Category: Modern Korean

Korean Sweet Potato Hashbrowns, Better Than the Diner Kind
If you’ve had bam goguma 밤고구마 (Korean chestnut sweet potato), you know they’re not average spuds. Creamy, nutty, naturally sweet, they’re the standard Korean winter snack, usually eaten roasted straight off a street cart. Turns out they’re even better turned into hashbrowns.
This dish is warm, filling, and easy enough for a weekday breakfast or a lazy brunch. A few ingredients, one skillet, and roasted bam goguma turns into golden, caramelized hashbrowns.
What Makes Korean Sweet Potatoes So Special?
They’re genuinely good for you, not just tasty. Bam goguma are high in fiber, so they keep you full, and their low glycemic index means steady energy instead of a sugar crash. They’re also rich in Vitamin A, good for skin and eyes, and loaded with antioxidants that help fight inflammation. Healthy eating that doesn’t feel like a compromise.
How to Enjoy These Sweet Potato Hashbrowns
Good on its own, but it also works well folded into other things. Stuff it into a tortilla for breakfast tacos, pair it with grilled chicken for dinner, or eat it alongside spicy kimchi for a proper Korean twist.
Why This Recipe Works
It’s fast, forgiving, and flexible enough to fit breakfast, brunch, or a quick weeknight dinner. It’s also a smart way to use up leftover roasted bam goguma if you’ve got some sitting around.
Grab the sweet potatoes, get the skillet hot, and make something that’s actually good for you and doesn’t taste like it.
Prepare the Sweet Potatoes:
Peel and dice the bam goguma into small, even cubes. I don’t peel too thoroughly, I like the texture the skin adds, and it’s got more nutrients and flavor anyway.
Cook the Sweet Potatoes:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced sweet potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes until they start to soften. Cover the pan to speed things up.
Add Vegetables:
Stir in the diced onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook another 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften and the sweet potatoes brown lightly.
Season the Hashbrowns:
Sprinkle with smoked paprika, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Stir well so the spices coat everything evenly.
Add Greens (Optional):
Toss in spinach or kale and cook for 1-2 minutes until wilted. I used Pohang spinach here, and more of it than the recipe technically calls for.
Serve:
Eat it as-is, or top with a fried egg, fresh herbs, or a dollop of salsa. I turned mine into breakfast tacos.
Also good alongside Black Sesame and Chestnut Scones.
Tips:
Any sweet potato works here, I just had bam goguma on hand.
Using pre-cooked sweet potatoes? Just brown them before adding the garlic, onion, and peppers.
Swap in your favorite chile for the bell pepper if you want more heat, or stir in a bit of gochujang for a Korean twist.
For extra crunch, roast the diced sweet potatoes at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes before they go in the skillet.
December 1, 2024
Sunday Pork Roast Bossam
I’d been craving an old-fashioned Sunday Roast. I didn’t care what meat. EJ saw that some giant cuts of pork were on sale. She bought two for W10,000. She said, though, that she wanted Bossam. I figured we could compromise. If David Chang can do a roast for Bossam, so can I .
The night before, I dissolved salt and sugar in some warm water in a large zipper back. I put the pork in there and let it brine in the fridge overnight. Around 10:30 the next morning, I removed it from the brine and let it rest and dry a bit on an inverted stainless steel mixing bowl in the sink. I cleaned some root veggies. I put the pork on the raw meat cutting board and scored it in a diamond pattern. Jian helped me season both sides liberally with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. I cut up some carrots and an onion. I let Jian use the knife to cut a carrot–a very supervised cut. She helps me cover the bottom of a foil-lined pan with the veggies and throw some more seasoning on them. I rolled the roast up to ensure that each side was of even thickness and put it in a 200 C oven for 20 minutes. I then cut the heat down to 150 C and let it roast for two hours.
http://youtu.be/7_H_WHQchnw
For the condiments, I washed some lettuce and put together what we had around the house. I got some MooSsam (pickled radishes dyed green with wasabi), sliced some fresh garlic, spooned out some sliced jalapenos, and even found a use for the leftover giant caperberries from the Game of Thrones pop-up restaurant.
I also made a quick salad with some of the lettuce with some thinly sliced red onions and minari (a type of water dropwort). The dressing was a vinaigrette of yuja cha, thyme honey, Dijon mustard, Balsamic vinegar, and EV olive oil. I topped the salad with leftover wine-stewed prunes from the pop-up.
