The gardenia, called chija in Korean, is a plant with beautiful, aromatic white flowers that bears fruit in October. The fruits are a little bitter but have a deep orange color and have been used in Korea as cloth dye and food coloring for a long long time.
As a herbal remedy they are good for fevers, and Koreans often make tea with them. They are also good for arthritis. My grandma used to mix them with flour to create a dough that she would apply to her joints to relieve her arthritis.
My monthly letter to my readers includes my recipe roundup, funny and touching stories, upcoming events, reader comments and photos of what you guys are cooking! It's delivered the first day of every month. Here's the letter from November if you want to see what it's like.
Dear Maangchi, I’ve searched for an opportunity to make Danmuji by myself, because the sold one contains lots of artificial stuff, I actually don’t want to eat, so I was happy to see your recipe. After searching for gardenia I got a bit worried, because I read several articles which say, the whole plant but especially the fruits are toxic! Have you ever heard about that? I mean, even gosari is said to be lightly toxic, when it’s not soaked and boiled several times as you always do in your recipes. Greetings from Germany :)
Which to get? Both are best sellers and either one is a good choice if you want to learn Korean home cooking. my first book has all the recipes for all the essential Korean pastes and sauces, but my second book Maangchi's Big Book of Korean Cooking has more recipes.
My monthly letter to my readers includes my recipe roundup, funny and touching stories, upcoming events, reader comments and photos of what you guys are cooking! It's delivered the first day of every month. Here's the letter from November if you want to see what it's like.
Dear Maangchi,
I’ve searched for an opportunity to make Danmuji by myself, because the sold one contains lots of artificial stuff, I actually don’t want to eat, so I was happy to see your recipe.
After searching for gardenia I got a bit worried, because I read several articles which say, the whole plant but especially the fruits are toxic! Have you ever heard about that? I mean, even gosari is said to be lightly toxic, when it’s not soaked and boiled several times as you always do in your recipes.
Greetings from Germany :)