Koreatown: A Cookbook

In order to get my head around Korean food, I purchased this book before a 2 1/2 week trip to Korea. Not just a cookbook, it has a lot of information, including an introduction before every recipe and short essays like "How to Cook Korean Food at Home Without Pissing Off Your Neighbors." The book also has commentary (and in some cases, recipes) from culinary superstars such as Eric Ripert and David Chang. Bear in mind that, as Hong states, this book focuses on the food found in K-towns and Korean-influenced restaurants around the US. So you'll find that the some of the recipes are riffs on Korean food rather than traditional recipes. But they are all true to the source - this isn't a "fusion" cookbook containing recipes for Korean Tacos and the like. The Bossam (crispy pork belly) recipe is "the bomb", and the cooking technique really makes it happen. Rather than cooking small chunks on a tabletop grill, which was what I experienced in Korea, Hong's method calls for boiling and then roasting a 3# piece in the oven. What makes the end result so killer is his method of pricking the skin with hundred of holes to help render the fat and crisp the skin. Cooking it in the oven also means that a tabletop grill is freed up for bulgogi or kabli or a hotpot or whatever. If you plan to make the Bossam (and you should), here's a tip that worked for me. Hong recommends using the point of a sharp knife or skewer to poke the tiny holes in the skin. However, you aren't supposed to push through the skin and into the meat. I found this difficult to accomplish given the amount of pressure required to penetrate the tough pigskin. My solution was to use an oversized safety pin to do the job. I took a large, 2.5" safety pin and bent the prong to a 90 degree angle. I then gripped the pin by the body, placing my thumb on the end directly above the prong. From there, it's fairly easy to puncture the skin by focusing your force on your thumb. In addition, using the short safety pin gives you more control than something longer like a skewer or knife, and once you puncture the skin, your knuckles will stop you from penetrating deeper into the meat. I've attached a few pictures of what I did; I purchased the safety pins through Amazon. So anyway, it's a great, fun-to-read, cookbook. And I know I'll be returning to the pork belly technique for the rest of my life. FYI - If you are planning a trip to Korea, or are just really interested in Korean food, I found the following resources useful during my trip: - For traditional Korean cooking, I have enjoyed "Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking." If you doubt her quest for authenticity, she suggests fermenting kimchi in jars that are placed on top of an electric blanket. This mimics the conditions of the heated floors that are found in traditional Korean homes. Despite this attention to detail, her recipes are simple and straightforward. - "Eating Korea" by Graham Holiday. Having lived in Korea in the mid-90's, the journalist/author returns and travels across Korea to document traditional foods and dying culinary techniques. - Smart phone app: "Korean Food Guide Book" published by the Korea Foundation. It has some basic information about ingredients, methods, and tastes, but I found the alphabetical listing of ingredients to be invaluable. The press of a button translates an ingredient name from English to Korean characters (Hunminjeongeum) to the Romanized word/pronunciation. Many times I didn't know exactly what I was eating, so I'd hand the server my iPhone, they'd select the word from the Hunminjeongeum list, and then I'd translate their selection into English. It was also great because I could then take a snapshot of the screen for future reference. - Final tip if you travel to Korea: drink as much makgeolli as you can! Pronounce it like "broccoli" without the "r" and they'll understand you well enough.

Interesting read that takes you into the world of Korean food. Recipes may seem intimidating but worth the time.

This is one of my go to cookbooks. I am Korean, so I use these to interpret my mother’s home cooking recipes, which uses measurements like, “just enough until right,” type of instructions. I also find that since I use this one a lot, I jot down additional notes and recipes all over the margins, and now this has become half my own recipes and half the author’s recipes. Thank you for this kind or cookbook to help all of us interpret our Korean mom’s recipes. Excellent.

Book is well written and easy to understand and use. Recipes are spot on. Ingredients can be easily found locally and are not expensive . Manufacturing of the book needs work though, I found about 6-8 pages stuck together, in regards to the pages, they were not fully cut or only partially cut, so there was no way of reading them; unless I cut the pages apart with a razor blade. ( see picture)

Chef Deuki Hong of NYC's Baekjeong BBQ has put loads of Korean recipes in this cookbook! The dishes were easy to follow and makes Korean food cooking seem like a breeze - which it is when you use these recipes. Each recipe has been well thought out to make cooking less intimidating for anyone interested in making Korean food at home. There are traditional dishes, side dishes, and an opening section on the necessary ingredients and equipment one would use. The book explains each major ingredient and its function in cooking so the book seems to be more than a recipe cookbook; it's also very informative which helps new Korean foodies to understand the cuisine better. For example, there's a section on the difference between using Gas and Charcoal for BBQ. Helpful to know depending on your tastes. The title Koreatown is indicative of the way the book is laid out with pictures to help you get a feel for the different Koreatowns around the U.S. along with the sights and "smells" from restaurants to night life. The book has all of the dishes you expect in a Korean cookbook in addition to Chef Hong's personal touch on many.

I loved all the backstory in this book. I was expecting a cookbook not a relationship journal on how different people came to know or learned to love the amazing cuisine of Korea. I have never lived near a Korean restaurant but now I wish I did so I could experience the joys of an after dinner Yacolt shot or late nite drinking food. I was lucky enought to have a Korean neighbor decades ago that I could hark back to when reading these delightful stories and recipies. The recipies are not intimidating and it really built up a longing in me and appreciation for Korean food. Too bad the only Korean restaurant anywhere within driving distance to me has a really relaxed approach to opening hours. It's a popular and beloved place so I will keep trying. Till then I have recipes to try.

As an avid homecook, I love experimenting in the kitchen. Honestly, it's been difficult to find any authentic Korean recipes in a format that I can easily understand. This book does a really good job at presenting recipes in a way that someone with hardly any Korean cooking background can cook. All the pictures really help too, particularly if you've never eaten or seen these dishes before. I guess I can't really speak to how well my dishes come out since I don't really know what they are supposed to taste like. But, they seem reasonably good to me. One thing that would be helpful is if the book could give some suggestions on what brand of Korean products to pick up. H-mart can be a confusing place and some help picking the best mirin etc. would be great.

This cook book is great. It is great for beginners who don't know anything about Korean food because it explains everything. There are several pages explaining what the basic flavors in Korean food are and how to make or buy them. The recipes range from easy to pretty in depth, so if you're looking for a lot of quick and easy recipes, this may not be the book you want. However it is very informational and if you are really looking to get into authentic Korean cooking.

It's a book you'll read cover to cover. The writing is witty, fresh, entertaining, human, like having a conversation with the authors. The recipes are simple, yet capture the essence of Korean cooking. Highly recommend, it's a great foodie read.

Great book some interesing reciepes look forward to working my way through this

Love the Pics and the Ingredients & Equipment Part. The recipes provided are great, nicely written intros by Deuki and Mat. Great Stories of Korean/Americans celebrating their heritage. but there is a big BUT for me......well for my opinion there is: . too much name dropping, you guys don't need all the names to get a reputation, .....too much recipes for drinks, Subak Soju? too many fusion recipes by guest chefs.dont get me wrong I love Chang, Rippert, Bowie and the others ( even I dont know half of them, maybe I must mention that I'm from Europe?!) but rather should have brought more Traditional recipes. The Book ends for me after page 197 from 267. Still looking for a more comprehensive recipe collection.

Great book. If you like Korean food buy it!

I haven't cooked from it yet (I just received it) I have already bookmarked several recipes. And the book is a great read too