Get Down with K-Town

Iron Chef Judy Joo left a booming career on Wall Street to pursue her passion for Korean food. As one of just a handful of female Korean-American chefs in a male dominated industry, Judy talks about her stint as Executive Chef at the Playboy Club and her career as a successful food media personality, global restauranteur and author of "Korean Food Made Simple" and "Judy Joo's Korean Soul Food." 

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Chef Esther Choi guides you through the audio recipe of her "death row" meal, the classic Korean comfort food, Kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew). This simple, quick, and delicious meal contains 3 basic ingredients and is centered around the Korean cuisine staple of kimchi (fermented cabbage). This meal is featured in Episode 4: "King of K-Town with Bobby Kwak" when Chef Esther surprises her guest with his favorite Korean dish. Listen to the full episode to hear Bobby's reaction and how it compares to the meal that conjures up memories of his mother's home cooking. Try this recipe at home and tag Chef Esther @choibites with your photos and videos.

Kimchi jjigae Ingredients:

• 2 T unsalted butter
• 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
• ½ pound pork or protein of choice (spam, canned tuna, ground meat)
• ¼ onion, chopped
• 1 jar Mŏkbar kimchi, roughly chopped and juice reserved
• 8oz firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2t fish sauce
• 1t sesame oil
• 1t soy sauce
• 2 scallions, roughly chopped
• Nori, thinly sliced

To serve (optional):

• fried egg
• white rice 
• sesame oil
• gim (toasted seaweed) 

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Bobby Kwak is an entrepreneur, club owner, and pioneer of Koreatown in New York City. Bobby and his business partner Joe Ko opened K-Town's iconic Korean nightclub Circle, and its successor Mission, as well as the New York branch of the popular Korean barbecue Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong. Bobby and Esther discuss the Korean nightclub scene, the practice of "booking," or arranged socializing, at nightclubs, as well as keeping Korean hospitality culture alive in K-Town.

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Esthetician, entrepreneur, and Korean skin care trendsetter Charlotte Cho discusses her personal journey with her skin, the K-Beauty business, and how that led her to create Soko Glam and her own product line “Then I Met You.” Charlotte demystifies the Korean skincare routine and skin first lifestyle that has spread around the globe, revolutionizing the way people care for their skin.

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Singer, songwriter, and theatrically trained actress Jennifer Chung always knew she wanted a career in the arts. After going viral on YouTube, she landed an opportunity to go to Korea to pursue her artistic career, but things took a different direction when once again social media got her noticed. Jennifer talks with Esther about how she found her way to Atlanta's K-Town, why she chose to focus on pop/R&B music instead of K-Pop, and her life as a working artist.

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Roy Choi talks about his illustrious career as an innovative chef and restaurateur, which began in the kitchen of his parents’ restaurant in multicultural Los Angeles and took him on a journey of discovery, reconnecting him to his Korean roots, and leading him back to the kitchen to create his own unique style that is distinctly representative of the Korean-American West Coast experience.

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Through cooking and conversation, chef Esther Choi dives deep into the rich world of Korean-American culture. Esther invites guests to open up as she cooks their favorite Korean dishes, drawing on traditional family recipes she’s refined at her restaurants Mŏkbar and Ms. Yoo. Esther and her guest dive into topics ranging from food to family, from K-pop to K-dramas, and from fashion to sexuality, plastic surgery, adoption and more – all to explore what being Korean in America means today.

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