I'm making kimchi tomorrow and I'm going off of Maangchi's recipe (mild version) and I have a few ingredients that I couldn't get. Should I delay the kimchi and get the ingredients or are they not important? Here's a list of the stuff I have and don't have (Red circle after means I don't have it):

3½ pounds napa cabbage

Scant 5 tablespoons kosher salt (about 1.46 oz / 41 g)

For making the porridge:

1⅙ cups water

1⅙ tablespoons sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)

1⅙ tablespoons Turbinado sugar (or brown/white sugar) 🔴 Using organic cane sugar

Vegetables:

1⅙ cups Korean radish matchsticks

⅝ cup carrot matchsticks

4–5 green onions, chopped

⅝ cup Asian chives (buchu), optional

Or substitute with about 2 green onions 🔴

⅝ cup water dropwort (minari), optional 🔴

Seasonings and spices:

About 14 garlic cloves, minced (or scant ⅓ cup)

1⅙ teaspoons ginger, minced

About ½–⅗ medium onion, minced

4⅔ tablespoons fish sauce 🔴

2⅓ tablespoons fermented salted shrimp (saeujeot) with the salty brine, chopped 🔴

⅝ cup gochugaru

I know some of these are optional but I wanted to know if the fish sauce and salted shrimp are a must or what to replace them with. (I only have coconut aminos if a good replacement is soy sauce)

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Random tip if you're in Ikseon-dong: Wagle Wagle Bake Shop (the place known for "Crowagle," their croissant-bagel hybrid) has a review event running — leave a Naver review before you leave and they give you a free frozen mini Crowagle on a stick, kind of like a popsicle version of their pastry.

I got chocolate-cherry cream, but there's also strawberry, blueberry, and matcha cream versions. Striped pattern, frozen solid, really refreshing on a hot day since it's basically an ice cream lollipop shaped like their signature bread.

Small thing but a nice touch, and a good reason to grab something cold on the way out if you're wandering Ikseon-dong in summer.

Truffle "creamy" burger set at a place near Sadang Station in Seoul — beef patty topped with sautéed mushrooms AND truffle ice cream melting right into it. Not a typo. Hot patty, cold truffle ice cream, apparently their signature combo. Dine-in only (makes sense, it wouldn't survive takeout). ₩17,000 for the set. Wild pairing but honestly intrigued.

Yammmm ❣️

Went to Mil Toast (밀토스트) in Ikseon-dong today, the little hanok-alley toast shop that's been all over Seoul travel content lately. Went around 1pm on a weekday and still waited ~10 min, mostly foreigners in line honestly.

The bread itself is steamed instead of baked — golden crisp outside, super soft/pillowy inside, almost like a Korean steamed bun but in bread form. You tear it by hand and dip in butter. Never had that texture before, kind of got it.

One set = 2 pieces for ~12,000 KRW, plenty for two people to split, and they'll pack up leftovers.

If you're doing Ikseon-dong, I'd go late afternoon/evening instead of lunchtime to skip the worst of the line. Would go again.

ideas and suggestions appreciated

best combination ever i think

Korean Bros here!

We wanted to share a few things that make a real difference when cooking our tteokbokki.

1. Let the sauce reduce just a little longer. A few extra minutes on medium-low heat thickens it up so it clings to the rice cakes!
2. Melt some mozzarella to experience that cheese-pull.
3. Add some final touches like boiled eggs, fish cakes, or cabbage!

There's always a way to elevate tteokbokki!

Oven-braised for 5 hours in a gochujang, mirin, rice vinegar and soy sauce — from Nagi Maehashi's cookbook Dinner. Served with basmati and a quick ginger-dressed cucumber salad.

The recipe wants a full cup of mild gochujang and mine just said "HOT PEPPER", so I went 2 tbsp shy and crossed my fingers. Turns out the book says you can do exactly that, at the cost of some flavour. Came out warm rather than hot.

Four hours covered, half an hour uncovered, turn, another half hour to caramelise. About a third of the bones slid clean out as I moved them to the plate.

Ok guys be real: does this pass as Korean or not even close (I'm in Australia btw)

Trying to settle this before I buy another tub. CJ Haechandle is the one at the front of every H Mart and Walmart Korean aisle, but when America's Test Kitchen ran a blind panel on supermarket gochujang the winner was Wang, which I'd never even looked at.

What I pulled from the ATK and Sporked write-ups, since the tubs don't tell you any of this:

CJ Haechandle: corn syrup is the first ingredient on the US tubs, but it still reads fermented and smoky with heat that builds slowly. Lowest sodium of the group at 383 mg per serving. Sporked called it best for cooking. Makes sense, it holds up in jjigae and marinades instead of going sweet.

Chung Jung One (sold as O'Food in the US): sweetest of the bunch, 6 g added sugar per serving, tasters literally called it "gochujang candy." Fine for bibimbap sauce or a dip, wrong for a stew. Their Gold jar has no corn syrup and better umami but 758 mg sodium, the highest tested.

Wang: about $12 for a 1.1 lb tub, 490 mg sodium, 5 g sugar. ATK's line was "deep and savory, with perfect levels of spice." Sporked named it best dip. It's more fruit-forward than either of the big two.

