side. My family (and I) loved this! Fabulous flavor from all the components, enhanced by the rich spiciness of the gochujang butter and the fresh accent of the green onions. Going into the favorites file for sure!

  • KarinaFrancis on November 30, 2018

    This was a big hit and a great way to use up some kimchi from another recipe. I didn’t have as much as the recipe called for and next time I’d use the full amount. Loved the crusty base, it really makes this dish. Will make again for sure.

  • Bloominanglophile on November 30, 2018

    By the way, any leftover gochujang butter is great on roasted/baked sweet potatoes!

  • chawkins on February 26, 2019

    We enjoyed this, even though I found it a tad salty for my taste. The gochujang butter and the fried egg added richness. As I told my husband, anything with 1/2 lb of bacon in it could not be too bad, as it turned out, the bacon taste was largely masked by the kimchi which had been opened and aging in the fridge for over a month.

• Mixed rice bowl (this is not a bibimbap recipe)

  • et12 on June 29, 2021

    Made this for a dinner party, followed all the recommended components and it was a big hit and made for a good bowl of food. Definitely something I’d do again.

• Vinegar gochujang sauce (Chojang)

  • hirsheys on March 18, 2018

    I made this to perk up Maangchi's soybean sprout rice - it's very tasty and super easy. I didn't have either pineapple or orange juice, so I used calamansi cooler that I had, which worked fine.

• Toasted rice cakes (Cast-iron ddeokbokki)

  • patioweather on March 23, 2018

    I found this to be much too sweet and will decrease the amount of sugar next time. Otherwise it is delicious.

  • Yildiz100 on March 26, 2018

    Omit the honey powder or sugar but otherwise made as written. Korean rice syrup is not all that sweet so it was fine with the 3 tbspoons, and it contributes a nice glossiness to the sauce. I think corn syrup is probably a lot sweeter so consider using less if choosing the corn syrup option. The crispiness from the cast iron cooking is an addictive texture. A keeper.

  • kitchen_chick on June 03, 2018

    A third voice agreeing that it's too sweet as written. I opted to leave out the rice or corn syrup.

  • h0lly on May 24, 2025

    I made this with fresh rice cakes that I had been storing in the freezer. I enjoyed the sweetness. That said, the gochujang I had on hand was extremely spicy so that might be why I appreciated the sweet. I used sugar but you had better believe I’m going to get some honey powder and try it with that. I also subbed dashi powder for the stock and fried tofu for the fish cakes. A delicious dish that you can sweeten to taste!

• Wok-fried glass noodles with crispy shiitakes (Japchae)

  • mjes on May 02, 2017

    I used a Korean guk ganjang soy sauce for a more authentic flavor than a Japanese shoyu. I used enoki mushrooms and oyster mushrooms but couldn't easily find white beech mushrooms so I substituted button mushrooms. I liked the unexpected use of spinach in this recipe. The results were very satisfying.

  • hirsheys on February 26, 2018

    This was a very good recipe - full of umami flavor, but very mild, as is usual for jap chae. I made this per the recipe except that I doubled the amount, so struggled a bit to get the char that I would have liked to get (I like the browned bits). I also didn't deep fry the shitakes, so didn't have the crispy texture. However, this was a really nice dish. (In the future, I might add shredded sheets of omelet like I've seen in other jap chae recipes...)

  • patioweather on March 19, 2018

    I did not double the recipe as hirsheys did but I still had trouble achieving a char on the noodles. It was tasty anyway and traveled well thanks to the glug of sesame oil at the end. I used all of the suggested mushrooms and they were delicious.

• Black bean noodles (Jajangmyeon)

  • hirsheys on March 10, 2018

    For me, this dish is odd - the root vegetables make it taste kind of like an Asian stew on noodles. The pickled daikon helps a bit in brightening it up, but the dish is just not my favorite. I thought about trying the sauce on rice (thinking I might like it better), but never got around to it. Will not make again.

  • Dannausc on May 19, 2022

    REALLY good! And quite easy. Definitely worth a repeat!

• Spicy seafood noodle soup (Jjampong)

  • Dannausc on May 19, 2022

    This was tasty but it did not store well at all. Needs to beat right away or the noodles will absorb all the liquid and turn to mush.

