Hi, I’m Hana — Korean-born, London-seasoned, and currently cooking out of my kitchen in Washington.
Have you ever watched a K-drama and found yourself craving the bubbling kimchi jjigae on screen — only to give up because the recipe called for ingredients you couldn’t find? Or stood in front of a wall of gochujang tubs at the Korean market, wondering why there are seven kinds and which one is “the right one”? That gap — between “I want to taste Korea” and “I can actually cook this” — is exactly why K-Food Table exists.

My Story

I was born and raised in Seoul, where the smell of doenjang-guk (soybean paste soup) simmering on the stove meant I was home. Some of my earliest memories are of kimjang day every November — me in oversized rubber gloves, rubbing chili paste into napa cabbage next to my grandmother, sneaking bites of fresh kimchi with warm rice when she wasn’t looking.
Then life took me abroad: first to the U.S., then to London, where I spent several years. I loved it — but I missed Korean food in my bones. So I learned to recreate my grandmother’s cooking in a tiny London flat, making pilgrimages to New Malden (Europe’s largest Koreatown — if you know, you know) whenever the cravings got serious. My proudest achievement from those years? Perfecting stovetop LA galbi in that little flat — and only setting off the smoke alarm, well… more times than I’ll ever admit.
Somewhere along the way, I married an American who used to crack open every window in the house when I brought out the kimchi. Reader, he now asks for it at breakfast.
These days, I live in Washington with my husband, our little boy (who calls gimbap “Korean sushi”), and our dog Dubu — named after tofu, because he is soft, white, and permanently stationed under the kitchen table waiting for things to fall. Feeding a family across two food cultures has turned me into the resident Korean food translator: my friends text me questions like “Is gochujang supposed to be this spicy?” and “Can I use regular cabbage for kimchi?” (Yes, and… it depends.)
This blog is my answer to all those questions — the ones my family asks, and the ones you might be Googling at 11 p.m.

What You’ll Find Here

• Korean Recipes — authentic dishes from my family kitchen, tested and adapted so they actually work in yours
• Ingredients & Substitutions — what each ingredient does, and what to use when you can’t find the real thing
• Where to Buy — exactly where to get Korean ingredients, online and in stores
• Kitchen Tools — the tools genuinely worth your money (and the ones you can safely skip)
• Korean Food Culture — the stories, traditions, and table etiquette behind the food

Why Trust My Kitchen?

• Korean food isn’t a hobby for me — it’s what I grew up eating, and what I cook for my family nearly every day
• Years of cooking abroad taught me which substitutions actually work — and I’ll always tell you honestly when there is no substitute
• Every recipe here is cooked, tested, and photographed in my own kitchen: no studio, no food stylist, just my trusty ttukbaegi (Korean earthenware pot) that has somehow survived three international moves
• I only recommend stores, ingredients, and tools I’ve bought and used myself

A Few Things About Me

🍚 My ultimate comfort food: a bowl of kongnamul-guk (soybean sprout soup) — Koreans consider it the cure for everything, including bad days and hangovers
✂️ The tool my kitchen can’t live without: my Korean kitchen scissors. Yes, scissors. Once you’ve cut meat, scallions, and kimchi with them, there’s no going back
🌶️ Confession: I still can’t finish a pack of buldak ramen, and I’m not even sorry
🐶 Dubu’s favorite Korean dish: anything that accidentally hits the floor

Where to Start

New here? These three posts are the perfect first steps:

1. Korean Pantry Essentials: 10 Ingredients You’ll Use Again and Again
2. Easy Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew) for Beginners
3. Where to Buy Korean Ingredients Online (and How to Read the Labels)

And if you’d like my free Korean Pantry Starter Checklist, join the newsletter below — one email a week, no spam, just good food.
Happy cooking!
— Hana