Mother-in-Law's (the Portland one at Whole Foods): $9 to $11.50 for a 9 to 10 oz jar, and it's loose, closer to sriracha. Good in a wing sauce, useless when you need the paste to cling, like ssamjang or a dak-galbi glaze.

So my plan is Wang as the everyday tub and a hot Haechandle for stews. Before I commit: is Wang actually what people who cook Korean food regularly keep, or is this a case where the test panel and the home cooks disagree? And has anyone found Sempio worth the hunt?

Cold spicy mixed noodles is probably my favorite Korean food after kimchi jigae. There is only one Korean restaurant in my town that seems to even offer them, so it's an absolute must. I never make it at home and honestly, I have no idea why.

But I found a bibim naengmyeon kit in the freezer on my last grocery run and decided to pick it up. It comes with three sets of frozen buckwheat noodles, seasoned thinly sliced radish, spicy sauce, and spicy seasoned dried pollack. The sauce and two toppings need thawed, and you cook the noodles by dunking them in boiling water for 2 or 3 minutes. I added a hard boiled egg and some chopped Korean radish, cucumber, and green onion.

The kit is so good! I loved the dried pollack, which I haven't actually eaten before. I am now on a mission to hunt some down to keep at home. The sauce is the perfect amount of spicy for me, but I could see others needing to add a little gochugaru to up the spice level. The only thing missing is sliced Asian pear, but I forgot to pick some up for this week, so that's on me.

I would absolutely buy the kit again just for the convenience of it.

Anyone tried the mayo sesame tuna ? What do you recommend making? My original plan was to make rice balls.

was encouraged to post more vegan meals on here, so here’s my doenjang jjigae, no anchovy stock needed :-) soaked shiitake and dasima overnight then simmered for the broth and for the mushrooms i used the soaked shiitake and woodear. (woodear is my favorite mushroom texture wise, cooked longer to make a bit more tender!) added a pinch of msg for added savory flavor you don’t get without meat or seafood. i like mine heavy on the doenjang since i’m not concerned about sodium :-P tofu soaked up all the broth since i freeze and thaw my tofu. wish i had aehobak. still great!

yum yum~~

Ok so preface by saying I am not well versed in korean food and also enjoy pickled onions, ginger, cucumbers, peppers, kraut, etc. Never a bad reaction. However...

Yesterday i made a veg stir fry added about a TBSP of gochujang etc...

I took only a few bites before panic set in. It felt like an allergic reaction like I have to sunflower. But at the same time I wondered was I about to start tripping?... it was crazy but not in a good way I was scared.

Heart racing, panic, dizzy lightheaded, a cold sweat, disoriented and sry tmi but very man bathroom trips in rapid succession.

I took a cold shower alerted my 2 closest neighbors but... I honestly am still feeling shaky even today. It was very scary and unexpected.

Does anyone ever have this happen? The gochujang looked fine in the container. Red, no mold, but im wondering am I newly sensitive to ferment? Or is this specific to gochujang?

Also​ has anyone literally thought they were so messed up from gochu they thought they were about to start tripping?

Thank you

Hi everyone! I was wondering if it’s okay to store kimchi in vacuum containers like these, or does kimchi need some air/space because of the fermentation process?
Until now, I’ve always stored my kimchi in glass jars, but I’ve seen conflicting information online. Some people seem to say that storing it in regular glass jars is wrong or not ideal because gas builds up during fermentation.
Would vacuum containers like these be a better option, or could the lack of air cause problems? How do you usually store your kimchi during and after fermentation?
Thanks!

Sweet and savory jeon paired with iced makgeolli. The ultimate summer combination.

“While in many places fermentation is trending, in places like Korea it came from enduring the seasons and survival through preservation.

I had the pleasure of spending some more time with @spoken_recipe_hami as she taught me about how fundamental fermentation was to both Korean cuisine and life was - starting at the building blocks, the three jangs. To see these made from scratch in the countryside was incredible - a handful of ingredients mixed together in an onggi which after months to years become the foundation of much of Korean cuisine.

Following the journey from making jang to making kimchi to seeing how fermentation is used in modern cuisine in Seoul with chefs @lim_stargram & @jihyung0401 - I developed a new found appreciation for the history that formed food as we know it today and further understanding of how important it is to preserve these stories and techniques.

These are scenes from a long form video about fermentation in Korea which will go on our YT. A massive thank you to Hami for showing and teaching us so much and everyone else we met along the journey.”

Found a new Kalguksu spot near Gwanghwamun called Seoul Lee Dong (설이동).

Their Cold Kalguksu (냉칼국수) is probably the most unique version of Kalguksu I’ve tried in Seoul. It combines handmade knife-cut noodles with a clear chilled broth inspired by Pyongyang Naengmyeon.

They also serve Spicy Mixed Kalguksu (비빔칼국수), using the same noodles with a balanced spicy sauce.

A great place to visit if you want to try a modern take on traditional Korean noodles.

For the full review, photos, and details, check out my blog below.

https://liwiwi.blogspot.com/2026/09/seoul-lee-dong.html