I don't go into a cookbook 1. expecting to read much, or 2. expecting to cry, by Eric Kim's "Korean American" managed to make me do both. An infusion of a traditional cookbook with personal essays, Kim's debut feels groundbreaking in some ways. I've followed his recipes for years on New York Times Cooking, and I appreciate the accessibility of his recipes and the way he brings Korean culture into everything he cooks. I loved it!

Thank you to Clarkson Potter and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

If you want a cookbook to convince you to try cooking Korean American food this is the book. The book is just gorgeous to look at with plenty of pictures to look at. I'd watch out if your not into spice because quite a few of these recipes use Gochujang. But I love spice, so I can't wait to try these recipes out. And there are some recipes that don't hold any heat so anyone can find something they like in this cookbook.

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Great book! Filled with beautiful and bright colored images of all the food and sprinkled with Korean customs and history. I really liked looking through some of the dishes, even without knowing all the ingredients. There is a Korean/American Thanksgiving chapter which has unique takes on holiday classics.

I selected this book because, well, I simply love Korean food. I also have no idea how to cook any Korean dish correctly, so guidance is needed! Since this book incorporates some American influence (as per the title), and this is what I am accustomed to eating when "Korean" food is on the menu, this book was a perfect fit for me. What I did not expect to see, however, was such a well done commentary on immigrant life and culture. My background is Italian, and I am the first generation born outside of Italy. As I read about Eric Kim's experience in the intro, I couldn't stop nodding. So many of my experiences have been the same. Exchange the rice for pasta and the kimchi for tomato sauce, and I could have thrown my own name in there. We are all alike in so many ways, and it's great to read a story so much like your own. There are a variety of recipes in this book all of which have beautiful pictures to match. If you are in a similar boat as I, you may find yourself unfamiliar with some of the ingredients listed, but thankfully there is a glossary at the start of this book to provide some guidance. You will likely need to visit a specialty Asian grocery store to pick up some of these items. But if you enjoy Korean food, it will be worth the effort!

I've been reading Eric Kim for years in the New York Times. His recipes, Asian influenced or not, are always accompanied by interesting backstories. While spending lockdowns at home in Atlanta with his mom he wrote "Korean American" as a very personal take on the home cooking that they created together.

Nothing high-class and elite here. Kim brings us flavored grits, glazed Spam, quick-pickled vegetables, and all sorts of stuff wrapped in flour tortillas.

Many of the flavor combos will seem odd. Kim tells us the historical and cultural why of each dish and encourages us to open up our mouths and minds to new tastes. I admit I'm not always convinced but that is my failing, not his.

I recommend this book for two reasons. First, it is an exciting view into a cuisine that most of us never see unless we have close Korean friends. Second because it is Eric Kim writing of his home.

The book designers have taken an interesting approach to the visuals that I can't really get behind. But really, the choice of plates and backgrounds or the refusal to italicize foreign words (at least in the ARC) are irrelevant to the taste of the food.

<b>Memoirs with your Munchies! A delicious guided tour down one Korean Foodie's memory lane!</b>

This cookbook was a delight to my imagination's taste buds - as well as an entertaining read. Eric Kim's description of his and his parents' experiences integrating into American culture brought back memories of my own parents' experiences.

All the substitutions that his mother would have to come up with reminded me of my mother's hilarious confession that, at first, she and many of her fellow Portuguese immigrants would not dare to buy things like "Cornie Flacks" - aka Corn Flakes - because they were afraid they might be buying rat poison by mistake!

<img src"https://clickamericana.com/wp-content/uploads/40-favorite-vintage-breakfast-cereals-from-the-60s-1967-770x594.jpg"/>

Many of the recipes in this beautifully illustrated cookbook/memoir just call out to be sampled! Eric Kim's avocado on toast/sourdough bread recipe has you crumpling sheets of seaweed and adding in a dash of sesame oil to the mix: my taste buds were humming!

<img src"https://www.sbs.com.au/food/sites/sbs.com.au.food/files/tcu-rx091-seaweed-avocado-toast.jpg"/>

Many traditional Korean dishes are presented here - with a slight Americanized twist or substitution. The author showcases traditional American fare (rib eye steak - glazed with a spicy chile paste; scrambled eggs - with a dash of black pepper, chives <i>and sugar!</i>, and Curried Chicken Cutlets - with a dash of Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard, served on a bed of rice vinegar infused cabbage.)

<img src="https://www.vibrantplate.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Chicken-with-cabbage-01.jpg"/>

If you like to add something new and exciting to your weekly menu, then this is definitely the cookbook for you. Just make sure you set the oven timer because you might get so engrossed in the anecdotes that are interwoven with the recipes that you might forget that you were actually preparing your supper!

Highly recommended - 5 out of 5 tasty and engrossing stars! Please note that the images used in this review are from the internet, since the beautiful colour graphics in this cookbook are copyrighted. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Just like the title, this book brings Korean and American together in such a harmonious way and I absolutely love it. I've known the author, Eric Kim, through New York Times Cooking for a while and have made his recipes before, so when I heard this book was coming out, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Sure enough, it did not disappoint.

