Lee Youngsook.
Korean cooking authority, mother to the founder, and the most-called number in our circle when something needs to taste right.
Born in Korea. Cooking, always.
Mrs. Lee grew up in a Korean household where home cooking was the way a family expressed love. Her own mother taught her that a Korean meal is not a single dish but a conversation between many: rice, soup, the main, a half-dozen banchan, and the kimchi that ties them together.
She moved to the United States in the 1990s and, for the past three decades, has been quietly cooking for family, community, and friends. She does not run a restaurant. She does not have a cookbook deal. She has a Sunday table.
Through The Korean In Me, she is finally writing her recipes down, for Korean-American families across the United States who want to cook the food they grew up with, and for anyone curious about Korean home cuisine done well.
A Korean meal is a conversation. Don’t make every dish loud. Lee Youngsook
Three ideas that show up everywhere.
Patience. Doenjang takes time. Kimchi takes time. Sundubu jjigae takes ten minutes, but only because the broth was made yesterday. Korean cooking rewards thinking ahead.
Balance. If the main is spicy, the banchan are mild. If the soup is heavy, the rice is plain. The whole table should rest in your stomach as a single feeling.
Generosity. Always cook more banchan than you need. The leftovers are tomorrow’s lunch and the day after’s late-night snack.
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A short letter, once a month: a recipe from Mrs. Lee, a story from the studio, anything we are excited about.