Welcome to Seoul Kitchen! This blog is a cooking diary of one newbie Seoulite originally from Toronto, Canada, who currently lives with her Mom and her knife in the Kitchen. These pages will capture cooking notes from the home Kitchen, delicious food finds and anecdotes on family recipes. As well, she will feature the traditional recipes and techniques learned at the Institute of Traditional Korean Food where she’s taking classes on traditional tteok (rice cakes), fermented jang (pastes and soy sauce), and alcohol (makgeolli and soju).
It was by unexpected life events that took her to Seoul in the fall of 2009, her birth city where she spent the first 7 years of her life. While in Seoul, she’s made it a mission to soak up as much Korean food, cooking and culture. She is an avid food enthusiast since growing up in Canada watching public TV cooking shows (and Yan Can Cook!), baking goodies for bake sales at elementary school and doing a short 1yr stint at a downtown Toronto kitchen for high school co-op. This all lead to producing a Food Network/cookbook junkie later in life, and her choosing a foodie-like profession as a Product Developer for the past 6 years. She’s excited to be taken back to her Seoul roots and by the delicious discoveries that awaits.
She hopes the blog will keep her inspired to explore new ideas, ingredients and recipes and take advantage of the amazingly fresh and seasonal foods available in Korea. And perhaps, just maybe, the blog will also inspire other Seoulites to try something new from the market, whether in a new recipe or in an old favorite.
SEOULFUL COOKING 
February 16, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Alice this is fabulous!! and the pictures look great. I’ll be sure to pass it around to everyone I know!!!
February 21, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Hi Alice…great work! seems that you are making the best out of your time in Korea, good for you! You finally get done what we one day wanted to do, remember? rotten apple?
we have a korean market close by, we’ll do our best to keep up!
March 23, 2010 at 8:00 pm
This is fantastic, Alice! Great job!
April 6, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Great job Alice, I’m learning a lot about Korean food culture
May 6, 2010 at 1:58 am
Hi Alice, awesome blog! I’m so used to Toronto Korean food (you know, the ubiquitous pork bone soup, soon tofu, chigae, seafood pancakes…etc), that it’s great to see the other stories of Korean cuisine, esp. through your gorgeous photos. Looking forward to more entries.
October 11, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Hi Alice! I just happened upon your blog while trying to look up the ingredients of Korean rice cake. Would you be able to tell me if all rice cake in Korea is gluten free? I am teaching English in Korea right now and am looking for more gluten free snacks. Thanks!
October 13, 2010 at 9:36 am
Hello Kristen! Yes Korean rice cakes are gluten-free. They are primarily made from crushed rice grains made into a powder, water, salt for seasoning and sugar for sweetness. Then there are hundreds of variations rice cake with added beans, traditional vegetables like sweet potato, pumpkin, suk, etc. which are formed into different shapes and sizes. If you get traditional Korean rice cake in a shop that only makes rice cakes that is freshly made, you should be fine.
If you’re very sensitive to gluten however, just be aware of potential cross contamination risk if the shop also makes wheat-based products (there are a few traditional wheat-based sweet snacks). Hope this helps! Alice
January 16, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Hey Alice,
My name is Sohl, and I’m super lucky to have stumbled onto your blog. I’m in Korea right now, trying to learn as much about Korean cuisine and the dining culture as much as I can. I’m originally from Los Angeles, went to a culinary school there, now I’m in Korea just trying to work at different restaurants and taking a couple cooking classes here and there. I would love to talk to you in the future about all your opinions on Korean food. My plan right now is to soak up as much information as I can in Seoul, then maybe start a restaurant back home in LA. Thanks!