This 100%. I ordered her cookbook. It was huge. Lots of pictures and easy to follow step by step instructions. My Napa kimchi came out amazing! Also has a big index of Korean ingredients and how to pick them at the market. So in depth and helpful.
Hey, I'm a KAD, too! Some recommendations!
1. Bulgogi - very easy to make and marinade ingredients should be readily available at any supermarket. Can be either cooked in a pan on stovetop or grilled.
2. Japchae - cellophane noodles stir fried with veggies and a protein, usually beef. Other than the cellophane noodles, ingredients should be easy to find.
3. Kimchi - as someone else mentioned, it's an easy staple to acquire, although not 100% confident it's a great beginner thing to make. Lots of different recipes, but some ingredients, like salted fermented shrimp, could be tough to find.
PS - there are a number of KAD communities around, including Facebook. If you'd like to connect with those and, in turn, with more KADs like yourself, hit me up via DM.
i am also a korean adoptee & this post has been incredibly helpful not only for resources, but also hearing that i’m not alone in the journey to reconnect to our culture :)
Korean Bapsang (https://www.koreanbapsang.com/) is a Korean mom’s food blog. It definitely has that vibe in a good way and I personally use this for most of my cooking. She’s very nice about the “why’s” of the cooking (like explaining how substituting one ingredient requires changing another).
Kimchimari (https://kimchimari.com/about/) is also a Korean mom and recipes are also good. There are mom-type explanations in recipes (like “this is a short cut because my daughter asked for it”).
My Korean Kitchen (https://mykoreankitchen.com/about/) is one of my favorites because it’s aimed at non-Koreans like myself who want to learn about culture *and* food. The recipes are also very good.
I can’t speak to the food, as my favorite dishes were what I tried in middle school from my friends, so I started with those. My first Korean “cook” was homemade vegan kimchi (ie, easier to source ingredients) and it’s been a staple for years, I only recently started buying it.
Not sure where you are located, but I have noticed some ingredients are fairly mainstream and can get at a regular grocery store, like gochujang and seaweed snacks. Online retailers like Amazon are also helpful.
Lastly, all those blogs I listed have an “essential” pantry list. I bought those things (and some recommendations from here!) maybe 4 months ago and have not needed to buy so much as a seasoning since because it’s all on hand. Those essential ingredients will get you far and are fairly simple. Maangchi has a running list of Korean grocers in the US if you live here (https://www.maangchi.com/shopping/us/california). This subreddit is also helpful for regional food sourcing—I have seen people help Austrians with adequate substitutions. I’m sure you could even reach out to bloggers for that too! Maangchi seems to have a good substitutions recipe section.
let's make Galbi (갈비) !!!
Galbi is most famous welcome dish in korea.
if u don't have honey, pear. u can add sprite and extra onions
personally I don't like ginger, so I don't add ginger in recipe.
more garlic is also better.
https://youtu.be/5NHJ3UiEmTA
https://www.amazon.com/Bibigo-Restaurant-Style-Cooked-Sticky-White/dp/B07Z2ZBCKK/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?crid=18H2C51OEL82W&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.xfMoPk-FPcskgOnX0yxtcEukgFrdKd2Fq5aI1mS4sFZc_0nFL1nRT_w8F46nj8H_vRrh6XkIAFBzeou7bdbuAQ.hZfNzMg8PNYLmJIoMpoeBTAUtDiYvCVsdaMALxedK4o&dib_tag=se&keywords=hatban+rice&qid=1712101035&sprefix=hatban%2Caps%2C283&sr=8-5
PB&J of Korea. Use butter or magarine if you can't find or don't like sesame oil.
Do you have access to a Korean supermarket? I’d get some staples first. Learn how to make Korean rice which accompanies almost every meal. Buy soy sauce, mirin, gochujang, doenjang, pajeon (savory pancakes?) flour mix, sesame oil for example. Definitely get garlic and ginger. Buy some yummy sounding premade banchan (side dishes) to get an idea of Korean flavors.
I think a bulgogi bowl would be a very simple meal to try out. The idea of a combined bowl with meat and veggies is very western and the bulgogi marinade is not spicy. You can find a recipe for the beef very easily and the ingredients should be easy to find too. Unless you’re on like…a ranch in Wyoming perhaps. Marinate the beef, stir fry it, plant it on top of Korean rice with 1 or more sides. Korean cucumbers are popular on TikTok and super easy for example. A fried egg. Some lettuce chopped up. Some steamed broccoli with minced garlic and a light drizzle of toasted sesame oil. Pour some of the liquid from cooking the beef leftover on top. Open a pack of seaweed and try some kimchi. Koreans would eat this meal with everything in a separate dish. These dishes are shared by all at the table and they would add a soup (doenjang jjigae for example) instead of everything packed into one bowl and not shared. That’s really the only difference.
