Deuki Hong: New Yorkers are great in that
if they hate something, they'll let you know
that it's not good.
But in that same respect, if they love something,
they will raise you, and praise you, and support
you to no ends.
So, we're here at KLC Food, I'm here to buy
a whole fish, particularly salmon, probably
Atlantic salmon, something whole.
I like to buy my fish whole, just because
it's most cost effective and I get to play
around with all the different parts, the bones,
the collar, the head, maybe make some soup.
What I cook well is what I eat; well, what
I can comfortably eat.
So, that's why I cook Korean food.
It's not some like national pride or some
obligation that I feel like I have.
I caught my fish.
Now, going back to the restaurant, go break
it down, and we'll make some good stuff.
My parent's generation when they came, for
them it was survival.
I miss my food back at home, so I'm going
to set up a restaurant.
It was a very "for us, by us" mentality, and
now people are really just going into, "What
is Korean food?
What is Korean cuisine?
How do you guys eat it?
Because I want to eat it the way you guys
eat it."
I started working here when I was like 15.
So, all my restaurant experience, all my kitchen
experience, all the chef's that I've worked
for are from New York.
Yes, it's super competitive, super dog eat
dog, but you also have that fraternity and
that brotherhood.
We kind of look out for each other, so that's
the one thing that I love about New York.
You don't lead a kitchen full of guys that
are rough around the edges.
There has to be a level of leadership, and
you don't gain that by "being nice."
We're here to serve people.
Everything that I do, the way I kind of lead
this kitchen, there's a basis of how Jesus
would do it.
For me, my faith is everything.
I mean, none of this matters without, you
know, God.
Korean food flavor, it's very simple; it's
very familiar, too.
Sweet, savory, spice, it's a different type
of spice, it's a different type of sweet.
You know, we stay away from using straight
sugar.
So we'll try to extract natural sweetness
from fruits, honey, and that savory just comes
from that deep flavor of fermentation that
you might not be getting from kind of other
cuisines.
To get a plate of kimchi out to that table
probably took about two months, for that kimchi
to appear on your table.
That's what I want just people to know, that
this food takes time, and it takes ... Time
really is an ingredient in our cuisine.
