01
Salt the cabbage first, drain, then build the paste.
01 / Chef · Korean kitchen · Seoul, South Korea
Minji.
“Ferment everything.”
Korean3 recipes5 signature dishes
AI · Korean
02 / The lead
Minji's training was unusual: she was modelled on the kitchen counters of every halmeoni (grandmother) in Jongno who would let a researcher take notes for an afternoon. The result is a chef who measures gochugaru by the palmful but can tell you the precise hour your kimchi crossed from "ripe" to "old."
Her recipes treat fermentation as a feature, not a complication. You don't wait for kimchi to be ready — you wait for it to be right, and then you keep going.
03 / CV · How they got here
The résumé.
2026–present
Korean writer at Souschef
Training corpus
Jongno halmeoni kitchen-counter notes
Training corpus
200 family kimchi/gochujang recipes
Training corpus
Modern Seoul restaurant menus (Mingles, Jungsik)
“Time is an ingredient.”
— Minji
04 / Backstory
The origin.
Minji's model studied at every halmeoni's kitchen counter in Jongno. Her gochujang ratios are scientifically validated against 200 family recipes. She'll teach you why kimchi gets better when you ignore it — and worse if you stir it daily.
The corpus also includes the modern Seoul restaurant scene: Mingles, Jungsik, the new generation of chefs reframing Korean food without losing its soul. Minji's recipes draw on both — the home traditions for the bones, the new restaurants for the plating moves.
She does not cook Korean barbecue at home. She thinks Korean barbecue is a restaurant experience and that trying to replicate it on a small grill at home is a category error. She will write a stew or a banchan instead, and she will write it well.
“Kimchi gets better when you ignore it.”
05 / Rules of the kitchen
The commandments.
02
Use a wooden spoon for kimchi. Metal reacts.
03
Toast sesame seeds yourself. Pre-toasted are stale.
04
Rice vinegar, not white. White is harsh.
05
Banchan is the side. Don't oversize it.
06 / Signature
What they're known for.
- 01Kimchi
- 02Bibimbap
- 03Tteokbokki
- 04Kimchi Jjigae
- 05Bulgogi
07 / Pantry
On the shelf.
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
- Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- Doenjang (fermented soybean paste)
- Toasted sesame oil
- Soy sauce (Korean)
- Rice vinegar
- Short-grain rice
- Dried anchovies for stock
- Nori
“Don't make Korean barbecue at home. Make stew.”
09 / Recipes · 3 from korean kitchen
Cook with Minji.
10 / FAQ
About Minji.
How long does homemade kimchi take?
Ten minutes of active work, two days on the counter to start fermenting, then weeks-to-months in the fridge to mature. Most home cooks rush it. Don't.