• Spicy cold buckwheat noodles (Jaengban guksu)

  • Yildiz100 on March 19, 2018

    Yum. Thought I would miss the vinegar and sesame oil found in other versions but I did not. Just need to make sure it is adequately seasoned with salt. Makes tons of sauce-cut recipe in half next time. Also omit the sugar and reduce the gochugaru by half. There was too much and it as a bit gritty/powdery.

• Butter dumplings (Butter mandu)

  • VKHummel on May 02, 2026

    Super indulgent but so good!

• Aged kimchi dumplings (Mukeunji kimchi mandu)

  • hirsheys on July 22, 2018

    These did not go well for me. The gochujaru made the filling gritty, and I would have preferred the filling chunkier, anyway.

  • MelMM on January 31, 2019

    2-27-2018 Delicious. I used kimchi from Edward Lee's recipe. And my own GF dumpling dough.

• Marinated short ribs (Kalbi)

  • Stephenn31 on June 21, 2025

    Excellent marinade! I made extra for another grill

• Ssamjang

  • hirsheys on February 26, 2018

    This was super tasty and a very good sauce for bulgogi lettuce wraps. (It's possible that I accidentally left out the corn syrup, so I'm going to try this one again...)

  • Dannausc on May 19, 2022

    Super quick and easy. Very flavorful.

  • Stephenn31 on May 05, 2025

    Great with grilled meat. I didn’t have walnuts but it didn’t seem to need any. Excellent flavour and easy. I ate some of it with extra lettuce stems. Made again with walnuts. Still amazing and made leftovers for the summer

• Soy-marinated grilled beef (Bulgogi)

  • hirsheys on February 26, 2018

    This was very tasty, though I'm not sure this is the best version I've made. I struggled a bit with the blotting off of the marinade. I need to figure out a better way to do that process... (maybe dump the meat into a colander to get the majority of the juices off, then blot?). I cooked the bulgogi in a big cast iron pan. One note, though - I made these into lettuce wraps, which I liked in theory. However, all together, I found this quite salty. I think it was missing sugar (I'm pretty sure I left the corn syrup out of the ssam) and also that the kikkoman I used was too salty.

  • southerncooker on December 17, 2019

    I used New York Strip since it was on sale. I think this is the best I've made. I did marinate for about 24 hrs. Made for hubby birthday 2019.

  • et12 on June 29, 2021

    Very good marinade and excellent as a bibimbap component. Definitely a make again!

  • tdimond on December 18, 2021

    Very good! Marinate for 24 hours, low salt soy may be appropriate. Thin sliced some onions and cooked in marinade before cooking beef in cast iron.

  • Dannausc on May 19, 2022

    Fairly quick and easy. Tasty. Worth a repeat.

• Spicy pork spare ribs (Daeji kalbi)

  • sir_ken_g on May 12, 2018

    This was excellent. Not too hot. Did not have Asian pear or an apple so I added some applesauce.

• Spicy whelk salad (Golbaengi muchim)

  • Yildiz100 on December 01, 2021

    I made the dressing only to use on cucumber salad, as I wanted something more strongly flavored than my usual Korean style cucumber salad. This dressing was delicious and I will use it on other vegetables and cold noodles too.

  • Yildiz100 on December 04, 2021

    I used the leftover dressing as a dip for fried fish and it was SO GOOD. Best combo ever.

• Kalbi meatballs

  • urmami on October 24, 2016

    Daaaaaamn, these are good as hell. They are extra fantastic with some bitter greens cooked in garlic and maybe some sesame seeds to balance out all the sweetness and savor, and some rice to sop up all that great meat juice, maybe some kimchi or pickle for tartness too...but that's just embellishment. I can personally attest that they are equally phenomenal without all the fancy trimmings, eaten straight from the fridge while desperately hungover. Get you some.

  • sheepishjen on April 19, 2017

    Agree with the other reviewer. These were delicious and very easy !

  • MmeFleiss on April 20, 2017

    Recipe here: http://userealbutter.com/2016/11/20/kalbi-meatballs-recipe/

  • hirsheys on March 03, 2018

    I made this recipe last year based on the use real butter recipe and wasn't thrilled. I missed having a sauce and found the texture of the meatballs odd. I may try them again simply because I love meatballs and love the idea of these, but might need to futz with them. (Maybe a good way to use up ssam sauce!)

