Through centuries of social and political change, Korean cuisine has evolved and been a complex interaction of the natural environment and different cultural trends. However, the culinary of Korea remains its identity when it comes to the signature of this nation. A traditional Korean table largely bases on rice, vegetables and meats and includes a significant number of side dishes. Despite this diversity that might confuse you about where to start, 10 South Korean cookbooks introduced in this article will let you cook Korean food in your own home kitchen. Let’s check it out!
Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking: From Everyday Meals to Celebration Cuisine
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“Korean Home Cooking At Its Finest” – Katie Tejeda
It is not hard to find Korean restaurants everywhere; however, there has been no comprehensive book on Korean cooking until Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking. Containing the favorite dishes that Maangchi has perfected over the years from Korean barbecue and fried chicken to bulgogi and bibimbap, this cookbook is an extensive, deep journey to the heart of a culture.
In this book, all the topics are fully covered from the vegan fare of Buddhist mountain temples, the inventive snacks of street vendors to the healthful, beautiful lunch boxes Korean mothers make for their kids.
Traditional dishes have been updated and improved without losing their authentic spirit. Among endless recipes, readers will find spectacular party food and side plates that support and complement every Korean meal, soups, hotpots, stews, and different kimchis.
Moreover, there is a detailed photographic chapter on Korean cooking techniques and full-color photos on ingredients sticking to each recipe that help home cooks know exactly what to buy and how to do for tempting close-ups of every dish.
About the Author: The author of this cookbook is Maangchi and Martha Rose Shulman.
Maangchi is a famous Youtuber with a well-known Youtube channel on Korean food. Born and raised in South Korea, she learned the fundamentals of home cooking from her relatives. Maangchi is the founder/owner of maangchi.com, the top online destination for Korean food. Now she lives in New York City.
Martha Rose Shulman is an award-winning author of more than twenty-five cookbooks mostly combines pleasure and health from the Mediterranean cuisine. She also contributes popular recipes feature entitled “Recipes for Health” for the New York Times Food section. Besides, Martha collaborates with many acclaimed chefs in awarded cookbooks.
Korean Home Cooking: Classic and Modern Recipes
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“Takes you to her mother’s table” – Polysammo
Sohui is a chef who is well-regarded for her sense to cook with ease and agility to make food taste delicious. In Korean Home Cooking, Sohui Kim shares the authentic Korean flavors found at her restaurant and her family’s recipes.
This cookbook is a comprehensive look at Korean cuisine, including 100 recipes for kimchee, crisp mung bean pancakes, seaweed soup, spicy chicken stew, and japchae noodles and more traditional fare of soondae (blood sausage) and yuk hwe (beef tartare).
In this book, readers are not only provided with Sohui’s guidance, stories from her family but also photographs of her travels in Korea that brings rich cultural traditions into your home kitchen.
About the Author: The authors of this cookbook are Sohui Kim and Rachel Wharton.
Sohui Kim is the chef and co-owner of Insa and The Good Fork in Brooklyn, New York. Rachel Wharton is a James Beard Foundation award-winning journalist and the co-author of some cookbooks such as F*ck, That’s Delicious, Edible Brooklyn: The Cookbook, and The Good Fork Cookbook, among others. Now she lives in New York City.
Koreatown: A Cookbook
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“Great Book – the Bossam recipe and method is outstanding” – nom de plume
In modern society, locals can totally explore the cuisine of a nation through the community of its citizens located there. Similarly, to experience the spicy, flavor-packed love affair with the grit and charm of Korean cooking in America, you could visit Korea town there to discover or simply cook yourself with the guidance of Koreatown: A Cookbook.
Through over 100 delicious, super-approachable recipes, readers will feel following Rodbard and Hong through the Korean communities in mealtime feasts or late-night chef hangouts with stories and interviews for every beloved Korean. They could be Korean barbecue favorites like bulgogi and kalbi to the lesser-known but deeply satisfying stews, soups, noodles, salads, drinks, and the many kimchis of the Korean American table.
About the Author: The authors of this cookbook are Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard.
Deuki Hong is the chef of the accomplishment Korean barbecue restaurant named Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong in Manhattan’s Koreatown. Before heading to the Culinary Institute Of America, he began his cooking career at 15 as a line cook under Aarón Sanchez at Centrico.
