I love all of the bomnamul (봄나물, spring greens) that come out in the markets after winter: There are so many, and they’re all so fresh and delicious.
Tagrecipes
Recipe: Mu gul-bap (radish oyster rice)
In Korea, a cold winter wind is a sign of many things, but one thing is for sure: Mu (무, Korean radishes) are getting sweeter and tastier, and it’s finally the right season for oysters again.
Recipe: Ganjang gaejang (soy sauce marinated raw crab)
There’s a reason why ganjang gaejang (간장게장) is one of the side dishes we call 밥도둑 (bap doduk), or “rice thief” in Korean.
Recipe: Nogak muchim (old cucumber salad)
Nogak (노각), or old cucumber, is a cucumber that is aged on the vine until it develops a thick, golden skin and crunchy flesh.
Recipe: Tangpyeongchae, mung bean jelly salad
It’s not a well-known fact that tangpyeongchae (탕평채, mung bean jelly salad) is a traditional food for Ipchun (입춘), the first day of spring.
Recipe: Seomcho muchim, winter spinach banchan
Seomcho (섬초, also called pohangcho, 포항초) is a wonderfully sweet, delicious winter spinach.
Recipe: Hobak pyeonsu, summer squash dumplings
Pyeonsu (편수) are a kind of mandu (만두, dumpling) made with square wrappers and filled with either cucumber or ae-hobak (애호박, summer squash).
Recipe: Yeongeun jorim, soy sauce braised lotus root
When I was working for Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City, I used to slice and deep fry lotus roots to be used as garnishes. Whenever I made these I couldn’t stop thinking about the salty and sweet soy sauce braised lotus root banchan in Korea.
Recipe: Lazy-ass refrigerator soup stock
Sometimes when you’re busy, you just don’t have time to boil up a new batch of soup stock.