Customer Reviews

Flavors of Korea: Delicious Vegetarian Cuisine (Healthy World Cuisine)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I grew up eating Korean food at least half the time. When I became a vegetarian, one of the sacrifices I made was most of my Korean food. Although I was able to make some dishes (like the spinach and bean sprout salads), it was difficult to feel like I was getting a complete meal.

This cookbook allowed me to enjoy the flavors of my childhood. It's so nice to be able to flip through a Korean cookbook and know that I can cook everything in it (that's a luxury I think only vegetarians will understand!). All of the recipes I've tried so far are delicious- two thumbs way up!

I grew up eating my mom's wonderful Korean food, and while it is certainly healthier than the usual American fare, going completely vegetarian while eating Korean seemed difficult. Although Korean side dishes and standards like bibimbop and daenjang chige are obvious vegetarian treats, many other dishes incorporate beef, pork, or chicken, although they are not the main focus of the meal. And then, of course, the wonderful barbecued meats were certainly hard to give up after becoming vegetarian.

But the wonderful thing about this cookbook is that it has narrowed down those selections of Korean foods that are truly vegetarian, without trying to replace or substitute for the original meat dishes. There are also a lot of wonderful vegan options, and calorie and nutritional information are included at the bottom of the recipe.

Most of the recipes are quick and easy. All in all, this book is the perfect addition to a vegetarian's library. It will nicely supplement other ethnic cookbooks and contains many meals which are easily prepared in a short amount of time. Highly recommended.

Flavors of Korea is a gem of a cookbook! As a vegetarian going through a bit of "menu bordom", I wanted to try Korean food to spice up my palette. I could not have made a better choice and for such a great price. Everything is explained in the book from buying Korean spices, to wonderful menus. The author has done a good job of keeping things simple for those of us who might be a bit intimidated.

I've failed to cook from this cookbook. There are two recipes in this book for stir-frys that appear to differ only in the number of green peppers and amount of oil you use. The range between recipes in this cookbook is smaller than the range of accidental alterations I make to any recipe the first time I cook it. A recipe for bibimbap from another cookbook has me quick pickle the cucumbers and diakon, boil the carrots and the spinach, and fry the zucchini, which results in a large range of tastes mixing in the bibimbap. In this cookbook, you're told to simply fry everything. There is a fair amount of attention to presentation, and no attention to possible substitutions (although that is often covered by a set of recipes). I felt that I got all the advice available just by reading over this cookbook and not even cooking from it. I've tried to cook from it, but I just go to other cookbooks I've got or wing it. This cookbook doesn't even distinguish between red chili paste and red chili sauce (the paste is a simpler ingredient that needs to be mixed with fresh garlic, rice vinegar, sesame oil and water before using).

I really want to know a larger variety of vegetarian possibilities in Korean cooking, but this cookbook doesn't oblige. Only purchase this if you have no experience whatsoever in stir frys or any type of Asian cooking and you want to very rigidly follow a small set of similar recipes that include detailed presentation information.

I love Korean food but I had found it very difficult to find a good Vegetarian Korean cookbook until I stumbled onto this terrific book. I found fun and easy to prepare vegetarian and many vegan recipes in this very unique book.

This is a good VEGETARIAN cookbook for those who want to cook meatless Korean food, but in my opinion, it is missing many delicious and meatless Korean dishes. The receipes are simple and easy (and they offer substitutes for certain Korean foods that might be hard to buy in the US.) Overall, good stuff, but you might want to also get a general Korean cookbook for more variety. You can always leave out the meat...

Not having a lot of time to prepare meals, I find that the receipes in this book are very easy to prepare and tasty. I use the book all the time. Great content and great for vegetarians that like to try other foods from other countries.

Being someone that loves Korean food. It is refreshing to see that creating a lot of the foods that I enjoy can be created so easily. Even if yours friends are not vegetarians, they will enjoy the recipes that can be either the main course or a side dish. This is by far the best Korean Vegetarian book that I have seen.

I have only made a few recipes from the book, but I can safely say, it will be a book I use often. The recipes in here more or less makes small portions which is great for someone living alone, or couples. If not, you will find yourself making five or six different recipes for one dinner for four. Even though making so many different things might seem like it is too much, they are VERY simple and easy to make.

What I really like about the cookbook is that it is almost vegan. Probably 80% of the recipes don't have any dairy or eggs, and clearly no meat. If someone is a vegan, I would suggest this book since a large portion works with you diet.

My only complaint is that the author, I think, tries to keep the spice levels lower. It serves handy for my boyfriend who sweats over small doses of spices, but annoying for me since I like things super hot. As one one reviewer pointed out, some of the food kind-of lacks some of the punch I know from some Korean food I have eaten in the past. And I also wish that the recipes and ingredients would include Hangul spellings of ingredients. I felt a little silly looking for some of the ingredients in the store.

I bought this cookbook before heading off to Korea to teach English, knowing in advance that Korean food is meat-centered. It quickly became apparent that this cookbook is written for those in the U.S.--the measurements are American, and the text is only in English. I see many things in the Korean markets that aren't mentioned in the book, probably because they aren't readily available in the U.S.

Because the range of seasonings Korean cooks use is limited, many of the recipes are similar. To my taste, they are often bland. Still, there are some real winners in the book and it has helped me develop an expansive repertoire. I've successfully made kimchi and veggie dumplings using this book.

A minor pet peeve: the book is full of typos and funky layout errors, as if it were rushed into print. Overall, if you're looking to introduce the delicious taste of Korean food into your diet, this is a great resource.