Step 1

KOREAN SEASONING SOY SAUCE: I use this in EVERYTHING from soups to stir fries to meat marinades. It’s not as salty as traditional soy sauce, so I’m pretty liberal with it, and it adds a nice subtle sweetness to dishes, too.

Step 2

GOCHUJANG: I love adding gochujang to anything that needs that characteristic sweet, spicy, and savory balance. Some of my favorites include tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cakes) and dakdoritang (spicy braised chicken). I always let people know that it looks scarier than it tastes!

Step 3

DOENJANG: I think doenjang jjigae is one of Korean cuisine’s most underrated soups and you can’t make it without doenjang! It’s a quick go-to weeknight meal since I can load it up with veggies like zucchini, potatoes, and mushrooms plus whatever protein I’m in the mood for.

Step 4

GOCHUGARU: A little bit of this goes a long way in terms of spice, so I always start pretty conservatively when adding this to a dish. Because it really just adds heat (without the saltiness or smokiness like gochujang does), it’s easy to adjust amounts to suit your spice level without hurting the integrity of the flavor.

Step 5

DASHIDA POWDER: This seasoning is one of my favorite Korean dish hacks because it adds such a nice umami with minimal effort. Whether I’m using it as a soup base according to the package’s instructions or just sprinkling some on a dish in lieu of salt, it makes my cooking taste 10 times better.

Step 6

GARLIC PRESS: When a cuisine uses as much garlic as Korean cooking does, mincing each clove is a huge hassle! This has always been a staple in my household and requires minimal garlic handling with bare hands to your fingers aren’t stinky.

Step 7

PROPANE BURNER: It might seem extra, but in my opinion a gas burner is a Korean kitchen staple! Communal cooking and eating is one of my favorite parts of Korean cuisine and these burners make it super easy to have staples like KBBQ or budae jjigae at home (and much more affordably). Additionally, when I want to make something that might have a smell that bothers my roommates, it’s nice to have the option to cook outside.

Step 8

KITCHEN SCISSORS: I’m not sure if other cultures use scissors as versatilely as Koreans do - anything that can be sliced or grabbed with scissors will be. From slicing noodles to make sure they’re easier to eat to handling meat on the grill for KBBQ, keeping sharp kitchen scissors on hand is a must!