Inasmuch is I do a lot of ethnic cooking, and have over 100 jars
and bottles of spices with which to make all of these exotic dishes, I have
absolutely no experience with Korean cooking. Other than kimchi, I couldn’t
name a Korean dish. That’s why a new book called Classic and Modern
Recipes Korean Home Cooking by
Sohui Kim with Rachel Wharton, a new publication by Abrams books proved of
great interest. Kim, a native of Korea, began her culinary adventures as a
small child in her grandmother’s kitchen, nightly plating the banchan (side
dishes) for the family’s evening dinner. Her interest and participation in her
family’s meals blossomed with age, and she eventually found herself as a
classic chef, owning her own Brooklyn restaurant called Good Fork.
From now until the end of next summer, I will be representing Abrams as a
member of the Abrams Dinner Party. As a part of this membership, I will be
reviewing some of their latest cookbooks, providing you with not only my
opinion about these books, but recipes as well. This book is the first one that
I chose to review, and the recipe that I found quite appealing, not to mention
sinfully easy, was this one for Butchu Oi Muchim (Marinated Cucumbers).
This is a beautiful and informative book. You need no knowledge of Korean food
whatsoever to be able to cook from it; in fact, you will find yourself learning
a great deal in the process. There are colorful charts and photographs
featuring all of the Korean ingredients that you will need for cooking along
with thorough explanations of each, from fresh vegetables, to noodles, to herbs
and spices, syrups, vinegars, oils and sauces, and equipment needed.
In addition you will find many tutorials guiding
you through not only the process of making the recipes, but tips on various
techniques such as how to cut a vegetable into julienne, how to cut scallions
into strips, how to cook rice, soak seaweed, and cut egg ribbons. From what
I’ve seen, this appears to be the definitive book on Korean cooking, suitable
equally for the novice and experienced cook.
If you read this blog with any frequency, you know that I embarked on a deck
garden this year, and one of the things that I grew with great success, was
cucumbers. I grew two different varieties, pickling cucumbers, and English
cucumbers, both of which worked well in this recipe. Korean cooking has many
unique, new-to-me ingredients, that are, perhaps, equally foreign to you. Don’t
let this slow you down, or stunt your curiosity because there are American
substitutions.
In this recipe, one of the ingredients is called gochugaru. My
guess is that quite a few of you don’t have this ingredient in your cupboard.
This can be substituted with plain old American chili powder. I’m guessing
you’ve never experienced the combination of garlic chives, cucumbers, and chili
powder. Neither had I, but it’s refreshing, spicy, and delicious. It’s also
stupidly easy to put together, can be made ahead, and keeps up to three days in
the fridge. If you’re looking for a new salad to serve your guests, one that
they haven’t had dozens of times before, this one is it.
Expand your mind, satisfy your curiosity, and
improve and educate your pallet by picking up a copy of Korean Home Cooking. You
can find one by clicking here.
This post contains affiliate links.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book by Abram Publishers in exchange for an honest review.