  • TrishaCP on March 23, 2018

    We loved these too. I didn't have a problem with the texture, though I had less meat than called for (1 1/2 instead of 2 pounds), so eyeballed the bread and breadcrumbs rather than strictly following the recipe. I had meatballs that were quite soft but still held their shape nicely.

  • southerncooker on December 17, 2019

    These were good but a bit too juicy so I turned them over returned to oven on broil to brown more and they were much better.

  • MmeFleiss on March 28, 2018

    Many found this too wet and bland as written so I cut out the eggs and minced bread. Solved both problems. Will be made again with those tweaks.

  • Bessp on February 01, 2024

    Made these to serve with the kimchi jjigae. They came together easily, I used apple instead of pear because that's what I had. They were tender, had a great balance of sweet and salty, and went really well with the soup.

• Red devil cocktail

  • sheepishjen on April 19, 2017

    Lovely cocktail. I had dried jujubes, rather than jujube tea, so might not have been quite the same when I infused the vermouth. Though I think jujube tea must just be dried and shredded jujubes. Will research. Still, loved the nuance from the jujubes.

• Korean sloppy Joe

  • hughb on April 27, 2017

    Delicious and VERY full-flavored.

  • sheepishjen on June 08, 2017

    Delicious and simple. I was worried it might be dried out, but it was moist and wonderful. Cutting back on bread, we wrapped it in lettuce leaves instead.

  • TrishaCP on April 03, 2021

    This was really good and easy, but definitely don’t skip the pickles. (Needed in my opinion to balance the salt and spice of the sloppy joe mix.)

  • jenmacgregor18 on March 16, 2018

    Excellent.! Put the ground pork in the marinade the night before & it's a quick and delicious weeknight meal the next night. I didn't think it was very hot; but I like some heat. I added some cholula on mine since I was out of kimchi. I also used some leftovers as an omelet filling. Very good. This is going in our rotation.

  • Yildiz100 on March 24, 2021

    Delicious! Subbed ground chicken for the pork, otherwise made exactly as written. Wouldn't change a thing.

  • msl521 on November 23, 2021

    I halved the gochgang to keep the spice reasonable for my toddlers and used this as a taco filling, along with avocado, radish pickles, and green cabbage kimchi.

  • alex9179 on March 07, 2018

    Very quick meal once you've marinated the ground meat. Delicious and is now on my "dinner to repeat" list. Too much heat for my kids but easily adapted to their preference.

  • sosayi on March 26, 2018

    I enjoyed the flavors on this a lot, as well as its ease of preparation. But.... it just wasn't "sloppy" enough for me to consider it a true sloppy joe variant. It needs some sort of sauce to bind the meat together, which it didn't have. I did LOVE the leftovers in tacos the next day, and could see it being a great filling for lettuce wraps as someone mentioned below.

  • Kduncan on January 18, 2021

    Such a good easy meal (served with some buns, fries and brussel sprouts). Would easily make again (pun intended).

  • Dannausc on May 19, 2022

    It was good, but not nearly as good as some of the other recipes in this book. Not something I’d make again.

• Kimchi white chocolate snickerdoodles

  • kitchen_chick on September 17, 2017

    Definitely an "acquired taste" that my taste has not acquired, but I gave them 1.5 stars because my husband said "I kinda like them. Maybe. I can't decide."

• Soft tofu stew (Soondubu jjigae)

  • kari500 on March 02, 2018

    Really good, and really easy. Even C liked this a lot. Served over rice. Added inch long slices of scallion. Used dashi instead of anchovy broth. Double. 2nd time used 4 tablespoons of cayenne - it was too much. Try with 2 next time, can always add at table.

  • hirsheys on March 10, 2018

    I made a half portion of this today for lunch and agree that it is shockingly easy, particularly if you use pre-made broth. In my case, I used some of the shrimp broth that I've had sitting in my freezer for a while and it worked great, though I had to up the seasoning a bit, given that my broth wasn't as highly seasoned as I'm guessing one made with anchovies would be. I used re-hydrated dried shitakes rather than fresh and the soft tofu that comes in a tube. The only addition I'd make next time would be to add fresh scallions to the top for some freshness. This is delicious and so rich, filling, and unctuous that I spent several minutes running through the recipe in my head trying to figure out what makes it so rich.

