Chae: Korean Slow Food For A Better Life by Jung Eun Chae

‘My story is a slow and quiet one. It’s about tradition and change, connection and absence, and a refusal to let go of impossible dreams.’

Chae is more than a cookbook – it’s an essential guide to slow Korean food and fermentation from breakout culinary star Jung Eun Chae.

In 2019, Chae caused a sensation when she opened her tiny Brunswick apartment to six diners per night, four times a week, with a waiting list that exploded to more than 8000 people. She was named Gourmet Traveller’s best new talent for 2021, and one of The Age Good Food Guide’s chefs of the year, thanks to her medicinal style of traditional South Korean cooking. Chae has since moved her eponymous six-seat restaurant to rural Cockatoo, where she has earned two hats in the Good Food Guide for two consecutive years.

While the intimate dining setup is perfect for her cooking style, Chae is always looking for ways to share her food with a wider audience. This is what her led to writing this cookbook, which follows the seasons of a calendar year: summer, autumn, winter and spring. Each season forms its own chapter with approximately 15–20 recipes and foundations, pairing traditional Korean techniques with native Australian produce.

Chae makes everything from scratch in her home kitchen, from dubu (tofu) to gochujang (red chilli paste), ganjang (soy sauce) to kimchi. The meticulous, minimal-waste recipes and techniques are inspired by her mother, who was born in the South Jeolla province of South Korea.

Forget the usual Korean cookbooks of fried chicken, barbecue and bibimbap. This is a radical, restorative journey into the heart of an ancient cuisine.

About the author

Jung Eun Chae caused a sensation when she opened her tiny Brunswick apartment to six diners per night, four times a week, with a waiting list that exploded to more than 8000 people. She was named Gourmet Traveller’s best new talent for 2021, and one of The Age Good Food Guide’s chefs of the year, thanks to her medicinal style of traditional South Korean cooking using from-scratch ferments and handmade sauces, enzymes, vinegars and kombuchas. CHAE was awarded two hats in the Good Food Guide for two consecutive years, in 2023 and 2024. She has since moved to semi-rural Cockatoo on the outskirts of Melbourne with husband Yoora and their labrador, where she continues to operate her six-seat restaurant.

Hardie Grant Books | 30 July 2024 | Hardback | 256pp | RRP AU$60.00 NZ$70.00

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