Brighten your bookshelf and tabletop with 'Salad'

Food & Travel

Published: 20 May. 2021, 18:17 Updated: 21 May. 2021, 09:35

Brighten your bookshelf and tabletop with 'Salad'

The new book "Salad" by chef Kim Eun-hee of The Green Table details the very basics of making a salad at home. [TASTY COOKBOOK]

In the flood of meal kits to help people cut down on cooking time, chef Kim Eun-hee of restaurant The Green Table offers a different suggestion. In her new book "Salad," she recommends taking a little more time to prepare your food at home.

The chef who regularly visits farmers’ markets in Seoul and communicates actively with local farmers, has spent about two years working on the book. "Salad" lists details on how to mix and match different ingredients to make a new offering every day, even with the same ingredients in your refrigerator.

Chef Kim Eun-hee, the author of "Salad" [TASTY COOKBOOK]

“What I wanted to share is the structure that makes salad tasty,” said Kim during a press conference earlier this month at her restaurant of 12 years in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul’s Gangnam District.

The cover of "Salad" [TASTY COOKBOOK]

“When you know what needs to be mixed first to get the taste of dressing right, and how to wash your vegetables to keep them from becoming soggy too fast, you then freely mix and match what you have that day to make your own salad that’s very similar to what you get at any fine dining restaurant.”

While her book only has a handful of recipes, she spent time to share numerous recipes for very basic dressings that can be versatile depending on what you have ready fresh from the market or in the fridge, such as vinaigrettes, mayonnaise and pesto. She also details good ratios of mixed greens, depending on their texture and type, to other ingredients such as root vegetables, mushrooms and herbs. She also has recommendations for edible flowers to buy from the market to decorate your salad plate.

“Making a tasty salad is easy and simple when you know what to put first and last,” said Kim. “Especially with the pandemic that keeps some people from going outside, making the tabletop greener with salad might be a good way to refresh one’s daily routine.”

The book is available at major online and offline bookstores from this week.

BY LEE SUN-MIN [summerlee@joongang.co.kr]