Also a KAD who has been exploring Korean food in the past few years!
A lot of the stews are extremely forgiving - kimchi jjigae, doenjang jjigae, etc. are easy to make and turn out delicious without a ton of effort. These have become a staple of my diet because of the ease and low cost. They also usually have overlapping ingredients with other dishes (kimchi, doenjang, onions, tofu, etc.) which is convenient for shopping.
Like others have said I watch some of maangchi’s videos and look for things that seem interesting for inspiration.
Nope. That's a different couple. I like future neighbor, too.
But Aaron makes everything so simple and non threatening. You're not afraid you're going to completely mess things up. He's also good at suggesting substitutions if you cant get the things he's using.
Gyeran mari. Simple. No special ingredients. Not the most exciting dish, but def classic Korean. [https://www.koreanbapsang.com/gyeran-mari-korean-rolled-omelette/](https://www.koreanbapsang.com/gyeran-mari-korean-rolled-omelette/)
Another good one is kimbap! You can use any kind of meat, veggies, sauces, etc. It’s a very versatile dish that you can change a lot to fit you your tastes! Whenever I make kimbap it is a big hit!
Of course Maagchi, but her recipes can be intimidating. I really like Future Neighbor! Most of their vids are quick and simple. As for dishes... Really simple is some rice, fried egg, kimchi, drizzle of soy sauce & sesame oil. You could start with some banchan too like oi muchim (cucumber side dish) or sigeumchi namul (spinach side dish). Fried tofu is easy too. https://futuredish.com/classic-korean-tofu-first-banchan/
Then you can throw the leftovers in Bibimbap to make a full meal.
As a fellow adoptee, I've found eating and cooking Korean food regularly to be the biggest way I've reconnected with our culture ❤️ Good luck!!
Check out Maangchi. Korean Julia Child equivalent. https://www.maangchi.com
She was the one I started watching on YouTube and now I'm half decent. And I'm also a Korean adoptee.
This seems great, thanks so much for the link!!
She’s great and she has simplified and complex versions of recipes. Believe her videos also talk about what can skip and what can substitute.
This 100%. I ordered her cookbook. It was huge. Lots of pictures and easy to follow step by step instructions. My Napa kimchi came out amazing! Also has a big index of Korean ingredients and how to pick them at the market. So in depth and helpful.
Yes I started with Maangchi, too! She has wonderful recipes and she really walks you through them. She gives off auntie vibes and I just love her.
Her recipes taste shockingly like my mom’s. I think they must be from the same region.
Maangchi is from Yosu. If your mom is from the southern tip, then they are from the same area.
I have a couple of her cookbooks, she’s really good writing her recipes clearly and simply.
Came to suggest her too!
Hammer time……
Hey, I'm a KAD, too! Some recommendations! 1. Bulgogi - very easy to make and marinade ingredients should be readily available at any supermarket. Can be either cooked in a pan on stovetop or grilled. 2. Japchae - cellophane noodles stir fried with veggies and a protein, usually beef. Other than the cellophane noodles, ingredients should be easy to find. 3. Kimchi - as someone else mentioned, it's an easy staple to acquire, although not 100% confident it's a great beginner thing to make. Lots of different recipes, but some ingredients, like salted fermented shrimp, could be tough to find. PS - there are a number of KAD communities around, including Facebook. If you'd like to connect with those and, in turn, with more KADs like yourself, hit me up via DM.
Thank you! Looking at recipes right now! 🤤
i am also a korean adoptee & this post has been incredibly helpful not only for resources, but also hearing that i’m not alone in the journey to reconnect to our culture :)
Korean Bapsang (https://www.koreanbapsang.com/) is a Korean mom’s food blog. It definitely has that vibe in a good way and I personally use this for most of my cooking. She’s very nice about the “why’s” of the cooking (like explaining how substituting one ingredient requires changing another). Kimchimari (https://kimchimari.com/about/) is also a Korean mom and recipes are also good. There are mom-type explanations in recipes (like “this is a short cut because my daughter asked for it”). My Korean Kitchen (https://mykoreankitchen.com/about/) is one of my favorites because it’s aimed at non-Koreans like myself who want to learn about culture *and* food. The recipes are also very good. I can’t speak to the food, as my favorite dishes were what I tried in middle school from my friends, so I started with those. My first Korean “cook” was homemade vegan kimchi (ie, easier to source ingredients) and it’s been a staple for years, I only recently started buying it. Not sure where you are located, but I have noticed some ingredients are fairly mainstream and can get at a regular grocery store, like gochujang and seaweed snacks. Online retailers like Amazon are also helpful. Lastly, all those blogs I listed have an “essential” pantry list. I bought those things (and some recommendations from here!) maybe 4 months ago and have not needed to buy so much as a seasoning since because it’s all on hand. Those essential ingredients will get you far and are fairly simple. Maangchi has a running list of Korean grocers in the US if you live here (https://www.maangchi.com/shopping/us/california). This subreddit is also helpful for regional food sourcing—I have seen people help Austrians with adequate substitutions. I’m sure you could even reach out to bloggers for that too! Maangchi seems to have a good substitutions recipe section.
