Sweet and Spicy Baby Back Ribs from Seoul Food Korean Cookbook

This week my blog is celebrating its 7th year. SEVEN YEARS! Or 140 years in blogging years. I have seen bloggers come and go and have seen the food blogging sphere evolve from one form into another. I have, er, kimchi MOM has been plodding along, slow and steady! But instead of waxing poetic about my “illustrious” food blogging career, I wanted to celebrate my blogiversary with a review and giveaway of a new cookbook, Seoul Food Korean Cookbook by Naomi Imatome-Yun.

This year marks a banner year for Korean cookbooks with 3 cookbook that I know of. The cookbook is lesser known of the three cookbooks, but not one to be ignored. The author is Naomi Imatome-Yun and she is also the Korean food editor for About.com and this is her second cookbook. This cookbook includes both traditional and Korean inspired recipes. The book is divided into two parts. The first section of the first part introduces the reader to a very general overview of the Korean food culture. The second section gives an overview of essential cookware, pantry staples and fresh ingredients.

The second part includes 135 recipes and is divided into the following sections – basic stocks, sauces, and marinades; kimchi and pickles; appetizers and anju (bar snacks); side dishes; soups and stews; rice and noodles; fish and seafood; poultry and meat; fusion fare; and drinks and sweet treats. Imatome-Yun covers the classic favorites like bulgogi, cabbage kimchi, ddukboki, kimbap etc., but also introduces us to a fair number of fusion recipes.This cookbook is for the adventurous home cook who has some familiarity with Korean food. I only say this because there are only a handful of photos. The lack of photos does not bother me, but if you’re not familiar with Korean food, you may have some difficulty picturing the final dish. The directions are generally easy to follow, but a couple of times I also found myself making assumptions on very, very minor things. But in terms of flavor, her recipes do not miss the mark and is very much how I like my Korean food to taste! She seasons her food simply like my mom and I so to me it tastes very familiar. The ingredient lists are simple and accessible. The author includes a list of sources for Korean ingredients in the appendix. This cookbook feels like a workbook where its home is on the kitchen counter, stained and scrawled with notes. And for the price, it is a great value!

The Sweet and Spicy Baby Back Ribs are super easy to make, doesn’t require a lot of ingredients, and is truly finger lickin’ good! I literally had ribs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can try the recipe yourself below! I paired it simply with rice and her recipe for gaji namul or seasoned eggplant. You can purchase the cookbook here or enter for a chance to win a copy below!

Print Recipe

Sweet and Spicy Baby Back Ribs from Seoul Food Korean Cookbook #Blogiversary #Giveaway

These ribs are falling-off- the-bone tender, and although they require some patience since you have to marinate and cook them for a long time, they require very little hands-on time. Because you can make a lot of these at once, this is a good party recipe and is always a hit.

Cook Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Korean Inspired

Servings: 6 -8

Author: Amy Kim | kimchi MOM

Ingredients

• ½ cup gochujang
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 pounds baby back pork ribs cut into individual ribs

Instructions

• In a small bowl, whisk together the gochujang, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and pepper until well combined.
• In a large bowl, toss the ribs with half of the marinade. Marinate, in the refrigerator, for at least 5 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Transfer the ribs to a baking dish, discarding the marinade they were in.
• Bake the ribs on the middle rack, covered with foil, until meat is tender, about 1 hour. Raise the oven temperature to 450°F and roast the ribs, basting occasionally with the reserved half of the marinade, for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until the ribs are nicely browned.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

SUBSTITUTION TIP: Baby back ribs are popular because they’re succulent and so easy to eat, but if you try this with spare ribs or country ribs, you’ll get a meatier, and still outstanding result.

This recipe is printed courtesy of the publisher, Rockridge Press.

Many thanks to the publisher, Rockridge Press, who is sponsoring one copy of this wonderful cookbook for a giveaway, open to US residents only. Please leave a comment on the post – What is your favorite Korean dish? – to enter. No purchase necessary. The winner will be notified by email. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours, an alternate winner will be selected. Good luck!
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Disclaimer: The author of this review received a copy of the cookbook, Seoul Food Korean Cookbook. No other compensation was received from the publisher.