  • Yildiz100 on March 15, 2018

    Used Korean Anchovy stock powder instead of making my own. Many on Chowhound thought this needed more tofu but I thought the balance was good. I was a little generous with the mushrooms though. I thought the boiled onion (with no sautee step) smell was acrid. I think I would reduce the onion in the future or add the onion first and let it have a longer boil before adding other ingredients.

  • Yildiz100 on October 16, 2018

    Made this again, and this time, I altered the technique slightly and added the onion to the anchovy broth first and let it boil, covered, while I prepped all the other ingredients, plus a few more minutes, until that acrid smell of non sauteed raw boiled onions started to be less noticeable. Maybe 30 mins. I then added the rest of ingredients as directed. This was a huge improvement and made the stew taste much more like the restaurant version I love. Only remaining complaint is this version is a little too grainy in texture. I wonder if it needs finely ground (instead of coarse-the author doesn't specify) gochugaru or a bit less garlic. This time I used the "correct" amount of mushrooms and I missed them, because I love them, so use a cup of slices next time. When using Korean dasida powder for the stock, do not add any additional salt.

  • patioweather on March 20, 2018

    If I made this again, I would be much more careful about chopping the onions and garlic extremely small and maybe lessen the amount of each.

• Coca-Cola and gochujang-marinated chicken thighs

  • meggan on October 09, 2021

    This recipe was odd in that it instructs you to make a marinade and a bbq sauce even though they were essentially the same and you would discard the marinade. Instead I just added the extra ingredients to the marinade and reduced it. Coke always adds a jazzy taste and I used miso instead of fermented black beans.

• Spicy pork neck and potato stew (Gamjatong)

  • meggan on January 29, 2025

    This took more like 2 hours to cook through the potatoes and the meat. The result was pretty tasty and the dipping sauce adds interest.

• Kimchi stew (Kimchi jjigae)

  • hirsheys on March 10, 2018

    This dish is only slightly more trouble to make than the soondubu jjigae (which is like falling off a log) and is also very delicious. I'm super excited for both sets of leftovers... A couple things to note: there's not a ton of kimchi juice in my jars, so that part is tough. Next time I'll just squeeze the tofu into chunks, rather than small cubes. I made this with a version of the pork broth from scratch today (I used some pork with bones and a couple of chicken legs) Also, I made a half recipe and it almost overflowed my largest saucepan, so be sure to use a pot larger than they recommend if you make a full recipe.] Overall, I enjoyed this dish a lot, though it took me a bite or two to get used to the acidity of the dominant kimchi flavor and needed a little extra salt. I'd give the soondubu jjigae a slight edge, though - it's even easier and cozier, I think. That said, I loved the bits of meat floating in here and found the texture of the crunchy kimchi wonderful.

  • imaluckyducky on January 15, 2022

    5 stars. Wonderfully cozy, spicy, tangy goodness with a smooth pork aftertaste. Didn't make any changes. Comes together in minutes if you have pork stock in your freezer like I do. Will make agaub.

  • Rinshin on March 23, 2018

    Excellent taste even without pork slices or pork stock. I used ago dashi (type of fish) stock and added spinach as well as egg for poaching directly into soup. Silken tofu was spooned in to create more surface areas to soak in flavors. Did not include kimchi juice since my kimchi was wet enough. Very simple to make. Had no doenjang and used red miso. I loved everything about this healthy soup. Photo added.

  • runoutofshelves on June 17, 2025

    lip-smackingly delicious, was a bit worried the pork would not be tender but it was perfect, went a bit easy on the spicy ingredients but still very good for the sinuses, enjoyed with a nice cold can of beer.

  • Bessp on February 01, 2024

    Served with the kalbi meatballs. Added some rice to the stew because I'm a lazy philistine. Nicely balanced, very comforting and satisfying. Great for a cold wet day.

• Sweet soy-braised chicken (Andong jjimdak)

  • Yildiz100 on March 06, 2018

    This was pretty heavy on the potatoes and next time around I would decrease the potatoes by half and use more scallion and cabbage for a lighter dish. I would also slice the carrots rather than "large dice" as directed since they cook so much more slowly than everything else. Reduce the granulated sugar to 3 tbspoons. It's not traditional but I would be fine leaving out the noodles too. This is quite rich and sweet so next time serve with some light sides and eat a small portion of this.

