Q: I am having difficulty using the index in Growing Up In A Korean Kitchen. How can I easily find specific recipes and/or ingredients in English or in romanized Korean? Sometimes I know the Korean name and sometimes the English name.

A: That is a very good question. I had the same problem. Click here to find a new Index my husband and I, in frustration, developed for my book. I think you will find it very useful. (The Index also provides the names of ingredients and recipes in hangul, the Korean alphabet, but you cannot, yet, search using hangul).

Q: You use walnuts in many of your recipes. I don’t think walnuts are a Korean ingredient. Do you mean chestnuts?

A: Both walnuts and chestnuts are indigenous to Korea! And pine nuts, too! Of course, walnuts are available almost everywhere today. Unfortunately, in old Korea, walnuts were mostly enjoyed in upper class and Royal kitchens, as they were rather expensive. We had walnut trees in our family orchard. Our family used walnuts in almost every dish imaginable, including sauces, marinades, salads (especially cucumber salad), candied dessert trays, and, of course, in kimchi. Korean ancient wisdom says: “walnuts nourishes your brain and make you smart.” By the way, one of the prettiest and “yummiest” deserts is “dried persimmon slices studded with walnuts in the center.”