Food That Tastes Like Home

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In this beautifully illustrated homage to his Korean-American roots, food writer and columnist Eric Kim leads us through a delightful tour of Korean cooking covering all the bases – from quick and easy TV Dinners, to Pantry Meals, Stews, Rice (the bedrock of Korean cooking) Dishes, Fish and Seafood, meals centered on Vegetables, sumptious Feasts, and finally, Bakery recipes.

For these and other spicy-sweet Korean recipes, several author-recommended staples helpful to have on hand include: soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, gochujang (an umami-rich fermented chili paste, a favorite in this reader’s kitchen), gochugaru (red pepper powder which is a key ingredient in Gochugaru and is also a family favorite of this reader) and Gim (crisp and salty roasted seaweed sheets, often packaged snack-size in cellophane-wrapped stacks).

Korean kimchi (both a product and a process, used to pickle or ferment any type of vegetable), adds an authentic touch as both a condiment/side dish, and is also used as an ingredient in many of the recipes covered.

With techniques such as “taste memory” and an experiential instinct for seasoning learned in the kitchen of his Korean mother, practiced and perfected with American-influenced access to ingredients, the author’s take on Korean food is mouth-wateringly appetizing, with a resulting plethora of recipes I can’t wait to try.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

-> Gochugaru shrimp on roasted seaweed grits – Grits seasoned with crumbled seaweed sheets, topped with perfectly seasoned shrimp

-> Jalepeno-marinated chicken tacos with watermelon and guchugaru – The sweetly spicy watermelon salad sounds divine as a complement to the chicken tacos

-> Caramelized kimchi-baked potatoes – A hint of sweetness slathered on a spicy roasted potato

-> Sheet pan Bibimbap with roasted fall vegetables – Roasted butternut squash, mushrooms, and apple served on rice and topped with egg yolk (which could be fried or poached).

-> Crispy Trout with white wine and lemon butter – A crisply simple and sublime fish treatment, layered with a glossy buttery lemon sauce

-> Charred Cauliflower with magic gochugaru dust – Simple browned and crispy cauliflower sprinkled with a spicy sweet rub

Perfect for cookbook lovers and food aficionados everywhere, this book would make a wonderful and much-loved gift.

A great big thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.