I rested the pork and sliced it as thin as I could. The last touch was a dollop of Ssamjang from the local grocery store. I just wanted the green tub stuff.
CONCLUSION: Worked. The classic salt-and-pepper roast taste works with the Ssamjang and condiments in a lettuce wrap. I also got out some homemade applesauce for the pork. That worked too.

July 1, 2013
Easy Kimchi Deviled Quail Eggs
There are some things that are cheap in Korea that are considered delicacies in other parts of the world. One of those is quail eggs. People don’t think anything of them in Korea. You can get them raw next to the chicken eggs. But even better, you can get them already cooked and peeled in the refrigerator section. That makes things much easier when making this recipe.
Normally, I would have garnished them with something like gochugaru or chiffonade sesame leaves. But the baby was also eating these. She can handle a little bit of spice but not much. These were gone in fifteen minutes.
February 4, 2012
Tex-Mex Bibimbap
Korean food purists walk away.
One evening last week I took over dinner prep and thought I’d make some chicken burritos. Got everything ready and then took out the tortillas. They’d grown a bit of mold. Each one. So I was stuck with the ingredients I had put together. Well, why not replace one starch with another? So I got a metal bowl, put in a few scoops of rice, and topped it with fajita chicken and onions, lettuce, shredded Monterey Jack, and salsa. Stirred it up and didn’t expect it to taste any good.
It was damn good! The cheese brought it together. Melted a bit in the hot rice and chicken. Again, this is proof that you don’t need to make bibimbap a big production. It’s a way to get rid of leftovers.
January 25, 2012
Experiment: Korean Petit Fours
Trying to get into baking. I have an oven–something that is not too common in Korean households. So I should take advantage of it. I made a successful Coconut Rum Raisin Pound Cake a few weeks ago. Then I tried my hand at a Coffee Angel Food Cake, which ended up in the trash. Then I got cocky and thought I could make Petit Fours.
I hadn’t had Petit Fours since I was a kid, sneaking them out of my grandparents’ refrigerator. They’re delicate cakes filled with jam and/or cream covered in chocolate, bon-bon size. I thought I’d try to make some simple ones with Korean flavors.
I started with the Hot Milk Sponge Cake recipe from Joy of Cooking.
I sliced off the top and then sliced the cake in half.
Warmed up a little Yuja Cha. You knew I was going to do this, did you? We love Yuja Cha at ZenKimchi.
Spread the Yuja Cha thinly over the bottom half.
Placed the other half on top.
Then I got my favorite bittersweet chocolate and started melting it in a stainless steel bowl over boiling water.
Added 5-6 Tablespoons of butter.
Threw in a few tablespoons of Bokbunja Raspberry Liqueur and turned off the heat.
I cut the cakes into cubes, quickly dipped the bottoms in the chocolate and set them on a Silpat.
I think there’s a lot I can learn in the delicacy department.
I then covered the rest of them with chocolate and chilled them.
Didn’t turn out too bad, despite appearances. The chocolate was still very gooey, so next time I’ll put in less butter. The Yuja Cha gives them a Christmas-y flavor. We ate these with our morning coffee for the next few days.
Any other interesting baking ideas?

November 11, 2011
Soy-Doenjang Steak Marinade
I took a bite before it occurred to me to take a picture.
Let me indulge again and praise High Street Market for its existence. They’re not paying me to say any of this (though I wouldn’t turn it down), but I’ve been finding amazing stuff there. The damaged label wine bin is my new toy chest. Their cheeses are plentiful and affordable. And right now they’re having a special on Wagyu ribeye steaks (2 for W26,000). That may seem expensive to some for a steak, but in Korea beef is expensive–and these are Wagyu steaks. I got two great quality steaks for around half the price of one mediocre steak at a Korean steak house.
I wanted to treat EJ to a nice steak dinner since we haven’t been able to go out and enjoy steaks since the baby was born. She also needs the iron. I thought I’d play on my steak marinade recipe and introduce some Korean flavors. One of the ingredients that may be difficult to find is Tuna Extract, called “Chamchi Ek” 참치엑 in Korean. You can find it in Japanese and Korean grocery stores. It’s a smoky meaty tasting sauce that is like the Mrs. Dash for Asian food.
