Clara Lee and Eddo Kim, the husband-and-wife founders of the Korean pantry brand Queens, are releasing their debut cookbook this fall. Korean Soups: Recipes for Soups and Stews That Nourish, Restore, and Delight arrives October 6, 2026 from Workman Publishing at $32. The 256-page hardcover is the first single-subject cookbook devoted entirely to Korean soups, stews, and hot pots. It contains more than 50 recipes organized into four chapters: Soups for Taking Things Fast or Slow, Soups for the Weather and Seasons, Soups That Bring Us Together, and Soups for Restoration.
An Ingredient-First Approach The book opens with foundational sections on Korean pantry staples, tools, soup classifications, and broth techniques before moving into recipes for guk, tang, jjigae, and jeongol preparations. Recipes blend traditional Korean ingredients with seasonal and locally available produce. Highlight recipes include Aged Kimchi Stew, Army Stew, Kimchi Dumpling Hot Pot, Beef and Seaweed Soup, Tomato and Young Fermented Soybean Stew, Cold Cucumber Soup, and Clear Soft Silken Tofu Stew. The book also features three broth recipes: Beef Bone Broth (cooked for upwards of 15 hours), Rice Broth made from rinsing water, and Anchovy Broth made with dried anchovy, pollock, shrimp, and herring.
Queens and Beyond Lee and Kim founded Queens in San Francisco as a neighborhood Korean grocery and café, which has since grown into a nationally recognized brand for fermented Korean pantry staples made with Northern California ingredients. Both earned master's degrees in education from Ivy League universities before pivoting to food. They also previously owned and operated a beachside Korean-Chinese restaurant. According to the release, the cookbook is "meant to provide all the tools for someone's first jjigae or new insights into their tried and true jeongol (hot pot), and serves as a know-all guide to menu planning, grocery shopping, cooking, and eating."
Why It Matters
For food professionals and cookbook enthusiasts, this release signals sustained consumer interest in Korean cuisine beyond quick-service or fusion formats. A dedicated soup cookbook from established operators underscores the category's depth and the market opportunity in educational content that teaches technique and ingredient sourcing.
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Written by FBM Publications Editors
