Korean cooking for total noobs.
The most important Korean ingredients you must have for Korean cooking at home are GANJANG (Soy Sauce) and GOCHUGARU (Korean red pepper powder). Soy sauce imparts that Asian umami that we all enjoy. You would be surprised how versatile this ingredient can be. Also, GOCHUGARU has that signature flavour that Korean food is known for. … Read more
do korean ingredients go bad? With the exception of Korean Salted Shrimp, all Korean cooking ingredients can be stored in a cool, dark place like the kitchen cupboard. However, because most of us purchase factory-made products, it is safer to follow manufacturer recommendations and store them in the fridge. Natural, homemade products may continue to … Read more
Cheong Guk Jang is a health food full of nutrients, most notably Vitamin K2. Fermented foods are rich in this rare but powerful vitamin that activates calcium-building proteins (healthy bones and teeth!). This pungent bean paste is also full of beneficial bacteria for digestive health which has shown to affect all aspects of a person’s … Read more
The SEMPIO brand in Korea makes two types of YANGJO (naturally brewed) soy sauce. Sempio 501 and Sempio 701 are both naturally brewed soy sauces that most households use on a daily basis. SEMPIO 501 is the best-selling soy sauce in Korea because it is naturally brewed and economical. SEMPIO 701 has 0.2% more Total … Read more
What is the difference between JIN GANJANG and YANGJO GANJANG? The following takes specific examples from Korea’s best-selling soy sauce company- and the most widely available brand in grocers’ outside of Korea: SEMPIO. Sempio’s JIN GANJANG is considered a cheap blended cooking soy sauce that you can buy at their lowest price point. Keep in … Read more
This is the preferred soy sauce of most Korean households today. With most leading busy, modern lives, you’ll be hard pressed to find many families spending much time cooking let alone fermenting soybeans for months or years. Commercially made GUK GANJANG are generally regarded as cheap and low quality products (not to be confused with … Read more
The origin of the term JIN GANJANG used to refer to the duration of fermentation that homemade soy sauces went through. Originally, all soy sauces in Korea were homemade. Today, it refers to the most economical (read: not great) all-purpose soy sauce available on the market. Cheap and cheerful, it can do the job for … Read more
Korean soup soy sauce is usually used to season soups and namul BANCHAN (herb/vegetable side dishes), but it can also be used as a general soy sauce. Note that it is saltier than the more common (JIN GANJANG and YANGJO GANJANG) soy sauces, so adjust accordingly when cooking (taste test often!). Its lighter hue also … Read more
If you want to cook Korean food at home, Korean soy sauce is an essential staple to have. It is used for seasoning, flavoring, marinating, grilling, frying… basically everything, in addition to dipping. A byproduct of fermented bean paste, it has protein from soybeans and saltiness from the fermentation process. Seasoning your food with soy … Read more
TL;DR A necessity for Doen-Jang Jjigae (fermented bean stew) fans; Otherwise, you can opt out of this one. You will need to buy this if you want to make the famous Doen-Jang Jjigae aka Korean Soybean Paste Soup. Other than that, you can also make the dip for Korean BBQ with this. Mix this with … Read more