A Tour of Our Garden and Traditional Korean Ferments
Hello. Today, I thought I’d take you on a short tour of our home garden and some of the traditional ferments we make here.
As soon as you enter the property, you’ll notice the garden beds by the entrance. Here we grow herbs commonly used in Korean cooking — perilla leaves, chilli peppers, and a leafy green called a-uk (mallow), among others.
If you walk a little further down the stairs, you’ll come across the heart of our restaurant’s identity — our house-made Korean jang. These traditional condiments are fermented and aged for a minimum of two years before we begin using them in our kitchen. The jars you see here have been aging for around three years and are the batches currently used in our cooking. They include gochujang (fermented chilli paste), doenjang (soybean paste), and ganjang (soy sauce), the fundamental building blocks of Korean cuisine.
Following the path along the side of the house towards the backyard, you’ll see more garden beds. Here we grow tomatoes, basil, dill, and coriander — ingredients we often use for ourselves at home when cooking dishes like steak, pasta, or salads.
In the backyard, you’ll see even more rows of onggi, traditional Korean earthenware jars. The ferments in these jars were made last year and are still maturing, so they are not yet being used in the kitchen. By around this time next year, they should be ready for our guests to taste.
Under the shaded balcony, you’ll find another essential part of Korean cooking — jeotgal, or salted seafood. We use these often in the restaurant, particularly when making kimchi in the Jeolla-do style, where fermented seafood plays an important role in building deep flavour.
Finally, in this large barrel, persimmon vinegar is slowly aging. Soon we will filter it to separate the liquid, then continue aging it before using it in dishes and drinks for our guests.
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