This book truly shows Eric's personality - you can almost hear him speak through the book. Each recipe is traditional, but inventive at the same time in a way as in it is very Korean but American at the same time. All of his recipes are easy to follow and inviting, ingredients don't scare you nor hard to find, there are lots of pics for visual readers and learners, and his writing is so endearing and comforting.

I've made several foods from the book such as Curried Chicken Cutlets, Maple-Candied Spam, Budae Jjigae, Gyeranbap, Kimchi Fried Rice, Microwave Gyeranjjim, and Milk Bread with Maple syrup and they all were great. Easy, no fail, comforting, and delicious. Unlike some of cookbooks, Eric's recipes are so inviting and make you want to cook in the kitchen. If you're a Korean food lover and would like to start from somewhere, I highly recommend Eric's book. You won't be disappointed!

What an amazing cookbook and just deep dive into Korean American culture and food. Not only does this book have amazing recipes but it also has beautiful essays by Kim about his backstory along with stories that make the recipes even more meaningful.

Some of my favorites included Gochugaru Shrimp and Grits and Cheeseburger Kimbap.

Thanks to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter for my ARC for an honest review.

Korean American is a fantastic cookbook that features a variety of mouthwatering recipes. The huge array of recipes show his parents' roots and journey. The recipes reveal how Korean cuisine of his childhood was influenced by the ingredients available in the US. It's so neat to see how cooking evolves over time and in subsequent generations. I loved the family stories and pictures. A wonderful addition to a home chef's cookbook collection!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

"This book, then, tells the constantly mutating story of how I have come to understand my identity not just as Jean's son, but also as someone how has had to straddle two nations: the United States (where I'm from) and South Korea (where my mother is from). Too often I have felt the pangs of this tug of war: Am I Korean or am I American? Only recently have I been able to fully embrace that I am at once both and neither, and something else entirely: I am <i>Korean American</i>."

When it comes to Asian fusion, I have some mixed feelings. I'm not a fan of people just throwing in random Asian ingredients or attempting to "elevate" dishes they don't really understand, but clever twists on traditionally Asian food? SIGN ME UP. Eric Kim's Korean American definitely leans towards the latter with dishes like cheeseburger kimbap, meatloaf-glazed kalbi and maple-candied spam. The recipes are reflective of Eric Kim's upbringing as a Southern boy with an Asian American twist, but there are also nods to some of the fundamentals found in Korean kitchens with chapters like Kimchi is a Verb and S is for Stew. I haven't had a chance to try any of the recipes yet, so I can't speak to their quality or level of difficulty. There are a lot I want to try, though (I'm particularly excited about the Korean bakery chapter,) and Kim's background as a food writer gives me confidence the recipes will be easy to follow.

As someone whose biggest pet peeve is food bloggers sharing their life stories before finally including a recipe at the very bottom of a post (I didn't come here to read about your son's aversion to peas, Sue,) I actually enjoyed reading Eric Kim's little autobiographical asides almost as much as I liked flipping through the pictures of food. I started reading the introductory sections because I felt like I should but found myself engrossed in a short history lesson about "Korean American cooking" and stories from Kim's childhood.

This is a great cookbook for people interested in learning more about Korean cooking and Korean American recipes. The recipes are easy to follow with delicious pictures to inspire you.

In this beautifully illustrated homage to his Korean-American roots, food writer and columnist Eric Kim leads us through a delightful tour of Korean cooking covering all the bases - from quick and easy TV Dinners, to Pantry Meals, Stews, Rice (the bedrock of Korean cooking) Dishes, Fish and Seafood, meals centered on Vegetables, sumptious Feasts, and finally, Bakery recipes.

For these and other spicy-sweet Korean recipes, several author-recommended staples helpful to have on hand include: soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, gochujang (an umami-rich fermented chili paste, a favorite in this reader’s kitchen), gochugaru (red pepper powder which is a key ingredient in Gochugaru and is also a family favorite of this reader) and Gim (crisp and salty roasted seaweed sheets, often packaged snack-size in cellophane-wrapped stacks).

Korean kimchi (both a product and a process, used to pickle or ferment any type of vegetable), adds an authentic touch as both a condiment/side dish, and is also used as an ingredient in many of the recipes covered.

With techniques such as “taste memory” and an experiential instinct for seasoning learned in the kitchen of his Korean mother, practiced and perfected with American-influenced access to ingredients, the author’s take on Korean food is mouth-wateringly appetizing, with a resulting plethora of recipes I can’t wait to try.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

-> Gochugaru shrimp on roasted seaweed grits - Grits seasoned with crumbled seaweed sheets, topped with perfectly seasoned shrimp

-> Jalepeno-marinated chicken tacos with watermelon and guchugaru - The sweetly spicy watermelon salad sounds divine as a complement to the chicken tacos

-> Caramelized kimchi-baked potatoes - A hint of sweetness slathered on a spicy roasted potato

-> Sheet pan Bibimbap with roasted fall vegetables - Roasted butternut squash, mushrooms, and apple served on rice and topped with egg yolk (which could be fried or poached).

