Dok Suni–The Cookbook

The best way to regularly enjoy Korean food is to prepare it yourself. And Jenny Kwak’s Dok Suni: Recipes from My Mother’s Korean Kitchen cookbook can help you do just that.

Starting out with Mom’s Shopping List, Dok Suni helps you become acquainted with everything you’ll need to make the recipes. Then you can delve into side dishes, rice and noodle dishes, soups, recipes for dishes with meat, chicken and fish, party foods, and treats. One recipe I’ll have try soon is the one for cinnamon and ginger punch. Our favorite Korean restaurant serves this after the meal and our little guy loves it.

In addition to good recipes, Dok Suni includes family stories about Kwak’s childhood and Korean folktales that have been handed down from generation to generation.

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My Favorite Korean Cookbook (so far)

When I decided to get adventurous with my Korean cooking, I checked out every Korean cookbook that our library had. (I’ve never claimed to the world’s greatest cook, so it didn’t really take much for me to be adventurous.) After perusing page after page of recipes, I definitely felt I’d found my favorites. Then along came a new cookbook and it’s now taken the top spot on my list of favorites.

It’s Quick and Easy Korean Cooking by Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee.

As I learned from Lee’s interview with the Korea Society, her goal with this book was to retain the authentic taste of the dishes, while cutting down on the time it took to prepare and cook the meals. She tried to keep the cooking to under 30 minutes.

With a 4-year-old running around, it’s nice to have recipes that can be quick and relatively simple to prepare. Even the look and style of the cookbook is streamlined, and the photos are gorgeous!

We’ve tried several recipes in the book already and haven’t been disappointed. And there are many more on my “to try” list. I found it at our local Barnes and Noble, but if you have trouble finding it, all of the online stores carry it. Just for fun you might also want to check out the author’s Web site. The address is www.littlececilia.com/index.htm.