Korean Temple Cooking by Hoo Nam Seelmann

There's a kind of cooking that doesn't start with a recipe — it starts with the season, the land, and what's ready to be used. Korean Temple Cooking is a window into that world.

The book follows Jeongkwan Snim, the Korean Buddhist nun dubbed "the Philosopher Chef" by the New York Times and the subject of the opening episode of Netflix's Chef's Table Season 3. Through interviews, essays, and recipes, author Hoo Nam Seelmann chronicles life at a Korean Buddhist temple — the rhythms of the seasons, the philosophy behind the food, and the quiet discipline of cooking with intention.

Recipes are organized by season, with dedicated sections on rice, noodles, tofu, kimchi, and house-made seasonings. Essays offer a rare look at temple life, the history and branches of Korean Buddhism, temple architecture, and traditional attire. It's the kind of book you read slowly and return to often.

What's inside:

• Seasonal recipes rooted in Korean Buddhist temple tradition
• Dedicated sections on rice, noodles, tofu, kimchi, and seasonings
• Interviews with and recipes from Jeongkwan Snim
• Essays on temple life, Korean Buddhism, and cooking with the land
• As featured in the Netflix documentary series The Philosopher's Kitchen

A beautiful, substantive book — equally at home on a coffee table or open on a kitchen counter.