Traditional Korean Pottery
February 12, 2021 5:24 PM   Subscribe

Via Kottke, two videos of Korean master potters, one making bowls, the other 옹기 (onggi) — specifically, clay pots in which kimchi (김치) is stored for fermentation.

(And by the way, for kimchi lovers, or those who would like to learn more, Korean Bapsang is a great site for recipes, including this roundup of 15 Easy Kimchi Recipes).
posted by kathrynm (7 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Loved those videos - the skill involved - and the physicality.
posted by leslies at 6:21 PM on February 12, 2021


I've been making my own cabbage kimchi for the last couple of years. Not in beautiful onggi, I'm afraid, just simple glass jars. It's remarkably easy and doesn't require any particularly hard-to-find-in-the-US ingredients. Except maybe Korean ground pepper, readily available on Amazon, it has a particular texture. But honestly any ground dried red chile will do. I like extra fish sauce too but I've never quite brought myself to bringing in actual raw oysters or anchovy as some recipes I've seen suggest. Don't trust my ingredient sources or fermentation technique quite that much.

The real revelation for me making kimchi is as it ferments it goes through a stage after 2-3 days I've heard called "sweet kimchi", I don't know what the Korean word for it is. But in that moment it's already fermented some, so it has the good funky flavors you want. But all the sugar hasn't fermented yet and there's not very much lactic acid yet, so the final flavor is more mildly sweet than sour. Still quite fresh and crunchy, yet also noticeably fermented. It's a lovely and unexpected surprise reward for making your own on its way to getting stronger and more sour.

I mostly make my own kimchi but I've been buying more at the store since I discovered the Wildbrine brand at my local grocery store in California. It's really very good. Note they have no fish flavors of any sort in it; if you prefer them (and I sure do), add a glug or two to the jar, shake it up, and give it a day to incorporate.

I've got the ingredients for doenjang jjigae in my fridge, probably for dinner tomorrow. So good. It's like if miso soup got much more robust and you made a delicious stew in it. There's a zillion varieties with different ingredients; the key thing is the doenjang broth.

Are there any really good fancy / elevated Korean restaurants in the US? There must be, but I'm looking for something more than simple hot pot and barbeque. I've been thinking once travel is possible again I'd head down to LA and eat my way through the best Korean I can find there.
posted by Nelson at 6:41 PM on February 12, 2021 [1 favorite]


Ondols (subfloor heating) are neat tech. I kind of wonder how the west lost the similar idea of Roman hypocausts.
posted by BrotherCaine at 7:38 PM on February 12, 2021


Just off the top of my head re: fancy Korean restaurants, Jungsik is Michelin-starred. I’ve had the dessert menu and I would love to eat there again. I can think of a few places here in Chicago but I don’t know LA well enough to suggest anything like that there.

I’ve been getting a ton of Napa cabbage in my farm boxes lately, so I’ve made a few batches of kimchi in the last few months. So I’m enjoying this post! I would like one of these pots; I just use jars, too.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 8:08 PM on February 12, 2021 [1 favorite]


Oh, this has just reminded me of one of my favorite experiences during a holiday where we stopped in the Gyeongju Folk Craft Village. I would have loved to spend longer at the Silla pottery house, watching him work and explain the craft of finding the right clay to correctly replicate the Silla style and admire his kiln (built into the side of the hill!). I hadn't planned on buying too many souvenirs that trip since I was flying and didn't want to lug a lot of stuff home, but I spent 200,000 won (which was a lot for me at the time!) on a full tea set because it was so lovely. It's still one of my favorite souvenirs just in general, even if I mildly regretted at the time buying something so bulky and fragile at the start of a longer holiday.

As for kimchi, I am lazy and just get the Hmart in-house kimchi because it tastes good enough for me, except these days I am limiting my in-store shopping outings so I haven't had kimchi for awhile. I did just go to Costo this week (for the quarterly pantry refresh!) and saw our store was now selling a commercial brand of kimchi, so I've picked it up out of curiosity and the longing for kimchi fried rice. Last year I used up a little too fermented kimchi (aka it was in the back of the fridge and I forgot about it) to make jeon for Pancake Day, so now I'm tempted to do the same thing this Tuesday.
posted by paisley sheep at 11:12 PM on February 12, 2021


Oyster kimchi is a divisive one even for Korean. I think the style is from a province in North Korea. As you can imagine kimchi style and recipes varies a lot depending on the region (ingredient) and sometimes by household ;) My favorite memory related o kimchi is all those uber minimal bibimbap I used to make when there's nothing in the frige(just sesemi oil, rice, and old kimchi) and an even older memory of bathing in kimchi tub when I was very little. - kimchi tub is a gigantic rubber receptacle that is more like a vessel than a cooking utensil, most family used to have one for kimchi making season; and you can't use it for anything else because you can't get the kimchi smell out of it. So you use it for making kinchi or in our home kid bath tub :)
posted by poppypetalmask at 1:56 AM on February 14, 2021 [1 favorite]


no love for the goryeo celadon, it seems?
posted by i used to be someone else at 4:45 PM on February 15, 2021


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