After coating them in some roughly pestle-crushed peppercorns, I cooked EJ’s well done and mine medium rare. Added to that my mashed potatoes, some roasted vegetables (onion, green pepper, carrot, garlic, tomato) with herb salt and balsalmic and sherry vinegars splashed on top, some buttered Paris Baguette toast, some really good kimchi and a few shavings of Parmesan-Reggiano (also from High Street Market). The knife went through the steak like butter, and it was one of the top ten best steaks of my life. Doenjang works well with steak.
A fusion marinade blending doenjang with Worcestershire and tuna extract, umami on umami, for a deeply savory grilled steak
July 8, 2011
Smoked DLT
EJ went through a bout of home shopping frenzy this past month. She does that every now and then. I think she has cabin fever taking care of the baby. Amongst her purchases was a big box of Korean style smoked duck.
They’re wonderfully smoked duck slices embedded in fat. We went nuts with it the first weekend. But then EJ got smoked duck overload. I had to take up the slack. I had found that smoked duck makes a great substitute for bacon.
It’s been my breakfast meat of choice lately. But I still have a lot of duck to consume. What’s the next logical step?
A smoky twist on the classic BLT, swapping bacon for crispy smoked duck.
My rule for sandwiches is that the messier they are the better they taste. Supposedly smoked duck is healthier than bacon. Even if it isn’t it makes a great sandwich.
May 1, 2011
Kimchi Golubtsy (Cabbage Rolls)
My first impression of Korean food was its striking similarity to eastern European cuisine. Some dishes reminded me a lot of my grandmother’s goulash. I noticed that gochugaru had sweet aromatic properties similar to Hungarian paprika. Kimchi jjigae tasted a bit like borscht, which is why it’s great with a dollop of sour cream.
It wasn’t until I was in that international cooking contest that I saw a dish by Maria Bakhmurova that made me smack my forehead–Kimchi Golubtsy.
They’re just like my grandmother’s cabbage rolls (which we called “Pigs in a Blanket”) but with kimchi. Yes, I know the LiteralNet will point out that kimchi is pickled cabbage, but you see why I slapped my forehead. Such a simple leap in ingredients. And the tartness in the kimchi reduces the need for a sour vinegary sauce. I wasn’t able to talk to Maria and ask for her recipe, so I had to try to make this on my own. But make sure that credit goes to her for the original idea.
February 24, 2011
Bulgogi Quesadillas with Smoky Gochujang Aioli and Korean Pear Salsa
The plate on the right has already been munched upon
Here’s the recipe that won me 2nd place and W1,000,000. I’m putting measurements here, but you really need to taste and adjust as you go.
Bulgogi Quesadillas with Smoky Gochujang Aioli and Korean Pear Salsa
Bulgogi
INGREDIENTS
600g Beef Chuck, thinly sliced (tell the Korean butcher you want it “bulgogi yong”)
1 Korean pear, peeled and cored
1 White Onion, chopped
1 TBS Fresh Ginger, minced
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Mirim (or Mirin, rice cooking wine)
1/4 cup or more Starch Syrup (Corn Syrup, Rice Syrup)
2 TBS Sesame Oil
1 White Onion, sliced thinly
- Puree the Korean pear, chopped onion in a blender.
- Add the liquid ingredients and taste. It should be fairly sweet. When you think it’s sweet enough, add a little more starch syrup.
- Add the beef and mix thoroughly. Hands work best.
- Marinate for 45 minutes.
- Cook the beef and sliced onions on medium high until much of the liquid has evaporated.
Korean Pear Salsa
INGREDIENTS
1 Korean Pear, peeled, cored and minced
1 Red Onion, minced
3 Korean Chillies or Jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and minced
2 Sesame Leaves, chopped
Juice of 1 Lemon
Pinch of Salt
- Combine all the ingredients and adjust for taste. It should be slightly fruity and acidic with a good bit of heat to back it up.
Smoky Gochujang Aioli
1 Egg Yolk
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
Pinch of Salt
1/2 to 1 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Gochujang
1 TBS Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Starch Syrup
- Put the egg yolk, garlic, lemon juice and salt in a bowl and blend with a beater.
- Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blending. This will take a while. Be patient. I drip it in a bit at a time and let it mix. When it starts getting some firmness and volume, you can increase the stream. The goal is to make it thick like a mayonnaise.
- Gently fold in the gochujang. Taste and adjust.
- Add the smoked paprika. Taste and adjust.
- Add the starch syrup. In the end you want something sweet and smoky with some good spicy bite with some brightness from the lemon and a hint of garlic.