  • Stephenn31 on November 18, 2023

    I used a lot less sugar than the recipe called for. I would use more cabbage next time. Cut the potato and carrot to a size that will shrink slightly during cooking but still be easy enough to eat with chopsticks.

• Spicy chicken stew (Dakdoritang)

  • Yildiz100 on April 05, 2022

    The potatoes were nice but the rest was just ok. It was a little too sweet, and lacked complexity.

  • matthew_jiod3h on April 03, 2026

    Loved it!

• Beef short rib stew (Crock-pot kalbijjim)

  • Rinshin on March 13, 2018

    Unfortunately I overcooked this to a point of meat totally separating from the bones and veggies too soft. The taste is quite intense. I made the mistake of using the IP for slow-cooking - I think it was too hot and too long. I like to try this again at some point but using regular stove-top method which is the 2nd method given. Right now, the finished product looks more like soup.

  • Rinshin on March 13, 2018

    So I had to save this recipe from my mistake, and cooked more potatoes and carrots separately to include in this stew. Also tossed in some chard slices along with a little more water to lessen the intensity. The final product actually came out delicious. I know it is not traditional but served this with white rice much like curry rice.

• Doenjang and kimchi-braised kale

  • maestra on August 01, 2023

    I've made this dish many times. It's a unique and delicious use of kimchi and kale. In the end no single ingredient stands out; they all meld together perfectly. It's one of those "worth-the-price-of-the-book" recipes.

  • Dannausc on May 19, 2022

    I really liked this recipe a lot. It was easy and super flavorful and delicious. Might be my new favorite way to cook kale.

• Crispy tofu sandwiches with muchim pickles and grape-jelly doenjang dressing

  • kitchen_chick on April 19, 2018

    Nice, tasty tofu sandwich. The mayo-doenjang-jelly sauce is delicious. If you like sauce on your sandwiches, make double the amount. I wrapped the sliced tofu in a tea towel and pressed it under a weigh to remove water so it would spray less oil when frying.

  • Stephenn31 on June 13, 2024

    I only made the cucumber/ muchim, but it was delicious. One of the best from the various recipes that I’ve tried

• Doenjang-braised pork belly with ddeokbokki

  • sosayi on March 15, 2018

    A good dish, but I'd personally make a few changes were I to make it again. A little too one-note on the texture. Even toasted, the ddeokbokki are soft on the inside and that combined with the soft pork belly needed more to contrast it. You add blanched fennel, that keeps a bit of bite, but there's not enough, imho. It's also quite rich, so perhaps a tangy, crunchy pickle could cut through all of that and make it a bit more nuanced. That being said, the flavors of the sauce were incredible and I do love rice cakes to pieces. So I may play with it.

• Anchovy stock (Myeolchi yooksoo)

  • Dannausc on May 19, 2022

    Quick, easy, and flavorful.

  • patioweather on March 23, 2018

    The jalapeno does contribute heat so taste before adding it to a dish.

• Okra kimchi

  • Dannausc on May 19, 2022

    It was okay, but not my favorite.

• Fire chicken (Buldak bal)

  • et12 on June 30, 2021

    Didn’t make chicken feet but used the sauce to glaze chicken wings and they were delicious!

• Food52 by Rachel Khong

  The 2017 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks, First Round: Koreatown vs. Victuals

  Full review

• Leite's Culinaria

  The book goes beyond L.A., however, ​to explore Koreatowns across America​ and​ celebrat​e ​the gutsy, rustic food that is the lifeblood of these communities.

  Full review

• Saveur

  The total opposite of an aspirational travel book: Koreatown is as real as it gets: a love letter not just to Korean cooking, but also how it manifests in America's many Korean communities.

  Full review

• Epicurious

  A great book whether you're new to Korean food or looking for recipes for old favorites, Koreatown will have you running to your local Asian grocery to stock up on rice cakes, gochujang, and kimchi.

  Full review

• Eater

  Rodbard approaches the cuisine as an outsider turned obsessive fan, while Hong writes as a Korean-American who is re-embracing his heritage with...barbecue restaurant Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong.

  Full review