Koreatown: A Cookbook

by Deuki Hong, Matt Rodbard

Overview

A New York Times bestseller and one of the most praised Korean cookbooks of all time, you'll explore the foods and flavors of Koreatowns across America through this collection of 100 recipes.

This is not your average "journey to Asia" cookbook. Koreatown is a spicy, funky, flavor-packed love affair with the grit and charm of Korean cooking in America. Koreatowns around the country are synonymous with mealtime feasts and late-night chef hangouts, and Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard show us why through stories, interviews, and over 100 delicious, super-approachable recipes.

It's spicy, it's fermented, it's sweet and savory and loaded with umami: Korean cuisine is poised to break out in the U.S., but until now, the cookbooks have been focused on taking readers on an idealized Korean journey. Koreatown, though, is all about what's real and happening right here: the foods of Korean American communities all over our country, from L.A. to New York City, from Atlanta to Chicago. We follow Rodbard and Hong through those communities with stories and recipes for everything from beloved 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804186148
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	02/16/2016
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	729,159
File size:	126 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Deuki Hong is chef of the smash-hit Korean barbecue restaurant Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong in Manhattan’s Koreatown. He began his cooking career at 15 as a line cook under Aarón Sanchez at Centrico before heading to the Culinary Institute Of America. After graduating near the top of his class, he cooked under David Chang at Momofuku Noodle Bar before spending two years on the line at Jean-Georges. He's recently been recognized as an Eater Young Gun and named to the Zagat 30 Under 30 list.
 
Matt Rodbard has written about restaurants, chefs, drinks, cooking and music for the past decade. His writing has appeared in Bon Appétit, Travel & Leisure, Men's Journal, Tasting Table, SPIN, and he currently serves as Contributing Editor at Food Republic. He's the author of Korean Restaurant Guide: New York City, a comprehensive guidebook detailing the 40 best Korean restaurants in New York City.

Read an Excerpt

Our Mildly Insane Kimchi Bokkeumbap
김치볶음밥
KIMCHI FRIED RICE
 
Bacon. We kept coming back to bacon when talking about this kimchi fried-rice recipe. Bacon is quintessential Americana. Our kimchi fried rice needed bacon, and for months we tested and were continually disappointed that the essence of bacon—Americana!—was being muted by either too much rice or too much kimchi. Then it came to us. We needed to use more bacon! Like a lot more. Like how French chefs view mashed potatoes: equal parts butter and potatoes. That’s scary, right? Also scary good.
We went that direction here and by the grace of god and Allan Benton did this ever work. The crispy rice unites with the decadent gochujang butter, while the bacon is there just being wonderful. And remember, the key to good fried rice is using cold day-old rice, which is nice and dried out and gives you a much better fry. So the next time you order takeout, get an extra order of rice and keep it in the fridge for a day or so. And if you didn’t plan ahead, no sweat. Make some rice and lay it out on a sheet tray and freeze until cold.

SERVES 2

½ pound of slab bacon, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, cut into small dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch knob of ginger, minced
1½ cups chopped extraaged
Napa Cabbage Kimchi (recipe below)
2 cups cooked rice, preferably day-old
1 tablespoon gochujang
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 eggs, fried sunnyside up
2 scallions, sliced thin

1. In a large skillet, wok or cast-iron pan over high heat, cook the bacon, stirring, until fat is fully rendered and the bacon is barely starting to crisp. Pour out all but 2 tablespoons fat.
 
2. Add onion, garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute, or until very aromatic. Add chopped kimchi and rice and sauté, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until very hot. Drop the heat to medium-low and flatten the rice with your spatula. Continue to cook until the bottom layer is crispy, about 2 minutes; think Spanish paella here. The longer you leave it, the more crispy the bottom will become, but be careful not to burn the garlic.
 
