Get homemade kimchi, banchan, and ‘hangover soup’ at this family-owned Bay Ridge shop

By Scott Lynch

Chef Kate Kook and her son WooJae Chung got into the kimchi business almost seven years ago, doing Smorgasburg for a summer back in 2016 under the name Kimchi Kooks. But even back then the family wasn’t new to the fermentation game. When Kook was growing up in Seoul, her grandfather had been making high-end cheongju, or rice wine, at the famous Kumbong Brewery since the 1920s, and the Kooks’ kimchi recipes and techniques were family secrets handed down for generations.

The Kimchi Kooks brand has been a success—among other ventures, they run a popular farmers market stand in both Park Slope and Greenpoint—and last summer Kook and Chung took the next a big step in the business by opening their first permanent brick and mortar shop, complete with a full line of housemade provisions and prepared food, called Kate’s Kitchen.

Kate’s Kitchen is located on Bay Ridge Avenue near Owl’s Head Park, which is perhaps not the first part of town you’d think of when you’re craving some first-rate Korean food, but it works well for Kook, who lives just a couple of blocks away from the shop. And the neighborhood has embraced her cooking. “There isn’t really a Korean community here,” Kook tells Brooklyn Magazine, “but I love living in Bay Ridge and I try to introduce Korean food wherever I go. Sharing this food is very important to me.”

There are multiple ways to enjoy Kate’s Kitchen. Kook tells us that her kimchi has become extra-popular during the pandemic—the fermentation process creates a superfood rich in probiotics, which are thought to boost the immune system—and she sells it here in a number of varieties, from the fiery red or more mellow white cabbage-based classics to “kimchi’d” kale, lotus root, and daikon radish.

There’s also a full array of banchan, the traditional Korean side dishes that are often eaten with rice, and kimchi, to create a full meal. Among your options in this category are eomuk (fish cakes), spicy pork, or dubu (tofu) jorim; chicken and vegetable muchim, which means it’s seasoned and lightly dressed; geran mari, a rolled egg omelet; and the potent geotjeori, which Kook describes as “raw kimchi.”

Grab-and-go banchan (Scott Lynch)

All of the above is sold in grab-and-go fashion, but there are several composed dishes available as well. Every day Kook makes her restorative “Seoul Remedy” soup, which is rich, vegan, and absolutely delicious. “In Korea, it’s a very fun drinking culture,” she says. “So most of the people, they need a hangover soup.”

Seoul remedy “hangover soup;” $7 (Scott Lynch)

If there’s bokkum available, get it. Kook makes a stellar version of this Korean stir-fry dish—I had the zippy “hot-style” pork bokkum—and on weekends you can get a pair of dense and chewy kimchi pancakes, which come studded with either pork or mushrooms.

Pork bokkum, hot-style; $9 (Scott Lynch)

Pork kimchi jeon; $12 for two (Scott Lynch)

The space is pretty utilitarian—it needs to function as a commercial kitchen for Kook’s wholesale operation as well—with just enough decor, including a homey still life of vintage electronics, to give it personality. There’s no seating, but Owl’s Head Park is only a block away, and perfectly suitable for a bench picnic.

Scott Lynch

Kimchi Kooks Kate’s Kitchen is located at 119 Bay Ridge Avenue, just west of Colonial Road, and is currently open on Tuesday through Thursday from 12:00 noon to 7:00 p.m., on Saturday from 11:00 to 7:00, and on Sunday from 11:00 to 3:00. Closed Monday.