--- product_id: 23837768 title: "Koreatown: A Cookbook" price: "€ 53.03" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.at/products/23837768-koreatown-a-cookbook store_origin: AT region: Austria --- # Koreatown: A Cookbook **Price:** € 53.03 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Koreatown: A Cookbook - **How much does it cost?** € 53.03 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.at](https://www.desertcart.at/products/23837768-koreatown-a-cookbook) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description A New York Times bestseller and one of the most praised Korean cookbooks of all time, you'll explore the foods and flavors of Koreatowns across America through this collection of 100 recipes. This is not your average "journey to Asia" cookbook. Koreatown is a spicy, funky, flavor-packed love affair with the grit and charm of Korean cooking in America. Koreatowns around the country are synonymous with mealtime feasts and late-night chef hangouts, and Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard show us why through stories, interviews, and over 100 delicious, super-approachable recipes. It's spicy, it's fermented, it's sweet and savory and loaded with umami: Korean cuisine is poised to break out in the U.S., but until now, the cookbooks have been focused on taking readers on an idealized Korean journey. Koreatown , though, is all about what's real and happening right here: the foods of Korean American communities all over our country, from L.A. to New York City, from Atlanta to Chicago. We follow Rodbard and Hong through those communities with stories and recipes for everything from beloved Korean barbecue favorites like bulgogi and kalbi to the lesser-known but deeply satisfying stews, soups, noodles, salads, drinks, and the many kimchis of the Korean American table. Review: Great Book - the Bossam recipe and method is outstanding - In order to get my head around Korean food, I purchased this book before a 2 1/2 week trip to Korea. Not just a cookbook, it has a lot of information, including an introduction before every recipe and short essays like "How to Cook Korean Food at Home Without Pissing Off Your Neighbors." The book also has commentary (and in some cases, recipes) from culinary superstars such as Eric Ripert and David Chang. Bear in mind that, as Hong states, this book focuses on the food found in K-towns and Korean-influenced restaurants around the US. So you'll find that the some of the recipes are riffs on Korean food rather than traditional recipes. But they are all true to the source - this isn't a "fusion" cookbook containing recipes for Korean Tacos and the like. The Bossam (crispy pork belly) recipe is "the bomb", and the cooking technique really makes it happen. Rather than cooking small chunks on a tabletop grill, which was what I experienced in Korea, Hong's method calls for boiling and then roasting a 3# piece in the oven. What makes the end result so killer is his method of pricking the skin with hundred of holes to help render the fat and crisp the skin. Cooking it in the oven also means that a tabletop grill is freed up for bulgogi or kabli or a hotpot or whatever. If you plan to make the Bossam (and you should), here's a tip that worked for me. Hong recommends using the point of a sharp knife or skewer to poke the tiny holes in the skin. However, you aren't supposed to push through the skin and into the meat. I found this difficult to accomplish given the amount of pressure required to penetrate the tough pigskin. My solution was to use an oversized safety pin to do the job. I took a large, 2.5" safety pin and bent the prong to a 90 degree angle. I then gripped the pin by the body, placing my thumb on the end directly above the prong. From there, it's fairly easy to puncture the skin by focusing your force on your thumb. In addition, using the short safety pin gives you more control than something longer like a skewer or knife, and once you puncture the skin, your knuckles will stop you from penetrating deeper into the meat. I've attached a few pictures of what I did; I purchased the safety pins through desertcart. So anyway, it's a great, fun-to-read, cookbook. And I know I'll be returning to the pork belly technique for the rest of my life. FYI - If you are planning a trip to Korea, or are just really interested in Korean food, I found the following resources useful during my trip: - For traditional Korean cooking, I have enjoyed "Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking." If you doubt her quest for authenticity, she suggests fermenting kimchi in jars that are placed on top of an electric blanket. This mimics the conditions of the heated floors that are found in traditional Korean homes. Despite this attention to detail, her recipes are simple and straightforward. - "Eating Korea" by Graham Holiday. Having lived in Korea in the mid-90's, the journalist/author returns and travels across Korea to document traditional foods and dying culinary techniques. - Smart phone app: "Korean Food Guide Book" published by the Korea Foundation. It has some basic information about ingredients, methods, and tastes, but I found the alphabetical listing of ingredients to be invaluable. The press of a button translates an ingredient name from English to Korean characters (Hunminjeongeum) to the Romanized word/pronunciation. Many times I didn't know exactly what I was eating, so I'd hand the server my iPhone, they'd select the word from the Hunminjeongeum list, and then I'd translate their selection into English. It was also great because I could then take a snapshot of the screen for future reference. - Final tip if you travel to Korea: drink as much makgeolli as you can! Pronounce it like "broccoli" without the "r" and they'll understand you well enough. Review: Korean recipes for everyone - Interesting read that takes you into the world of Korean food. Recipes may seem intimidating but worth the time. