What I learnt from a year of cooking Korean food with my mother

Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our food and drink newsletter for free Get our food and drink newsletter for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. When Jean took a bite of my baking tray bibimbap, she said: “I’m never doing it the other way again.” On the last day, the morning before I drove back home, I noticed that my mother had left on my bed a tray of gyeran bap, or egg rice, with kimchi and a mug of burdock-root tea. open image in gallery Gochujang, a fundamental ingredients in Korean cooking, is made from red chilli pepper flakes, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt “You were here a long time,” she said. Baking tray bibimbap open image in gallery This version uses beef, but use oyster mushrooms and load up on veggies for a meat-free version Makes: 4 servings Time: 35 minutes Ingredients 170g oyster mushrooms, torn into bite-size pieces 1 medium sweet potato, scrubbed and thinly sliced into half-moons 1 small red onion, thinly sliced crosswise into half-moons 200g coarsely chopped Tuscan or curly kale 6 tbsp olive oil Salt and black pepper 800g cooked medium-grain white rice, preferably cold leftovers 4 large eggs 4 tsp toasted sesame oil, plus more to taste, for serving 4 tsp gochujang, plus more to taste, for serving Kimchi, for serving Method 1. Kimchi jjigae with ribs open image in gallery You can find most of the ingredients online or in Asian supermarkets Makes: 4 servings Time: 45 minutes Ingredients 1 rack baby back ribs, sliced into individual ribs 1 piece ginger, scrubbed and cut into 1.3cm slices 1 tbsp unsalted butter 1 tbsp gochugaru, plus more to taste 4 large garlic cloves, minced 300g coarsely chopped ripe kimchi, plus any accumulated juices Salt 1 medium yellow onion, halved and cut into 0.5cm slices 1 tbsp fish sauce, plus more to taste 1 tbsp maesil cheong, plus more to taste 34g watercress, leaves and tender stems, for serving Cooked white rice, for serving Method 1.