Experiencing Great Food and Travel Together!
“One must eat great food to make great food.” – David Kim
My recipes represent who I am. They have changed and have (hopefully) improved over the years just as I have. However, I have tried to keep two factors constant throughout this evolution: taste and simplicity. Every recipe I create or adopt as my own must be delicious (to me), and relatively easy to make. I hope you will find my recipes to be just that.
Cooking is a very personal skill and art form developed over time. It is also an expression of love. Often times, if you ask someone of their favorite food or food memory, they will tell you that the best (random dish) they ever ate was made by their grandmother. Grandmothers embody those two key elements: time and love. They have been cooking for decades and love to see their loved ones enjoy the food they prepared.
The one common theme you will find in my recipes, other than taste and simplicity, is… nothing. I love eating and cooking all types of food and it shows in my recipes. My recipes also reflect my family’s history of what I call random restaurateurism. My family, including myself, have owned and operated restaurants of many types and cuisine. From fast food to fine dining. Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Burgers, BBQ, Subs, and more. Some of my recipes are adapted from growing up in those restaurants. They may also bounce from traditional Korean dishes to modern French to Texas barbecue to something totally random. Recently, I have been trying to eat healthier and consume less processed foods so my recipes have evolved towards a healthier trend while maintaining yumminess.
A common ‘ingredient’ you will find in recipes is “salt and pepper to taste.” My recipes call for nearly everything to taste. I constantly taste my food while cooking and adjust ingredients to my taste. My recipes may contain a certain set of ingredients, but treat it as a guide rather than a rule so you can make them your own. Are you one of the 4-14% of the population that cilantro tastes like soap? Then replace the cilantro in my recipe with parsley or even omit it altogether. Are you dairy-free? Then replace the butter in my recipe with coconut oil. My final thought on my recipes is this: Don’t be afraid to try new things because you think you may not like it or because you haven’t liked a certain the way it was prepared for you before. I’ve known several people that hate cooked salmon, but have grown to absolutely LOVE raw salmon dishes. As with all things in life, try something new three times before deciding if you like or dislike it.
This Mediterranean Cucumber Salad recipe creates a refreshing salad that is great for a warm summer or to accompany gyros or other Mediterranean meat dishes. I have found myself making this dish more often now that I have a spiralizer – a great kitchen tool …
This Caprese Salad recipe is about as simple, but delicious, as it gets in Italian cuisine. There are a variety of ways to prepare and plate, but the simplest method using whole slices and leaves seems to be the best for me. I sometimes substitute …
When dining at a robata grill, one of my favorite dishes is the Shishito Pepper robata. I love the smokiness with a slight crunch and green pepperiness without too much heat that I get from grilled shishito peppers. My Spicy Shishito Peppers recipe adds some …
