Koreaworld

Matt Rodbard in an excerpt from his and Deuki Hong's new book Koreaworld, published by Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed ©2024.

New York City chef Kate Telfeyan was born in Korea and adopted in 1982 by parents living in rural Rhode Island, where she was raised. After college and stints in book publishing and in public relations for a catering company she began, Telfeyan moved to New York to pursue “either food or book publishing or both.” She worked at Simon & Schuster before switching to full-time work first at a catering company, in public relations, and eventually on the line, serving as head chef at Mission Chinese Food and later opening her own restaurant, Porcelain, in Ridgewood, Queens, which was very well reviewed and operated until the summer of 2023.

What was food like growing up? “My mom was a great cook. And an instinctual cook. Nothing was very fancy, but it was always very good and very satisfying,” she says. And what about Korean food? “Nope,” she laughs. “The first time I had Korean food was when I was a senior in high school, and my mom took me to a place that had opened in Providence. Neither of us had any idea what we were doing. I remember thinking, ‘It’s fine.’ [Laughs.] My first introduction to Asian food, like a lot of people, was suburban Chinese food.”

As Telfeyan’s experience with cooking Korean food grows, it was fun to watch the menu at Porcelain change over time. Korean-inspired dishes landed with frequency, included a kimchi-brined fried chicken and gyeranjjim (steamed egg), with the restaurant’s version served with chile granola and scallion oil. The granola is the chef’s homage to the salty snacks of her youth (Chex Mix and Gardetto’s were favorites). The mixture features roasted redskin peanuts tossed in dry spices and chile oil, then combined with fried shallots, fried garlic, and toasted sesame seeds.

Telfeyan also served braised oxtails that were loosely inspired by the bubbling sokkoritang (oxtail soup), presenting the oxtails with a small amount of the braising liquid and fermented radish stem and with three individual condiment ramekins—one containing gochugaru and salt, one of chonggak (ponytail radish) kimchi, and one with shredded ginger and soy sauce. The future is bright for the young cook, and Telfeyan’s approach represents that of a swelling number of Korean adoptee chefs exploring their roots within the American restaurant scene. And her story is certainly not singular.

🌱 JOIN THE DIRTYVERSE

• Join our Discord and talk Dirt-y with us. It’s free to join! Paid subscribers have access to all channels.

• Follow @dirtyverse on Twitter for the latest news and Spotify for monthly curated playlists.

• Shop for some in-demand Dirt merch.  🍄