Product Description

Imagine sitting down to a sumptuous and fragrant dinner of Dumpling Soup with Rice Cakes after a long day of work. And a hot summer afternoon just begs for a picnic basket stocked with Chilled Cucumber Soup, delicate Chicken Skewers with Green Onions, and Seaweed Rice Rolls. Using ingredients that are readily available and techniques already familiar to home cooks, these Korean specialties can easily be dinner any night of the week. With appetizers and snacks, soups and hot pots, side dishes, entrees, rice, noodles, and a whole chapter devoted to kimchi, Quick & Easy Korean Cooking will bring new flavors to the dinner table.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31495 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 168 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780811861465
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee is a first-generation Korean-American who has written about food for the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Food & Wine, Eating Well, and Korean Culture. She lives in Los Angeles.

Julie Toy is a Los Angeles-based photographer.

Customer Reviews

Korean Cooking...Simplified (Recommended for Beginners)
Ok, so this book is not a scholarly dissertation on Korean cooking. In fact, au contraire, it is extremely minimalistic. Most recipes contain a 2 sentence intro, less than 10 ingredients, and less than 5 steps, and among the most exotic ingredients it calls for is korean chile paste. It is not difficult to see grandmas in Middle America pick up the book, and cook through the entire book.

There is a fair representation of recipes from the familiar like korean barbecued beef ribs, to the unusual like black rice porridge. If you are looking for the definitive tome on korean cooking, this is not the book. But if you are a beginner and/or just looking for new recipes to broaden your weeknight repertoire, this book will more than do justice in introducing simple but authentic korean flavors.

Looks like a decent intro to Korean food
It was when I saw this available that I realized two things: 1) I don't have any Korean cookbooks, just a smattering of Korean recipes in other books, and 2) I like kalbi, so this ought to be good. And you know what? It is.

This is actually part of a series Chronicle Books has been putting out for some years that, as far as I can tell, began with Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking and mostly focuses on Asian cuisine. It's not a deep introduction; while it's perfectly readable, it doesn't go into deep history or tell many of the stories behind the dishes (which among other things leads to no acknowledgement of the obvious similarities between gimbap and sushi). But it does give all the basics of a Korean meal, with a selection of typical and fairly simple recipes with lots of gorgeous food photography, including a half dozen or so different types of the ubiquitous kimchi (spicy pickled vegetables).

I'm a little concerned about the value for price; for what Chronicle is charging for their books these days, this would be fine for a hardcover, but it seems like even allowing for inflation over the last couple of years their cover price is a little high. If you don't have any books on Korean food, this is a great way to get into it; just make sure you buy it at a discount.

Recipes really are quick and easy
The author fulfills her promise by providing recipes that truly are quick and easy to prepare. There can be a little decrease in flavor and complexity that comes along with a quicker preparation, but few people can prepare large complex meals every night. For the small amount of time invested in preparation, the author provides unique and delicious dishes. Two small downsides are (1) with all the beautiful photographs, there are not photos of many dishes and (2) there are some ingredients that are not available in most supermarkets, but are available on the Internet (and she provides sources in the book).

Overall, a great book that delivers what the title promises!