Rating: 
Summary: Growing up in a Korean Kitchen
Review: I love this book. The recepies allow me to create dishes that taste just like I remember from my childhood. The Kochujang recepie is good enough to by the book just for it. I love the commentary that goes along with the recepies, a combination of stories of Korean culture and food lore. A must have for every kitchen that features Korean food.
Rating:
Summary: Growing up in a Korean Kitchen
Review: I love this book. The recepies allow me to create dishes that taste just like I remember from my childhood. The Kochujang recepie is good enough to by the book just for it. I love the commentary that goes along with the recepies, a combination of stories of Korean culture and food lore. A must have for every kitchen that features Korean food.
Rating: 
Summary: Great guide to traditional cooking, but needs color pictures
Review: I'm American but my mother grew up in Korea, and I bought this book hoping it would show me how to cook dishes "like Mom makes". This is definitely the right book for the job. Other Korean cookbooks I've found tend to focus on more recent trends (fusion dishes) and don't include many of the really time-consuming traditional dishes. This book is about as "old-school" as you can get- it even tells you how to make your own soy sauce (get some charcoal and clear-out a couple weeks of your calendar).Besides the recipes, the book contains many anecdotes and other bits of the author's family history. Besides being interesting in their own regard, they really help you understand why things were done in the traditional way. I've really enjoyed this book, I've made several great dishes thanks to it, and I later gave copies to my brother and my mother as gifts. Still, I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because the recipes REALLY need color photos or at least clear illustrations of some of the stages of food preparation. The pictures that do appear are small and black-and-white. Traditional Korean cooking places a lot of emphasis on the shape/size/color of ingredients, a point the author acknowledges, which makes me wonder why better photos and illustrations weren't provided. Still, a great cookbook and you really can't find some of these traditional recipes any place else (unless you have a Korean mother or aunt).
Rating:
Summary: Great guide to traditional cooking, but needs color pictures
Review: I'm American but my mother grew up in Korea, and I bought this book hoping it would show me how to cook dishes "like Mom makes". This is definitely the right book for the job. Other Korean cookbooks I've found tend to focus on more recent trends (fusion dishes) and don't include many of the really time-consuming traditional dishes. This book is about as "old-school" as you can get- it even tells you how to make your own soy sauce (get some charcoal and clear-out a couple weeks of your calendar). Besides the recipes, the book contains many anecdotes and other bits of the author's family history. Besides being interesting in their own regard, they really help you understand why things were done in the traditional way. I've really enjoyed this book, I've made several great dishes thanks to it, and I later gave copies to my brother and my mother as gifts. Still, I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because the recipes REALLY need color photos or at least clear illustrations of some of the stages of food preparation. The pictures that do appear are small and black-and-white. Traditional Korean cooking places a lot of emphasis on the shape/size/color of ingredients, a point the author acknowledges, which makes me wonder why better photos and illustrations weren't provided. Still, a great cookbook and you really can't find some of these traditional recipes any place else (unless you have a Korean mother or aunt).
Rating:
Summary: The best Korean cookbook - by far
Review: I've bought hundreds of cookbooks and never written a review on Amazon - until now. Growing up in a Korean Kitchen is the best Korean cookbook I own - and I've got many. Finally, a cookbook that keeps the recipes authentic and doesn't assume that I can't find a jar of koch'ujang in the Korean grocery. There is a great chapter on sauces and marinades. The side dishes I've made have been great. And my personal recommendation is to try the Yuggaejang (Spicy Beef Soup) - it's fantastic.
Rating:
Summary: The best Korean cookbook - by far
Review: I've bought hundreds of cookbooks and never written a review on Amazon - until now. Growing up in a Korean Kitchen is the best Korean cookbook I own - and I've got many. Finally, a cookbook that keeps the recipes authentic and doesn't assume that I can't find a jar of koch'ujang in the Korean grocery. There is a great chapter on sauces and marinades. The side dishes I've made have been great. And my personal recommendation is to try the Yuggaejang (Spicy Beef Soup) - it's fantastic.
Rating:
Summary: If you miss your mom's cooking
Review: If you miss your mom's cooking, this is the book for you. All those family secret ingrdients that you wondered about are in this book, minus the love part; that's gotta come from you! Be sure to invite enough friends and family over to help eat; each receipe is just like mom's, enough to feed an army!
Your cooking is sure to impress your friends and family, once you've made your first kimchee pancake, you're gonna wish that one didn't fill you up!
