If you are adventurous, yet intolerant of spicy food, I have some suggestion for you: Ancho chili. In this recipe, I use Ancho chili powder and avocado to add a small dose of Mexican flavors to the traditional bibimbap. Seemingly small changes can bring fresh excitement to things that are all too familiar to us, helping us discover something new. The Ancho refers to the dried Poblano, a mild chili pepper originating in Mexico. What is unique about the Ancho is its fruity s

When kimchi passes its prime, it turns too sour for us to enjoy it as a side dish. Don't despair. Home-made kimchi never goes wasted. With old kimchi, you can make savory pancakes, soup, or a stir-fried rice. Stir-fried rice that features kimchi is one of the easiest recipes one can try. A simple and popular version only calls for rice, old kimchi, scallions, fried eggs, or meat. I wanted to give this good old recipe a makeover, turning this everyday dish into a gourmet

If you are like me, who grew up eating curry as exotic food, you may have wondered what would be a minimum number of spices needed to create satisfying curry flavors that most curry powders cannot deliver. My answer is three: cumin, coriander, and turmeric. What are these spices? Coriander refers to the seeds of cilantro. Turmeric gives curry its yellow color. Turmeric's main ingredient is curcumin that reduces inflammation. Cumin seeds are rich in iron. All three spice

When you want to cook something special on a whim, try this dish. It is a popular, savory snack in Korea. Koreans enjoy the chewy texture of rice cake and fiery spiciness of this dish "떡볶이". Having a chewy texture, rice cakes can be regarded as somewhat exotic, cooking materials for non-Koreans. Rice cakes represent a big departure from noodles and I cannot think of anything that can replace rice cakes. Like Korean sweet potato noodle dish "잡채", stir-fried rice cakes first

Pad Thai means stir-fried rice noodles cooked in Thai style. Perhaps its multinational origin is behind the popularity of this Bangkok street food, appealing to so many people in the world regardless of their cultural heritage. Pad Thai is one of my favorite dishes to take out. Sadly, it is not easy for me to visit restaurants that serve great Pad Thai. I find its Americanized version sometimes overwhelmingly sweet and sour from a generous use of tomato ketchup and vinegar

This is one of a very few dishes that I never get tired of. Unlike Kimchi, a typical staple dish that never leaves the Korean dinner table, this zucchini stir-fry is so simple to make, yet so versatile that it goes with many main dishes irrespective of your culinary heritage. Perhaps the secret of this versatility resides in the fact that this recipe brings out the sweetness of zucchini and complements it with a subtle spicy kick. This zucchini stir-fry is a traditional Kor

Do you love the heat and the surprisingly complex flavors from many ingredients of bibimbap? If you have ordered bibimbap at a Korean restaurant, fallen in love with it, and looked up its recipes online, most of them may not have been inviting enough for you to try out. It is not your fault. Traditional Korean recipes require that you cook individual ingredients one by one, serving them over rice with a Korean red chili paste called gochujang. It means a major investment in