The Korean Table: From Barbecue to Bibimbap 100 Easy-To-Prepare Recipes Hardcover – October 15, 2008

I've always been interested in Korean food even though I'm not Korean myself, so I bought this book to give Korean cooking a try. I've had about ten recipes from this book, including some barbecue dishes, the eggplant, spinach, and bean sprout side dishes, and the kimchi stew. I've also read a few of the other reviews saying that the food here isn't truly authentic Korean food. Even so, I'll put my take on this.Pros: The beef barbecue dishes are absolutely wondrous! The first time I ever had it was when a friend's mom (from Korea) made the same recipe, and the recipe in this book was an exact replica! I remember falling in love with the dish when I had it back then, and I had the same feeling when I made this for myself. For others who want to try this, make sure you leave the beef in the marinade overnight, as the beef will be packed with flavor the next day. Also, it doesn't say in the book, but I also used LA style ribs (called kalbi). They're cut into medium-thin slices across the bone, not along the bone, and somehow I found the beef packs more flavor from the marinade that way. You can find this in Korean groceries, or if you don't live near one, ask your local butcher to slice the meat through 3 bone ribs into 1/2 inch slices. Also, although I didn't find the bean sprout dishes to have as much flavor as I expected, the spinach and eggplant side dishes were wonderful! I never had the original, but I found them delicious nonetheless. Also, the seafood porridge really hit the spot! It's my backup when I'm too lazy to make breakfast in the morning, I make it the night before and heat it up the next morning.Cons: I've had to make minor adjustments with the sesame oil amounts in many recipes since I haven't been able to find dark sesame oil, and I also had to make some minor adjustments with some other basic ingredients in order to make some dishes more flavorful, but you can easily change the amount of spices to fit your tastes. Also, the kimchi stew didn't taste as flavorful as the kimchi stews I've had in Korea when I visited a few summers ago, and the meat wasn't cooked to how I liked when I followed the recipe, so in the end I cooked the meat separately before adding it to the stew. Nevertheless for those who cannot handle a lot of spicy flavors this should suit your palette anyway. Also, there are some iconic Korean recipes that aren't in this book, such as spicy rice cakes (ddeokbokki), kalguksu (a kind of noodle soup), and ddeokguk (rice cake soup), so I was a little sad since those three recipes are some of my favorite Korean dishes.In the meantime, I'm going to try a few more recipes from this book, and I can definitely say it's a wonderful introduction to cooking your own Korean food.

One reviewer recently mentioned that her biggest complaint was that this book didn't have more traditional recipes. Having grown up on Korean food, I don't fully disagree with her opinion, however, there are several "traditional" recipes to satisfy any Korean, and in addition, there are several other recipes that I found to be a wonderful compliment to modern Korean cuisine. While some of these recipes are not common or "traditional," they do show the wide variety of styles that are found in Korean cooking today! These recipes do, in my opinion, retain the "traditional" foundations of Korean cooking, especially with regards to flavor, and they simply take things a step further by adding some modern dishes, such as Korean style hot wings, etc. Also keep in mind that there are regional variations to Korean food, and the recipes in this book reflect this as well.If you are looking for only true "traditional" Korean cuisine, then you might be better off looking for a book that provides you recipes based on Korean Court dishes... Otherwise, this book is absolutely wonderful with delicious, easy to make recipes, unlike traditional Korean Court dishes which are often very labor intensive!I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Korean cuisine, especially to beginners of Korean cooking. As I previously mentioned, the recipes are quite simple with ingredients that are easy to find, and it also does a good job covering the core basics of Korean cuisine, especially the sauces!! I really applaud the creators for also being different by adding some recipes that highlight the diversity of true Korean cuisine today!

amazing! everything tastes great!

Now that Americans have discovered Korean culture and cuisine, westerners are rushing to cash in on the craze, as always adopting others' practices as their own. In some cases, the results are crass commercialism, along the order of appropriating items during the colonial period, when overall culture was rejected in favor of the bits and pieces that could be made western and marketed without the pesky need for respect or authenticity. In this case, "The Korean Table" does a reasonable job of approximating Korean food, to the degree that my mother gives the book a thumbs up. Of course, no single book could encompass all of the culinary arts of a people -- it would be absurd certainly to think that of a single French or Spanish cookbook, for instance -- and for such a tiny country, Korea (both in this case) is at least as diverse as that other tiny country, England, from which we never seem to tire of exploring. "The Korean Table" is a hard cover text, not very thick but with essential recipes and lovingly illustrated with color photos on slick paper. If you follow its recipes, you'll discover many flavorful dishes, many traditional, though be warned, too, that the ingredients you will have on hand, grown in foreign soil and with different techniques, will still differ from anything you'll find in the home country.

Lots of great recipes, but simplified. I have two other really great Korean Cookbooks, award winners, but this one is really easy to read, lots of variety and most ingredients are available at most supermarkets if you are in a "city". I love the chapter on the Salad, Kimchi and Sides, about anything can be pickled or brined. The initial chapter on the sauces alone are worth the price of the book! Of course you do have to be stocked with some Asian staples, like Korean hot pepper paste, sesame oil, roasted sesame seeds, sweet soy sauce, miso, Korean hot pepper power and seeds(different then the American version-I didn't believe it until I tried it), chili garlic paste, among others. But once you are stocked up, this stuff lasts a long time! I've made good number of the dishes that have turned out great, so this is my new go to book!

Well, as I have now known any Korean food, I found the book interesting. When I was traveling in Taiwan, I came across this dish called Bibimbap which I loved, therefore I was looking for a Korean cookbook. Well, we shall see.

good