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #202,405 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #41 in Korean Cooking, Food & Wine #89 in International Cooking, Food & Wine #195 in Barbecuing & Grilling | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 565 Reviews | ## Images ![Koreatown: A Cookbook - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/817MkQaetHL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great Book - the Bossam recipe and method is outstanding *by N***E on August 3, 2017* In order to get my head around Korean food, I purchased this book before a 2 1/2 week trip to Korea. Not just a cookbook, it has a lot of information, including an introduction before every recipe and short essays like "How to Cook Korean Food at Home Without Pissing Off Your Neighbors." The book also has commentary (and in some cases, recipes) from culinary superstars such as Eric Ripert and David Chang. Bear in mind that, as Hong states, this book focuses on the food found in K-towns and Korean-influenced restaurants around the US. So you'll find that the some of the recipes are riffs on Korean food rather than traditional recipes. But they are all true to the source - this isn't a "fusion" cookbook containing recipes for Korean Tacos and the like. The Bossam (crispy pork belly) recipe is "the bomb", and the cooking technique really makes it happen. Rather than cooking small chunks on a tabletop grill, which was what I experienced in Korea, Hong's method calls for boiling and then roasting a 3# piece in the oven. What makes the end result so killer is his method of pricking the skin with hundred of holes to help render the fat and crisp the skin. Cooking it in the oven also means that a tabletop grill is freed up for bulgogi or kabli or a hotpot or whatever. If you plan to make the Bossam (and you should), here's a tip that worked for me. Hong recommends using the point of a sharp knife or skewer to poke the tiny holes in the skin. However, you aren't supposed to push through the skin and into the meat. I found this difficult to accomplish given the amount of pressure required to penetrate the tough pigskin. My solution was to use an oversized safety pin to do the job. I took a large, 2.5" safety pin and bent the prong to a 90 degree angle. I then gripped the pin by the body, placing my thumb on the end directly above the prong. From there, it's fairly easy to puncture the skin by focusing your force on your thumb. In addition, using the short safety pin gives you more control than something longer like a skewer or knife, and once you puncture the skin, your knuckles will stop you from penetrating deeper into the meat. I've attached a few pictures of what I did; I purchased the safety pins through Amazon. So anyway, it's a great, fun-to-read, cookbook. And I know I'll be returning to the pork belly technique for the rest of my life. FYI - If you are planning a trip to Korea, or are just really interested in Korean food, I found the following resources useful during my trip: - For traditional Korean cooking, I have enjoyed "Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking." If you doubt her quest for authenticity, she suggests fermenting kimchi in jars that are placed on top of an electric blanket. This mimics the conditions of the heated floors that are found in traditional Korean homes. Despite this attention to detail, her recipes are simple and straightforward. - "Eating Korea" by Graham Holiday. Having lived in Korea in the mid-90's, the journalist/author returns and travels across Korea to document traditional foods and dying culinary techniques. - Smart phone app: "Korean Food Guide Book" published by the Korea Foundation. It has some basic information about ingredients, methods, and tastes, but I found the alphabetical listing of ingredients to be invaluable. The press of a button translates an ingredient name from English to Korean characters (Hunminjeongeum) to the Romanized word/pronunciation. Many times I didn't know exactly what I was eating, so I'd hand the server my iPhone, they'd select the word from the Hunminjeongeum list, and then I'd translate their selection into English. It was also great because I could then take a snapshot of the screen for future reference. - Final tip if you travel to Korea: drink as much makgeolli as you can! Pronounce it like "broccoli" without the "r" and they'll understand you well enough. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Korean recipes for everyone *by C***L on May 28, 2025* Interesting read that takes you into the world of Korean food. Recipes may seem intimidating but worth the time. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ excellent Korean cookbook *by E***N on March 13, 2025* This is one of my go to cookbooks. I am Korean, so I use these to interpret my mother’s home cooking recipes, which uses measurements like, “just enough until right,” type of instructions. I also find that since I use this one a lot, I jot down additional notes and recipes all over the margins, and now this has become half my own recipes and half the author’s recipes. Thank you for this kind or cookbook to help all of us interpret our Korean mom’s recipes. Excellent. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.at/products/23837768-koreatown-a-cookbook](https://www.desertcart.at/products/23837768-koreatown-a-cookbook) --- *Product available on Desertcart Austria* *Store origin: AT* *Last updated: 2026-07-09*