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.

Many of the recipes use measurements that are either inconvenient or are just flat out wrong. I keep trying the recipes but they always turn out with awful proportions because the measurements listed are simply wrong. I've had to annotate the book with the measurements I found to work better or at all. Don't buy this book if you don't want to have to figure out the recipe proportions yourself

Goes a long long way to explain cultural and food traditions, history, providing an excellent grounding in Korean foods. Essential guide to learning a new often intimidating culture. Photos are lovely and individual contributions by chefs invaluable. Love this book.

Excellent! I love this cookbook. Reminded me of los angeles. Very current and hip, yet with classic foods and seasoning.Find out how to easily you can 'kimchi' anything. I love to do fresh pineapple.Have fun with this cookbook!

Been on a major Korean food kick thanks to this cookbook. The braised tofu recipe is the best tofu I've ever eaten, and I've eaten a lot of tofu. The sesame spinach is simple and perfect, a staple. I make it turn my back for a minute and it's gone. Beautiful photos and writing. Highly recommended.

I used to live and work near a major metro Koreatown, and I miss the food! This book has been a godsend with enabling me to make korean food at home that matches my experiences in Korean restaurants. I've since made many delightful bowls of soup, kimchi far better than what I can buy at the nearest Hmart, and my pajeon is awesome.

It's hard to say exactly what I liked about the book since I enjoyed it from the front cover to the end of the book. I've decided a few hour trek to an H Mart will be both fun and useful.

I own many ethnic cookbooks but none on Korean cooking. I saw these chefs on a TV program and realized I had to have this cookbook. I'm not disappointed with any of the recipes. Great addition to my collection.

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

Great book. If you like Korean food buy it!

Xmas present. Arrived on time. Hardback, looks good

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.

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