3. While the rice continues to crisp, in a small bowl mix together the gochujang and softened butter.
 
4. Serve from the pan or wok, topped with fried eggs, sliced scallions and gochujang butter.

Editorial Reviews

You don't have to have grown up with an emo (literally, "auntie") in order to create or appreciate authentic Korean food in your own home…[Rodbard's] enthusiasm might remind you of that friend from college who could persuade you to do anything, no matter how many midterms you had to study for. Hong brings the kitchen chops, having studied at the Culinary Institute of America and worked with luminaries like Jean-Georges Vongerichten and David Chang. In spite of that pedigree, this book is about as un-chef-y a chef book as you can get. Sure, many of the recipes require a trip to the Asian specialty store to track down bean pastes and various sauces, but once you're stocked, you're set.

The New York Times Book Review - Jenny Rosenstrach

★ 11/16/2015
Hong is one of the hottest chefs in New York’s Koreatown. Rodbard authored the Korean Food Foundation’s guide to New York after sampling the cuisine at 60 Manhattan restaurants. In collaboration, the two have come up with a detailed and sharply written collection that includes nearly 100 recipes, as well as photos, short essays, and interviews that explore various K-towns across the U.S. The authors are quick to point out what has been lost in translation. They explain that kimchi, for example, is a pickling technique, not a single dish, and offer seven variations, including pineapple, to prove their point. Bibimbap translates to mixed rice and can include any number of ingredients. The authors’ interests lie more in flavor combinations than in cooking from scratch, so packaged noodles and thawed dumpling wrappers are the order of the day, but the results are delicacies such as jjampong, a spicy noodle soup full of seafood and anchovy stock. Bar snacks—including classic Korean fried chicken, braised pig feet, and crispy pork belly—take on an added dimension in a chapter that asserts, “Drinking symbolizes respect for elders.” An inspiring section is handed over to guest chefs who have found ways of adding Korean flavor to their dishes: Daniel Holzman, of the Meatball Shop, creates a Korean barbecue–flavored ball, and Texas chef Paul Qui concocts a comforting kimchi grilled cheese. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard have given us a deep and important look at the people, places and cuisine that are reshaping what we want for dinner. Koreatown thrills with flavors that will change your life." —Anthony Bourdain
 
"Koreatown is not a place. It’s an energy, an attitude, a painstaking stew of spice and frugality and brutally honest flavors. For the first time, here’s a book that captures all of its electricity and mystery in a voice that is both vibrant and respectful." —Edward Lee, chef and author of Smoke and Pickles
 
"Eating Korean food is the best legal high in the world and Koreatown is the gateway drug you need!" —Gary Shteyngart, author of The Russian Debutante's Handbook and Little Failure: A Memoir 
 
"The food of Korea is complex, and becomes fully realized in this amazing new book by Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard. With a thrilling new voice and original ideas, this is not the same boring "ethnic eats explainer" that is often used as an excuse to profile a country's cuisine. I couldn’t put it down, and can't wait to start cooking from these pages. Bibimbap for the win!" —Andrew Zimmern, author and television host

"Deuki Hong is making great Korean food, and not just for Koreans." —David Chang Chef/Founder of Momofuku

“Thanks to this cookbook, I can finally make all the dishes at home that I obsess over when I visit Koreatown. It’s amazing to have all these mysteriously delicious recipes in one place.” —Sean Brock, chef and author of Heritage

"Unwrap the world of Korean-American food through a guide demystifying the cuisine of fire and fermentation."  —The New York Times

"A great book whether you're new to Korean food or looking for recipes for old favorites, Koreatown will have you running to your local Asian grocery to stock up on rice cakes, gochujang, and kimchi. Or, better yet, making your own kimchi from scratch." —Epicurious

"The evangelists Korean food needs to become the next big cuisine." —Tasting Table

"The last Korean cookbook that you will ever need."  —Vice 

"In the burgeoning genre of cookbooks written as much to be read as to be cooked from, Koreatown paints a portrait of America's vibrant Korean-American communities and invites a broad audience to experiment with this style of cooking." —Eater

"Korean food is built on bold flavors: spicy pickled vegetables, sweet, smoky meats and pungent, salty stews. That can be a little intimidating for some American diners. But the authors of Koreatown have changed that." — NPR "Morning Edition"

"A detailed and sharply written collection that includes nearly 100 recipes, as well as photos, short essays, and interviews that explore various K-towns across the U.S." —Publishers Weekly(starred review)

From the Publisher