by Lauryn Chun, Olga Massov
“My background, though of the Asian variety, is not Korean. In fact, I remember not liking kimchi in my teen years. We had some Korean guests who stayed with us for a few months and when they made kimchi, *phew* the smell was just overpowering. I don’t quite know when it is that I began to appreciate the taste of kimchi (yes, despite the aroma) however my obsession started sometime earlier this year, due to this book: The Ancient Garden: A Love Story by Hwang Sok-yong.
Each time I read (it was a pretty chunky book so it took me some time to read), they were always eating kimchi and most of the time, accompanied by beer. So I found myself, drooling & craving over kimchi at 7am (on my commute to work, before I had breakfast). Since then, I would have kimchi at least once a fortnight if not a week. If I wasn’t eating out to eat kimchi, I would probably have eaten it more often ;p Hence, my curiosity over this book.
I found out that kimchi is basically just means pickles but there is whole variety of them. Originally, I thought it refers only to the cabbage ones but there are numerous types of kimchi for different seasons to be served with different types of dishes. Of course, I was drooling pretty much through this book.
It was beautifully put together; a clean neat layout with photos of fresh ingredients and yummy dishes. There is a bit of background on the author, a background on kimchi and some basic explanation to what they are, the methods, and how to store. Then follows many kimchi recipes which really tempted me but which I will never attempt as they are all very time consuming.
The last chapter was dedicated to cooking with kimchi. At first I thought, ooh, this might be interesting but then proceeded to grimace through the recipes like Egg Benedict with Kimchi Hollandaise, Kimchi Risotto, Grilled MILKimcheeze Sandwich, Kimchi Grapefruit Margarita, etc (with the exception of the fried rice, yum!). After a few nights contemplating Kimchi Risotto though, I’m kind of sold on that idea and broached the subject with hubby. Unfortunately, he wasn’t impressed. Nonetheless, it’s something I’m going to try when hubby is not dining at home ;)
Overall, a book I’m happy to have for my coffee table but may attempt only one or two recipes (due to time constraints). It was great fun to read for a noob kimchi fanatic.
With thanks to Ten Speed Press and Edelweiss for the privilege to read & review this book”
Tien wrote this review Tuesday, November 27, 2012.
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