Bulgogi Quesadillas
INGREDIENTS
Tortillas
Bulgogi (recipe above)
Shredded Cheese (mozzarella, pepper jack, cheddar or any good melting cheese)
Smoky Gochujang Aioli (recipe above)
Oil for sauteeing
Korean Pear Salsa (recipe above)
3 Sesame Leaves
- Lay down a tortilla and lightly sprinkle it with cheese.
- Place the bulgogi meat on top of the cheese.
- Add a little smoky gochujang aioli.
- Sprinkle a little more cheese and cover with another tortilla.
- Preheat the oil in a skillet on medium high.
- Cook the quesadilla until golden on both sides and the cheese has melted.
- Cut into quarters or eighths.
- Remove the stems off the sesame leaves and roll them tightly like a cigar. Slice them into thin ribbons (chiffonade).
- Serve with Korean pear salsa and more smoky gochujang aioli on the side. Sprinkle the sesame leaf ribbons on as garnish.
November 26, 2010
Korean Sweet Potato Gnocchi
This is an experiment that’s been brewing in my head for a while. I don’t know what made me think of it, but I wanted to make a dessert gnocchi using Korean sweet potatoes. The reason was I don’t like bahm goguma 밤고구마, the “chestnut” style sweet potatoes. Unlike the orange hobak goguma (pumpkin sweet potatoes), bahm goguma have light starchy dry flesh that I need a gallon of milk to chase down. But because of this starchiness, I felt it was a prime candidate for gnocchi.
Keeping with the journal aspect of this site, this is what I did, and I’ll note what I would do differently next time.
I boiled three sweet potatoes until they were tender. Just poke them with a chopstick to see when they’re ready.
I shocked them in cold water to make the skins come off easier and peeled them. EJ snagged a bite. Again, these are the chestnut variety of sweet potatoes. That’s why they’re whitish.
Now, when I’ve made gnocchi in the past, they’ve turned out heavy and gummy. A few people then suggested that I put the potatoes through a ricer. Well, I don’t have a ricer. So I put a mesh colander over a pot…
And smashed them through with my big wooden pounder. This was the first time I tried anything like this, and it actually worked. I’ll make mashed potatoes this way from now on. It does beef up your arm a bit.
This was the end result. Throw in some butter and cream, and we’d have a nice side dish. But for gnocchi, I put in 2 1/2 cups of cake flour, a pinch of salt and an egg.
I then shaped it into a ball.
And kneaded it a bit. Not too much.
I took a piece and rolled it out like a snake. This is where that pre-school training comes in handy.
Cut them into pieces with a knife. EJ convinced me to make them bigger after this batch.
She helped me by scoring them with a fork. They looked like white beondaeggi.
I cooked them in salted boiling water until they were blurry floating. Then scooped them out.
In another pot I melted a stick of butter with around three tablespoons of dark brown sugar. The taste was heavenly!
I tossed the gnocchi in the butter and sprinkled a little more brown sugar and a few dashes of cinnamon.
How I would do it differently
I could taste the sweet potato in the gnocchi, but it wasn’t immediately evident. Next time, I’ll mix a tablespoon of sugar with the egg and add it, along with some more salt. Maybe garnish the end product with some apples or more sweet potatoes.
Even though I can think of improvements, it turned out pretty darn good. This made a lot of gnocchi. Make sure you have a child around to help you. We brought a bowl downstairs to our neighbor.
Korean Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Sugar Butter
INGREDIENTS
3 Chestnut Sweet Potatoes (Bahm Goguma 밤고구마)
2 1/2 C Cake Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 TBS Sugar
1 Egg
1 stick Butter
3 TBS Dark Brown Sugar
1. Boil the sweet potatoes until tender and then shock them in cold water.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes.
3. Push the sweet potatoes through a strainer or ricer.
4. Add flour and salt and combine.
5. Mix sugar with egg and add to dough. Mix.
6. Roll into a ball.
7. Put on a counter and knead for less than five minutes. Just until it comes together.
8. Take off a piece of dough and roll it into a snake.
9. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
10. Press with a fork. Repeat until the dough is all used up.
11. Put the gnocchi in boiling water until they float. Remove and strain.
12. Melt the butter in a separate pot over low heat with the brown sugar. Whisk until incorporated and bubbling. Turn off the heat.
13. Toss the gnocchi with the butter mixture.
Garnish with sprinklings of brown sugar, cinnamon, sweet potato or apple and serve hot.
November 12, 2010