After graduating near the top of his class, he cooked under David Chang at Momofuku Noodle Bar and spent two years on the line at Jean-Georges later. He’s recently been recognized as an Eater Young Gun and named to the Zagat 30 Under 30 list.
Matt Rodbard is the writer with most topics on restaurants, chefs, drinks, cooking, and music for the past decade. Readers can find his writing on many publications such as Bon Appétit, Travel & Leisure, Men’s Journal, Tasting Table, SPIN. Recently, he is appointed to work as a contributing editor at Food Republic.
Besides co-authoring in this book, his other cookbook is Korean Restaurant Guide: New York City, which gives a comprehensive, detailing guide to the 40 best Korean restaurants in New York City.
Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes [A Cookbook]
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“The first and only cookbook I’ve read cover to cover” – Julee Song
If you fed up with the bland recipes list, there is still a way to cheer your cooking up with Cook Korean!. Being a New York Times bestseller, this cookbook is a charming introduction to Korean cooking basics in the graphic novel form presented through light-hearted comics.
Among 64 recipes, ingredient profiles, and more, you will find them fun to look at and easy to use. Just by colorful and humorous one-to-three page comics, readers are fully instructed with the steps and ingredients needed to bring more than sixty traditional (and some not-so-traditional) dishes that both beginners and experienced cooks all interested. Each chapter includes personal stories and cultural insights from the author.
About the Author: The author of this cookbook is Robin Ha. Born in Seoul, Korea, Robin Ha grew up reading and drawing comics and moved to the US at the age of 14. After getting a BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, she moved to New York City and started a career in the fashion industry.
Readers can find her work published in independent comic anthologies, including Secret Identities and The Strumpet, as well as in the pages of Marvel Comics and Heavy Metal Magazine. Moreover, she also creates a blog named Banchan in 2 Pages, which features Korean recipe comics. Now she resides in Falls Church, Virginia.
Seoul Food Korean Cookbook: Korean Cooking from Kimchi and Bibimbap to Fried Chicken and Bingsoo
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“Get in my Belly!” – DiBeas
Naomi Imatome-Yun is a food writer who grew up in the American suburbs helping her Korean grandmother cook Korean classics. Over 15 years, she has spent time assisting Korean Americans and non-Korean Americans discover how easy and delectable authentic Korean cooking can be.
In Seoul Food Korean Cookbook, the author teaches everyone to make delicious, authentic Korean food from traditional Korean favorites to modern recipes, including Seoul-Style fusion.
In this book, home cooks are provided with 135 step-by-step recipes for Korean signatures and special chapters for Korean bar food like Pork Bone Soup (gamjatang) and fusion favorites Army Base Stew (budae chigae). Moreover, an overview of Korean cooking and fun tiny portions of food customs, table manners, and restaurant dining tips are also included.
Home chefs will find that cooking Korean dishes can not be more comfortable with detailed lists of kitchen essentials, pantry staples, and Korean cooking ingredients, with photos and shopping resources.
About the Author: The author of this cookbook is Naomi Imatome-Yun. Her other Korean cookbooks are Cooking with Gochujang: Asia’s Original Hot Sauce. Besides being an author, she works as a Korean food editor for About.com since 2008. Readers can find her work in USA Today, Yahoo, and Dining Out.
Korean BBQ: Master Your Grill in Seven Sauces [A Cookbook]
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“Korean Flavors and Outdoor Cooking – Delicious” – R. Payne
Born in Korea but raised in the American Midwest, chef Bill Kim of Chicago’s award-winning bellyQ restaurants brings these two tastes together in Korean BBQ and translate Korean flavors for the American consumer in a friendly and accessible way.
As a result, this book is not a traditional Korean cookbook but a casual and practical guide to grilling with Korean-American flavors.
Through 80 recipes tailored for home cooks with suitable substitutions for hard-to-find ingredients, Kim teaches the fundamentals of the Korean grill through flavor profiles.
With seven master sauces and three spice rubs that can be adjusted according to the griller’s preference, the given result is an array of striking recipes. From snacks and drinks to desserts and sides, Korean BBQ has everything you need for a fun and enjoyable time around the grill.
About the Author: The authors of this cookbook are Bill Kim and Chandra Ram. Bill Kim is an award-winning chef who started his cooking career in the restaurant industry and sharpened his culinary skills at world-renowned establishments Charlie Trotter’s and Le Lan.