Rating:
Summary: an intro to classic Korean cooking
Review: Many know Chinese, Thai and Japanese cuisine, eating it weekly, but few are familiar with or venture to cook Korean dishes. This book should correct this gap. The recipes in this book are influenced by royal Korean cuisine since they are based on the author's "Shin" family traditions, a clan that belonged to the Yangban family. One of 12 children raised in her family's Chongju City "house", she was exposed to many large meals, and celebrations that fed over 100 guests at a time. The book opens with a discussion of the Korean kitchen followed by a 15 page glossary of essential ingredients and utensils. Because these are classic recipes, some are complicated. This is followed by recipes for eleven essential sauces, such as a traditional soy sauce (kanjang) which takes 2 months to ferment. The book has over 50 recipes for main dishes, including 10 kimchi's; pickled cucumbers; pickled ginger; 13 soups, including seaweed, rice cake, and t'ang soups; mandu; and chatjuk pine nut porridge. There are over 80 recipes for side dishes, including seasoned eggplant and spinach; sauteed kelp; green onion salad; and a chilled radish salad (my saengch'ae) which can easily replace cole slaw as an American picnic staple. Stew recipes includes ones for tak tchim chicken stew and ch'aeso chongol vegetarian hotpot. There are recipes for 11 barbecues, as well as kimchijon, pinchajon, and puch'ujon pancakes. The book closes with several recipes for ceremonial dishes, desserts (including sighye punch and hwach'ae soup) and pori barley, ogote, yuja, ginseng, omija and ginger teas. Finally, every few pages, the author includes a shaded box that expounds on childhood, culinary or cultural memories as they relate to the recipe and food staple.
Rating:
Summary: an intro to classic Korean cooking
Review: Many know Chinese, Thai and Japanese cuisine, eating it weekly, but few are familiar with or venture to cook Korean dishes. This book should correct this gap. The recipes in this book are influenced by royal Korean cuisine since they are based on the author's "Shin" family traditions, a clan that belonged to the Yangban family. One of 12 children raised in her family's Chongju City "house", she was exposed to many large meals, and celebrations that fed over 100 guests at a time. The book opens with a discussion of the Korean kitchen followed by a 15 page glossary of essential ingredients and utensils. Because these are classic recipes, some are complicated. This is followed by recipes for eleven essential sauces, such as a traditional soy sauce (kanjang) which takes 2 months to ferment. The book has over 50 recipes for main dishes, including 10 kimchi's; pickled cucumbers; pickled ginger; 13 soups, including seaweed, rice cake, and t'ang soups; mandu; and chatjuk pine nut porridge. There are over 80 recipes for side dishes, including seasoned eggplant and spinach; sauteed kelp; green onion salad; and a chilled radish salad (my saengch'ae) which can easily replace cole slaw as an American picnic staple. Stew recipes includes ones for tak tchim chicken stew and ch'aeso chongol vegetarian hotpot. There are recipes for 11 barbecues, as well as kimchijon, pinchajon, and puch'ujon pancakes. The book closes with several recipes for ceremonial dishes, desserts (including sighye punch and hwach'ae soup) and pori barley, ogote, yuja, ginseng, omija and ginger teas. Finally, every few pages, the author includes a shaded box that expounds on childhood, culinary or cultural memories as they relate to the recipe and food staple.
Rating:
Summary: One Of The Rare & Finest Cookbooks You Will Ever Find!
Review: The book, "Growing up in a Korean Kitchen," by Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall is without a doubt a treasury of recipes you will never regret making for guests or family. I believe this one of the firsts Cookbooks on Korean cooking too. You will find it very helpful in cooking all kinds of diverse cuisine for healthy enjoyment with your family and friends. I especially enjoyed the details of each recipe and how she used both English and Korean terms naming the dishes. And the suggestions on preparation or finishing the dishes is what many Cookbooks lack, but not this one. Whether it is the Kmichi Soup to Seasoned Spinach to the Art of Korean Barbecue, you will find this book very rare indeed to supplement Asian Gastronomy. What is interesting as well is how many of the recipes were low fat in content and very nourishing and filling. These recipes alone will help anyone with Heart Disease, Diabetes and looking for a healthy diet. Korean cookery uses much cabbage and spicy sauces that add to your need to maintain a true healthy diet that you look forward to eating in large portions without a concern for high calories. If you want to be different, pride yourself on diversity, and just want to impress your family, friends, and guests, this is the book for you! I hope she becomes a regular Chef on TV as well, it would be great to see her preparing and cooking such fine cuisine. I highly recommend this book without reservation.
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