-> Crispy Trout with white wine and lemon butter - A crisply simple and sublime fish treatment, layered with a glossy buttery lemon sauce

-> Charred Cauliflower with magic gochugaru dust - Simple browned and crispy cauliflower sprinkled with a spicy sweet rub


Perfect for cookbook lovers and food aficionados everywhere, this book would make a wonderful and much-loved gift.

A great big thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

Thank you to Clarkson Potter for the galley.

Korean American by Eric Kim is a magnificent cookbook. Gorgeous photos accompany equally gorgeous writing. I have had great success with Eric Kim's recipes featured in NY Times Cooking, and I can't wait to make all of these. It is clear this was a true labor of love, and it is one of the best cookbooks I've read. I can't wait to own my own copy.

Korean American is a gloriously colorful cookbook/memoir/ode to Korean American food and fusion culture with recipes developed and curated by Eric Kim. Due out 29th March 2022 from Penguin Random House on their Clarkson Potter imprint, it's 288 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

I love Korean food but always felt somewhat intimidated and full of excuses: "It's too complicated", "the ingredients are hard to source", "it requires too much special equipment", and maybe the lamest of them all "it's culturally insensitive for a lily white Irish girl to make Korean food". This book is wonderful. It's a full spectrum of food - from quick snacks to eat alone, up to company worthy feasts. There's introspective comfort food for a quiet dinner at home as well as exuberant celebration food, and all of it with a Korean American fusion vibe.

The book is arranged logically and well and info is easy to find quickly. The introduction covers a little bit of history, some personal family reminiscences, ingredients, and pantry lists with ingredient explanations. The recipes in the following chapters are grouped thematically: quick meals (to eat on the couch), kimchi (my favorite chapter - luscious variations here for every taste and so versatile), stews, rice dishes, fish, vegetables, feasts/celebratory food, and baked goods.

Each recipe includes an introduction and background, followed by a bullet list of ingredients. Measurements are given in American standard units, no metric equivalents are provided. The cooking instructions are enumerated step by step. There is no nutritional info included. Most recipe ingredients will be familiar to western cooks and will be available at any well stocked grocery store. Some ingredients will require access to a larger metropolitan area or specialist grocers (or mail order). Each recipe is accompanied by one or more color photos. Serving and preparation suggestions are appealing and appropriate. It all looks delicious.

Five stars. This is a beautifully made, thoughtfully written, engaging, and information dense book. It's a classic and good cookbook, not just a good Korean cookbook. This would be a superlative choice for public library acquisition, and for foodies. The pictures alone are worth the price of admission.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

So charming and delightful! Eric Kim's writing is beautiful - it's not often that a cookbook makes me tear up just a few pages in! His love of food, family, and home came through from the very start and continued throughout the book. My husband and I love all things food-related and are eager to experiment with Korean cooking - this book had a ton of helpful and interesting context, as well as accessible and exciting recipes to try. Also, I loved reading about Jean! I would definitely consider buying this as a gift for other foodie friends - it's beautiful and artful while also being useful. Thanks for the chance to give this review!

Absolutely GORGEOUS photos and stories about the food, ingredients and culture.
Such a great find with truly delicious recipes that would be easy to make and great to experiment with!

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Eric Kim and Clarkson Potter Publishers for providing me with an eARC of this publication which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Korean American has beautiful, vivid images and heartfelt messages connecting each recipe to the author's childhood. The book was very home-y. I wanted to try almost every dish and felt like I knew the author's family after reading all of the nostalgic anecdotes.

"These recipes explore the tension--and the ultimate harmony--between the Korean in me as well as the American in me. I am at once both and neither, and something else entirely: I am Korean American."

WOW! I loved this cookbook, and think it's a very necessary one in the diaspora of the American cookbook world. Kim's personal stories of his feelings of finding himself between--but part of two--worlds, and his way of creating personal, timely, connections to so many Korean recipes makes this cookbook not only "taste like home" but *feel* like home as well. Gorgeous photography accompanies the recipes, and help buoy the warm, nostalgic feel of the cookbook as well.

"We are who we are because of where we come from, and one way to find ourselves when we're especially lost is to return to our place of origin, if only for a bit." Love. Thanks for sharing your return, Mr. Kim.

Many thanks to Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press and NetGalley for allowing me to preview this wonderful cookbook!

The recipes are that can be found in this book look amazing and I can't wait to try some of them. I definitely want to try Gochujang Chocolate Lava Cakes and Chewy Black Sesame Rice Cake or Sesame Soy Deviled Egg. Also, the stories presented give the book and the recipes a more personal vibe.

This book was such a delight to dive into. It genuinely showed me, an Australian the most exciting blend of Korean cooking by wonderful people who were from the States. I was impressed to see that there was genuinely a heap of variety in the recipes shared, it wasn't just variations on the same kind of meals. Very well done!