Photo by Eugene Yi
Through her cookbooks, Cecilia Lee has been tirelessly spreading her love of Korean food for more than a decade.
by EUGENE YI
“Have you ever seen this much chili powder in your life?” asked the fortuitously named Jennie Cook, host of a kimchi-making workshop on an overcast Los Angeles Sunday at her catering kitchen.
“And we’re using the small jars!” said Cecilia Lee, cookbook author, Korean food evangelist and the after- noon’s teacher. Each student would leave the class with as many 32-ounce jars of kimchi they could make. The nine students (seven women, two men) smiled politely and readied their kitchenware.
“We’re going to start with mincing garlic. That’s basically how I grew up. Mincemincemince,” she said, laughing.
[ad#336]
Lee, 41, graduated from the University of California, San Diego, studying art and biochemistry (she had been on the pre-med path). She ultimately chose aprons over scrubs, and looked for writing gigs to allow a flexible schedule. She noticed the Los Angeles Times’ food section hadn’t covered kimchi, and before long, she was the paper’s go-to writer for Korean food.
Lee also writes Frommer’s South Korea guidebook. Her editor recommended that she try writing cookbooks. She’s since published three, the most recent one about Mexican cuisine.
“[People] look at me and say, ‘You’re not Latina,” she said. “I never claimed I was Latina. I just said I could make salsa.” Her parents bought a Mexican grocery store when she was a teenager, and Lee often asked customers about ingredients unfamiliar to her, like nopales (prickly pear cactus).
Her background puts her in a unique position to assess recent Ko-Mex trends like the Kogi Truck. “I should have thought of that first,” she said, without a hint of rue.
Cook passed out a second set of jars. “Make more kimchi. I’ll take it!” she said, before taking a step back. “Oh my god, it’s hurting my eyes,” she said, wincing at the onion mist.
[ad#336]
“You can’t have weak eyeballs and make Korean food!” Lee said, laughing.
“Who’s ready for a wipe?” asked Cook, striding around, passing out paper towels to wipe the effluvium of sesame oil, chili powder and minced garlic from the sides of the completed jars. Students’ names were written on the tops, and one student asked how long they should wait before eating it. A few days, Lee recommended.
“We made kimchi!” she added. “Wasn’t it easy?”
—
KIMCHI STUFFING (serves 15 or more)
Thanksgiving is over but we felt this recipe for Lee’s famous kimchi stuffing would be appropriate throughout the winter holidays. —Ed.
Every Thanksgiving our family makes two types of stuffing—one traditional and one with kimchi. At the end of the meal, we never have any leftovers of the kimchi stuffing. —Cecilia Lee
Ingredients:
2 12-oz. packages seasoned stuffing
2 medium onions, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup walnuts, peanuts or pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup traditional kimchi, chopped and squeezed (juice reserved)
1 14-oz. can chicken broth 1/2cup orange or pineapple juice 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the stuffing, onions, celery, garlic, nuts, oregano, thyme and ground pepper in a large bowl. Add kimchi, juice, butter and broth, and toss. The stuffing should be moistened but not soggy. Pour the stuffing into a large baking pan and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 5 to 10 minutes until the stuffing has browned on top.
This story was brought to you by 
This article was published in the December 2011 issue of KoreAm. Subscribe today!
[ad#336]
