A primer for Chicagoans on cooking ethnic at home–what you’ll need, where to get it, and what to do with that 64-ounce jar of kimchi once you get it home.
The grocery stores can be baffling too, the aisles packed with myriad brands of dried seaweed, rice, frozen fish, snacks, and dumplings indistinguishable from one another to anyone who doesn’t read hangul. But even a blind run-through can be rewarding if you’re a little adventurous. You might start with the panchan bar, for instance. Panchan are those little free bowls of cabbage and radish kimchi, dried anchovies, seaweed, potatoes, steamed egg, acorn jelly, and beans that Korean restaurants set out before your order arrives, and the larger groceries sell them by the pound in greater variety than you’re likely to ever get with your bi bim bop.
Both CFC and H Mart are overwhelming. When I want to avoid the chaos and just grab some basics I go to New Chicago Kimchee (3648 W. Lawrence, 773-583-4442), a tiny storefront that makes its own kimchi, doenjang, gochujang, steamed buns, pork dumplings, and bindaetteok, a crispy latke-like snack made from ground soybeans.
2 tbs gochujang, more to taste
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Fresh sesame leaves (also known as perilla leaves)
For zakwas for this project, I wound up going to the smaller Kurowski’s Sausage (2978 N. Milwaukee, 773-645-1692). And for sausage–well, both the above stores have great sausage, but I like to get mine at the even smaller Andy’s Deli (1721 W. Division, 773-394-3376), whose kielbasa mysliwska (hunter’s sausage) and kielbasa jalowcowa (juniper berry sausage) go particularly well in zurek.
