Journal
Three pieces a week
Guides teach you how to make kimchi. We follow what happens after — how it changes week by week, which one belongs to which season, and why two jars four hours apart are not the same food.
IngredientsENGochugaru: coarse, fine, and what actually changes
The same chilli, ground two ways, behaves like two different ingredients. One colours the brine and one clouds it.
· 6 min read
TechniqueENSalt, and why the first step decides everything after it
Every fault people blame on fermentation — limp leaves, watery brine, kimchi that sours in days — was usually decided during the salting.
· 7 min read
FermentingENWhy your kimchi stopped bubbling, and whether that's a problem
Bubbles are a stage, not a health check. Here is what their arrival and departure actually tell you.
· 6 min read
RegionsENWhy Jeolla baechu tastes nothing like Seoul's
Four hours apart on the same peninsula, and the jars are not the same food. The reason is climate, not preference.
· 6 min read
CookingENSour kimchi is not spoiled kimchi. Four things to do with it
The jar at the back of the fridge is not a failure. It is the ingredient half of Korean home cooking is built on.
· 5 min read
SeasonsENWhat to make in July, when cabbage is out of season
Summer napa is loose, watery and expensive. Korean kitchens answer by changing the vegetable, not the technique.
· 5 min read