Here’s how to make Korean dishes at home

Want to make authentic Korean dishes yourself?

“It’s difficult to find good Korean cookbooks written in English,” says Naomi Imatome Yun, an expert on Korean cuisine. “There are acclaimed cookbooks written in Korean, of course, but there is very little out there for the amateur Korean cook who doesn’t read Korean.”

The three best in English, she says, are: “A Korean Mother’s Cooking Notes” by Sun-Young Chang, “Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen” by Hisoo Shin Hepinstall, and “Discovering Korean Cuisine” by Allisa Park.

All three are available new and used at Amazon.com. None are in the Columbus Public Library.

Another option is online: Yun has published recipes for the 10 most popular Korean restaurant dishes at http://koreanfood.about.com.

Don’t be concerned that ingredients are not available. They are.

Everything you’ll need is available at Kim’s Oriental Food & Gift store, 3656 Buena Vista Road. It is a 30-year-old, full-service market supporting all Southeast Asian cuisine. You’ll find rows of dry, fresh and frozen ingredients, sourced from Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan and Vietnam.

More than 30 percent of the store’s customers are Korean, Mr. Kim says, and the store caters to them. Many options, for example, exist for making Korea’s national staple, kimchi. He supplies earthenware jars as small as 12 liters, as large as 35; fresh vegetables typical for kimchi, including cabbage, radish, bean sprouts; and the flavorings, too, such as salt, red-pepper powders, ginger, chilies.

Once mixed, kimchi is fermented for a week. Short on time? Mr. Kim has several prepared kimchis in the refrigerated case – his biggest seller.

This story was originally published June 2, 2017 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Here’s how to make Korean dishes at home."