Korean

Bibimbap, the Korean mixed rice dish, is a kaleidoscope of flavors and textures. The popular dish has multiple origin stories and, like banchan and kimchi, many variations. Cooks who ordinarily keep namul (seasoned vegetable) banchan in the fridge may add them to a bowl with leftover rice and seasonings like spicy-sweet gochujang and nutty sesame oil, for example. Or, if starting their bibimbap from scratch, some may prep each component separately.

Gochugaru, a mild, fragrant red-pepper powder, bedazzles this quick salmon dinner. As a key ingredient in Korean home cooking, gochugaru proves that some chiles provide not only heat but fruity sweetness as well. Here, that’s especially true once it’s bloomed in maple syrup, vinegar and butter. If you like shiny things, you may find great pleasure in watching this pan sauce transform into a mirrored, crimson glaze. Try to get long center-cut salmon fillets for uniform thickness and even cooking. Their crispy skin tastes wonderful with white rice, which toasts in the rendered salmon fat.

Rice has pride of place at the Korean table, but Koreans have also long embraced the healthful properties of other whole grains like millet, barley, and oats. This combination is fragrant and delicious.

This gently simmered tofu topped with a stir-together sauce is a common banchan. It would also make a great vegetarian main course served with rice. The sauce—speckled with chopped garlic, scallion, sesame seeds, and Korean hot red-pepper flakes—couldn't be simpler or more satisfying. You will want to eat it on everything.

If you’ve ever had a latke lovingly prepared by your mother, grandmother, or any other relative, it may have tasted delicious but chances are it was a ghoulishly gray color. Potatoes begin to turn a grayish brown minutes after peeling. But keep your latkes pure ivory by working them with the onions. Most latkes share a strikingly similar list of ingredients: potatoes, onions, matzo meal, eggs, and salt. This recipe is no different. But here, we use a food processor instead of a box grater to grind the potatoes and onions together.