Korean Made Easy: Simple Recipes to Make from Morning to Midnight

An easy guide to Korean cooking, by mix and matching seven essential ingredients, along with some easy-to-find additions.

Korean ingredients such as kimchi, gochujang and sesame oil are ubiquitous in kitchens worldwide and continuing to grow in popularity. But Korean food has a reputation of being longwinded and full of difficult-to-source ingredients.

Korean Made Easy dispels this myth, and shows how only seven basic store-cupboard essentials are required to recreate the flavors that make up the cuisine: Gochujang, Doenjang, Ganjang (soy sauce), Rice, Sesame oil, Fish sauce, Gochugaru, which, along with just a few additional ingredients that can be found in supermarkets, make up all the dishes in the book. Seji also highlights ingredient swaps throughout.

Chapters include Kimchi, Small dishes/banchan, Rice & noodles, Soups & stews, Noodles & rice, Korean BBQ, Seoul-style street food, Korean tapas & twists, Seji’s sauce remix and Sweet & Soju. Approximately 80 recipes will include classics such as Bibimbap, Japchae and Beef Bulgogi, more contemporary dishes such as Gochujang Sausage Spaghetti, 3 ways to update your Ramyeon (Korean packet noodles) and 3 ways to make Korean Fried Chicken, as well as delicious soju-based cocktails, which include a Watermelon Soju Punch.

Seji Hong is Bombom’s founder, chief creator and menu developer. She hosted supper clubs in Wimbledon in 2019 before launching Bombom sauces in November 2021. Born in Seoul, Seji grew up in a modern Seoul family that loved cooking and eating together. Dishes and memories such as Seji’s grandmother’s traditional food cooked with seasonal ingredients following the lunar calendar and her mum’s modern fusion Seoul food inspired Seji to develop a unique menu, incorporating three generations of Korean cooking, that also suit a western palate. Bombom sauces have scooped two stars in the highly regarded Guild of Fine Foods Great Taste Awards 2022 and have also featured in publications such as Vogue UK, BBC Good Food Magazine and Korean Air in-flight magazine.