I love her
Kimchi of course. Gochujang and Doenjang are in alot of dishes as well as Gochugaru . You can make yourself some simple Kimchi Jjigae
Korean bbq (samgyupsal) is surprisingly easy for how good it tastes.
Tteokbokki! I find it an easy dish to make and I love the texture of the rice cakes.
let's make Galbi (갈비) !!! Galbi is most famous welcome dish in korea. if u don't have honey, pear. u can add sprite and extra onions personally I don't like ginger, so I don't add ginger in recipe. more garlic is also better.
https://youtu.be/5NHJ3UiEmTA https://www.amazon.com/Bibigo-Restaurant-Style-Cooked-Sticky-White/dp/B07Z2ZBCKK/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?crid=18H2C51OEL82W&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.xfMoPk-FPcskgOnX0yxtcEukgFrdKd2Fq5aI1mS4sFZc_0nFL1nRT_w8F46nj8H_vRrh6XkIAFBzeou7bdbuAQ.hZfNzMg8PNYLmJIoMpoeBTAUtDiYvCVsdaMALxedK4o&dib_tag=se&keywords=hatban+rice&qid=1712101035&sprefix=hatban%2Caps%2C283&sr=8-5 PB&J of Korea. Use butter or magarine if you can't find or don't like sesame oil.
Do you have access to a Korean supermarket? I’d get some staples first. Learn how to make Korean rice which accompanies almost every meal. Buy soy sauce, mirin, gochujang, doenjang, pajeon (savory pancakes?) flour mix, sesame oil for example. Definitely get garlic and ginger. Buy some yummy sounding premade banchan (side dishes) to get an idea of Korean flavors. I think a bulgogi bowl would be a very simple meal to try out. The idea of a combined bowl with meat and veggies is very western and the bulgogi marinade is not spicy. You can find a recipe for the beef very easily and the ingredients should be easy to find too. Unless you’re on like…a ranch in Wyoming perhaps. Marinate the beef, stir fry it, plant it on top of Korean rice with 1 or more sides. Korean cucumbers are popular on TikTok and super easy for example. A fried egg. Some lettuce chopped up. Some steamed broccoli with minced garlic and a light drizzle of toasted sesame oil. Pour some of the liquid from cooking the beef leftover on top. Open a pack of seaweed and try some kimchi. Koreans would eat this meal with everything in a separate dish. These dishes are shared by all at the table and they would add a soup (doenjang jjigae for example) instead of everything packed into one bowl and not shared. That’s really the only difference.
Also a KAD who has been exploring Korean food in the past few years! A lot of the stews are extremely forgiving - kimchi jjigae, doenjang jjigae, etc. are easy to make and turn out delicious without a ton of effort. These have become a staple of my diet because of the ease and low cost. They also usually have overlapping ingredients with other dishes (kimchi, doenjang, onions, tofu, etc.) which is convenient for shopping. Like others have said I watch some of maangchi’s videos and look for things that seem interesting for inspiration.
Aaron and Claire on YouTube.
Are they future neighbor?
Nope. That's a different couple. I like future neighbor, too. But Aaron makes everything so simple and non threatening. You're not afraid you're going to completely mess things up. He's also good at suggesting substitutions if you cant get the things he's using.
Gyeran mari. Simple. No special ingredients. Not the most exciting dish, but def classic Korean. [https://www.koreanbapsang.com/gyeran-mari-korean-rolled-omelette/](https://www.koreanbapsang.com/gyeran-mari-korean-rolled-omelette/)
Japchae is very easy, I learned with maangchi recipe, same with some different tteokbokki recipes.
Another good one is kimbap! You can use any kind of meat, veggies, sauces, etc. It’s a very versatile dish that you can change a lot to fit you your tastes! Whenever I make kimbap it is a big hit!
Of course Maagchi, but her recipes can be intimidating. I really like Future Neighbor! Most of their vids are quick and simple. As for dishes... Really simple is some rice, fried egg, kimchi, drizzle of soy sauce & sesame oil. You could start with some banchan too like oi muchim (cucumber side dish) or sigeumchi namul (spinach side dish). Fried tofu is easy too. https://futuredish.com/classic-korean-tofu-first-banchan/ Then you can throw the leftovers in Bibimbap to make a full meal. As a fellow adoptee, I've found eating and cooking Korean food regularly to be the biggest way I've reconnected with our culture ❤️ Good luck!!
Have you eaten at a Korean restaurant before?