Into the Fridge 😬🥴
Irene Kim on making bouillabaisse and walking in a snowstorm
Irene Kim 😬🥴
is a stylist who helps men and women worldwide to build functional and versatile wardrobes that they love. She’s the author of the Substack, , as well as a married mom of two (hungry) growing boys. You’ll see. 
What is your fridge philosophy?
We eat almost all our meals at home and rarely eat out other than a Friday night tradition of going to, or ordering from, a Korean restaurant. My husband and I have never been big eating out people. When our kids came along, eating out became more of a hassle rather than a pleasure. Then came COVID.
I’m not a chef by any stretch, and I’m also a busy working mom, so I usually make very simple, easy-to-make meals using fresh produce. As such, our fridge is filled with vegetables, fruits, cheeses, meats, etc…
I usually grocery shop once a week and our fridge is packed on a shopping day. Every time I see the packed fridge, I worry that we won’t be able to eat it all, but inevitably by the end of the week, it’s empty. I can’t believe how much food my family goes through!
Your fridge is always always always stocked with ____.
Eggs
Milk
Skyr/Greek yogurt
Bread (I know it doesn’t have to be in there, but it lasts longer)
Apples (we go through two 4lb bags a week)
Korean soup bases: dried anchovies, dried mushrooms, kelp, dwenjang (Korean miso), gochujang, fermented baby shrimps
Frozen berries: my kids have a smoothie every day after school. It’s just plain yogurt, berries, banana, and I sneak in some kale, flax and chia :)
Top condiment picks, go.
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Gochujang (or samjang)
Vinegar (I’m a fan of all types, e.g. sherry, rice, red wine, apple cider)
Mustard (same, fan of all types)
Fine, I’ll open it up to pantry too. Let’s hear your favorite snacks / pantry staples:
15lb bag of Korean white short grain rice is a constant!
Korean noodles (kalguksu, so myun, dang myun)
Pasta (spaghetti and penne usually)
I make a lot of soups and try to make broth from bones when I can but if not (and it’s usually not!), Korean soup concentrated beef stock and Go Bio! Organic Bouillon Cubes
Canned Mutti tomatoes and jarred passata
Tinned sardines and anchovies
Olive tapenade
Capers (and anything pickled)
Natural peanut and almond butter
Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnut, pine, pumpkin
Dried seaweed, salted/roasted and for soup
Not for me, but my boys love Cheerios and my husband eats Harvest Crunch with his yogurt every morning (just like his dad did!).
Mulino Bianco biscuits
Lindt 85-95% dark chocolate
A meal that’s on heavy rotation these days:
Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese recipe. While I’m making it, I’ll often make a soup at the same time because it uses the same base - onions, carrots, celery, etc…
Also easy to make, but at the other end of the cost-per-plate scale is Julia Child’s bouillabaisse recipe. I mean, just the cost of the saffron alone! I LOVE seafood and, as it turns out, so do my kids.
My kids love ramen which I make when I’m really in a pinch. But if I have 10 extra minutes, I’ll make a homemade version using concentrated soup stock, kalguksu noodles, zucchini, eggs, mushroom and green onion.
Let’s go a little deeper…
What’s the mantra you keep coming back to?
“This is my life right now.”
I’m a strange combination of constantly doing, planning the next thing, and being nostalgic about the past. Basically everything except paying attention to the very moment I’m in.
What products / practices are part of your regular mental wellness habits?
Frankly, taking my antidepressants is probably my most essential daily practice.
In general, being outside and moving my body for at least 1.5 hours a day is so critical to my mental well-being. I’m the most content when I’m able to be consistently outdoors. When I’m able to go beyond the big city and be in nature – whether sea, mountains, desert, forest – it’s so healing for me.
It’s so much easier being outdoors during the warmer months while it takes a lot more discipline to do in the winter. But, I know how important it is for my mental health, so I manage to do it almost everyday - rain or shine or snow.
Actually, one of my most favourite times to walk is mid/end of a heavy snowstorm when no one is on the roads/sidewalks. It’s so peaceful and the snow is so fresh. It’s a small window because a few hours later, that snow will be slush from the cars and foot traffic. Same with walks in the rain, some days it’s quite refreshing. In the winter, the hardest part by far is getting motivated to walk out of the house and face the cold. After about five minutes, the body starts to warm up and it actually feels quite nice.
And your physical?
I walk a ton so I need to change my running shoes regularly. In the winter, I need all my layers – my outer reflective waterproof shell, fleece, pullover and base layer on top and leggings on the bottom. I have four levels of leggings: thin, thicker, thickest. On the coldest of days, i.e. sub -20C(-4F), I’ll wear thermal long johns under my leggings.
I recently started incorporating some resistance training so now I use bands, some hand weights and a weighted vest.
What do you think is the most underrated part of wellness?
That wellness can be about just being (which is hard to do!) without tying it to an end goal of some sort, like “living your best life” or “thriving.”
And overrated?
That “wellness” looks like a certain lifestyle and is associated with certain products.
Picture this: you wake up one morning and feel like shit. What’s your next move:
Mentally go through my schedule and see if I can cancel or shift anything to a later time/date. If so, go back to sleep and stay there until my body tells me it’s ready to get up. If not, get up and get going.
Give us your ride or die wellness products:
I take an Omega 3-6 supplement – I know it’s good for a lot of things, but I love how soft it makes my skin! Another road to soft skin: eating oily fishes like sardines, mackerel, salmon, etc…
Vitamin D is essential, especially in the winter. I also take B12.
One thing you do everyday that makes you the most YOU version of yourself:
WALK. A lot.
Whose taste inspires you?!
On Substack, I’m inspired by the style of
, , , , and — highly recommend to subscribe!Big thank you to
for sharing so much of her (beautifully styled) life with us. You can find more of Irene on Instagram and read her Substack. Her fridge favorites + more are here.Feel free to leave a comment or respond to this email with questions you want asked, people you want featured, or anything else that’s on your mind. Don’t be shy, I love hearing from you.
I love reading these so much, it’s made me realise how nosey I really am! Feeling inspired to do lots of walking now.
I love democratizing an anti dep practice! It’s so important to prioritize mental health 🫶🏼 all around solid interview.