What Ae Jin Huys knows about Korean cuisine, she learned from mothers and grandmothers, cooks and Buddhists. Huys is South Korean – now a little more than a few years ago. South Korea is the country where she was born, but it wasn’t her home for a long time (anymore). She left South Korea at the age of five and grew up in Belgium with adoptive parents. It was not until many years later that she returned to the earth of her early years. This has now resulted in the cookbook “Kimchi. Healthy Korean cuisine with fermented vegetables”.
“It was especially the smells and flavors from times long gone that brought me back to my childhood,” she writes. It was a culinary journey into the past. Where it all began, she wanted to learn to cook. She collected family recipes and signature dishes, dealt with local producers.
Kimchi, Korea’s health secret
Her cookbook has become an introduction to traditional Korean cuisine with 90 recipes. The basis is formed by 24 basic recipes for kimchi variants. The superfood has an ancient tradition in Korea and is an integral part of everyday cuisine. Rich in vitamins, fiber and probiotics, it contributes to gut health and is one of the healthiest foods in the world. The kimchi variants are incorporated into recipes ranging from classic Korean rice and noodle dishes, spicy stews and fresh salads to dumplings and seaweed rolls. Huys also gives tips on spices and preparation methods.
Ae Jin Huys writes that the dishes that stuck in her memory the most were not necessarily those prepared by the most renowned chefs. “Sometimes it’s those caring hands that can bring flavor and comfort to a dish, with the power to make certain dishes, moments and people feel nostalgic,” she writes. “Can you tell the taste of a meal by the hands that prepared the food,” asks the author, and answers herself, “I think so.”
Five recipes from the book “kimchi Healthy Korean cuisine with fermented vegetables” we present to you in the photo series above.
This article contains so-called affiliate links. There is more information here.