Introduction: How can I become a good cook?

How to easily discover taste

rice
ramen
egg
vegetable
tofu
meat
fish
kimchi
gravy
oil
salt and sugar
soy sauce and soybean paste
Vinegar and mirin

Appendix: Cleaning the Refrigerator

A heartfelt cooking essay from Chef Choi Kang-rok, a YouTuber with 200,000 subscribers.
From food ingredients like eggs, vegetables, tofu, meat, and fish in the refrigerator
Choi Kang-rok's unique 100% utilization method for seasonings such as soy sauce, salt, and sugar

Chef Kang-Rok Choi, the winner of MasterChef Korea 2 and currently a cooking YouTuber with 200,000 subscribers, has published his cooking essay, “Kang-Rok Choi’s Cooking Notes.”
This book, published thanks to the support of readers, is a revised edition of Why Is This Delicious, published in 2015.
In order to capture the image of Choi Kang-rok, who has been constantly researching ingredients and flavors while emphasizing the basics for a long time, we have removed the unnecessary details from the previous book and reborn it as a neat and sophisticated book.
As the title, “Choi Kang-rok’s Cooking Notes,” suggests, this book is not simply a recipe book or introduction to a good restaurant, but mainly contains explanations of “ingredients and flavors.”
This book is especially meaningful to Choi Kang-rok because he compiled the notes he had taken over the years to provide helpful information to those who are new to cooking, drawing on his own experience.


When I was a beginner and couldn't get the taste right even after following the recipe, what I was really curious about were the situations that weren't shown in the pictures and descriptions.
If you keep thinking about 'Why did they do this?' and 'Why does this food taste good?', what you end up exploring is the 'true nature of the taste' of that food.
Mastering salt, knowing the seasons, enduring the tedious process, utilizing tools, and harnessing the savory flavors of broth.
These are the things he emphasizes to discover taste.


It guides readers through friendly explanations to help them bring out the flavors of the ingredients, such as how many minutes to boil an egg, how to make vegetables crispy, how to grill meat deliciously, and how to properly enjoy sashimi.
We also did not omit an explanation of the basic seasonings, such as soy sauce, salt, and sugar, that are essential to finding this flavor.
In addition, it contains Choi Kang-rok's own delicate and special recipes that allow you to fully experience the original flavor of each ingredient.
If you actually try this recipe, you'll see how genuine he is about discovering flavors.
If you pick up the little cooking tips that are naturally passed on along the way, you will soon be able to get one step closer to establishing your own principles for cooking.