Snacks that add style to everyday life, and moments of elegance shared with alcohol.
"Hyojae's Side Dishes" is a book that contains Hyojae's long-time favorite side dish recipes and the stories behind them.
From a refined side dish made with seasonal ingredients, to a warm meal for guests, to a simple dish that even a single diners can enjoy.
This book goes beyond simple recipes and contains the philosophy of Anju as an attitude toward treating and interacting with people.
Hyojae views alcohol and snacks not as mere tastes, but as a ‘flavor of life.’
"Hyojae Anju" conveys to readers the true meaning of "sharing a taste" through simple yet profound stories of side dishes that connect nature, people, and daily life.

Here are my favorite dishes that sometimes make great snacks and other times make a hearty meal.
Compared to the extraordinary culinary skills of a successful Michelin-starred restaurant, my mountain village side dish might seem infinitely shabby.
Nevertheless, when the 'well-to-do' people who frequent such places come to my house and taste my food, I always contact them when I return to Seoul.
It's really amazing.
Those who readily buy million won worth of food for a single meal, what on earth could possibly be missing that makes them so impressed by the side dishes prepared by me, a non-chef, in this mountain village?
In fact, this is humility.
I know.
Why are my side dishes, which seem to be made hastily, so delicious?
From now on, I will introduce some of my mountain village side dishes, as if following a cooking instructor.
However, I am neither a chef nor a cooking teacher, so there are no precise measurements or complicated processes.
--- From "Chapter 1: Side Dishes Become Meals and Introduction"

The Art of Hyogjae's Tricks: Vegetable Salad
Inviting guests and impressing them is the owner's joy and goal.
Especially, I visit famous restaurants as if they were my home.
When the people who call themselves Seoul come,
I make a bigger impression in my own way.
No, to be honest, it's discouraging.
ha ha ha.
--- From Chapter 1

A good drinking party isn't complete with alcohol alone.
The glass that holds the alcohol, the side dishes that are placed together, and the props like the parasite that adds laughter to the table only make it shine.
To me, the parasites at the drinking party are not flashy decorations.
It could be a small glass, an old jar, or a piece of cloth as indifferent as a handkerchief.
Those little things enhance the taste of the drink and keep the conversation going.
People always ask how to make alcohol taste better.
I'm not saying I have any great secrets.
Just sit down with your heart in front of the alcohol, and have a little parasite next to you.
That's all.
The drinking buddies I love are, after all, traditional liquors given to us by our land.
The flavors of the mountains and fields, the sea and the rice paddies are fully captured in this drink, so each sip brings back memories of a day in this mountain village.
Sometimes the food brings out the flavor of the alcohol, and sometimes the alcohol brings out the story of the food.
And in the meantime, the parasites silently guard the glasses and brighten up the place.
Now I'm going to take out the alcohol and parasites I treasure one by one.
It will be a welcome greeting to those who know the taste, and an unexpected delight to those trying it for the first time.
--- From "Chapter 2 A Glass of Alcohol, Introduction to the Gisaeng Standing Next to You"

My drinking buddy for solo drinking, Gisaeng
Drinking alone is the most private feast for me.
There is no need to worry about what others think or be mindful of their reactions.
So it is important to put more style and taste that is unique to me.
I always call it 'parasite' in those cases.
Here, the parasites are not people, but props that do not fall into my drinking table.
--- From Chapter 2, Main Text

At some point, Mr. Hyojae's words began to go beyond sentences and quietly become poetry.
Thoughts that come to mind while looking at nature, emotions that suddenly cross my mind while doing household chores.
All those moments became short words, and those words soon became poetry.
This chapter contains poems written by Mr. Hyojae himself.
Words that quietly permeate nature, people, and the fabric of everyday life.
Each piece contains life, seasons, and the heart within it.
Now, we meet another face of Hyojae's words, which approach silently and soak our hearts for a long time, in poetry.
--- From “Chapter 3: Hyojae’s Words Become Poetry”

Just as side dishes show the style of life,
Alcohol completes the look.
The drinks I have enjoyed are not just a luxury item.
It was expressed in poetry that captured moments of life.
The taste changes depending on the season, the location, and the person sitting next to you.
The memories and elegance contained in a glass come alive in my poetry.
My poetry about alcohol that sings of memories rather than taste, and elegance rather than technique.
Those stories are the last chapter of everyday life.
This is another poetry collection that fills you with warmth.

--- From "Chapter 3, Introduction to Hyojae's Poetry on Alcohol"