Judy Joo, the host of the Cooking Channel's "Korean Food Made Simple" and former Iron Chef UK judge, has taken her work in the kitchen to the pages of her first cookbook.
The book, also titled "Korean Food Made Simple," is intended to help those who find Korean cuisine difficult or intimidating. “I think with any ethnic cuisine, the hardest hurdle is just finding the ingredients, but once you get over that, it really is pretty easy,” Joo told NBC News.
The cookbook features over 130 recipes that combine modern and traditional flavors while keeping the ingredients accessible to everyday cooks. Recipes include a pork and kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae) that take less than 30 minutes to cook and a recipe for properly marinating beef short ribs (galbi jjim).
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Joo fell in love with Korean cuisine thanks to her mother, who taught her how to cook growing up, as well as from her travels to Korea. The recipes in “Korean Food Made Simple,” are written to emulate Joo's passion for Korean culture as well as display the colors of the different ingredients in a traditional Korean meal.
“What I really wanted to do was make Korean food beautiful," Joo said. "I think every single cuisine has its beauty, and Korean food should be beautiful, and it is beautiful...and it deserves to be showcased.”
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