In 2008, he ventured his imaginative Asian-inspired cuisine on his highly acclaimed Chicago restaurants Urbanbelly, bellyQ, and Belly Shack. Chandra Ram is the editor of Plate magazine.
Korean Cooking Favorites: Kimchi, BBQ, Bibimbap and So Much More (%)
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“The Korean cookbook that I was looking for!” – Joe Lee
As the creator of the blog Beyond Kimchee, Hyegyoung K. Ford now brings delicious meals she ate during her childhood in South Korea and cooks in the kitchen for her own busy family.
Perfected through generations, authentic flavors are simple to achieve with special tips for sourcing and working with essential ingredients. Through this book, home chefs are comfortable to choose from a generous bank of soups, stews, noodles and stir-fries, or a delectable selection of sweet and salty snacks and appetizers.
With so many different varieties of this healthy Korean staple to choose from, these meals will quickly become favorites in your own kitchen.
About the Author: The author of this cookbook is Hyegyoung K. Ford, who is the founder of the blog Beyond Kimchee. Her recipes have been posted in Go Gluten-Free Magazine and The Korea Daily, among other publications. Born and raised in South Korea, now she lives in Virginia with her family.
Korean Paleo: 80 Bold-Flavored, Gluten- and Grain-Free Recipe
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“Delicious, easy, nourishing and true to taste paleo Korean food!” – M
For people interested in healthy diets, the Paleo diet is somehow familiar due to its benefits in terms of eating and health and has been adjusted to several cuisines in the world. Now Korean food lovers can enjoy healthier versions of all your Korean favorites with Jean Choi’s innovative spin on her family’s traditional recipes as a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
All the recipes are free of gluten, dairy and grain taking on classic Korean dishes like Bibimbap, Bulgogi, Quick Kimchi, plus so much more. Whether you are on a strict Paleo diet or merely searching for a way to make your meals healthier, this book ensures that your Korean cravings will never go unsatisfied.
About the Author: The author of this cookbook is Jean Choi. She is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and the founder of What Great Grandma Ate. Readers can find her articles featured on many websites such as Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed and Greatist. Now she lives in Long Beach, California.
Korean Food Made Simple
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“Elegant, accessible Korean recipes” – J. Kim
As shown in the title, this cookbook from Judy Joo brings Korean food to everyone in a fun and easy preparation at home. As a Korean-American and the host of the same name cooking channel, Judy knows how to make dishes that may seem exotic and demanding access to the everyday cook.
Besides 125 well-loved dishes recipes, there are chapters devoted to sauces, desserts, and drinks as well as a detailed list for stocking a Korean pantry that makes this book a comprehensive guide on Korean food and flavors.
About the Author: The author of this cookbook is Judy Joo. She is a Korean-American chef trained in France and a writer. Moreover, she also is a restaurateur known for culinary expertise spanning the globe. The Cooking Channel’s Korean Food Made Simple, which is regular on Food Network, is host by Judy.
The Kimchi Cookbook: 60 Traditional and Modern Ways to Make and Eat Kimchi
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“The GO-TO book for Kimchi” – one green goddess
Aiming at a symbol and live-culture dish of Korean cuisine, this colorful cookbook walks you step by step to make both robust and lighter kimchi. Among 60 recipes and tips, Lauryn Chun shares her exploration of a wide variety of flavors and techniques for creating and cooking with kimchi.
It ranges from long-fermented classic winter kimchi intended to spice up bleak months to easy-to-make summer kimchi that highlights the freshness of produce and is ready to eat in just minutes.
Moreover, once you have made your own kimchi, you can hook on its unique crunch and heat and even use it as an ingredient added in endless plates with incredible flavor.
About the Author: The authors of this cookbook are Lauryn Chun and Olga Massov.
Lauryn Chun is the founder of Mother-in-Law’s Kimchi, a line of artisan kimchi based on an original recipe from Jang Mo Jip (“Mother-in-Law’s House”), her mother’s beloved restaurant in Garden Grove, California. While living in New York City, she recognized the beauty of Korea’s tradition of handmade kimchi, which inspired her to launch Mother-in-Law’s Kimchi in 2009.
Olga Massov is a food writer based in Brooklyn, who has a big love for kimchi and fish sauce. Her blog sassyradish.com has been recognized by several publications.
We hope you like this post and finally find out your favorite South Korean cookbooks. Meanwhile, we welcome you to explore our site and discover more cookbook recommendations from the same cuisine below.
