Roy Choi Shares His Healthier Recipes in New Cookbook
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways
Seoul-born and Los Angeles-raised chef Roy Choi garnered a fast following when he established Korean American taco truck, Kogi, in 2008. The Netflix cooking series host is also owner, co-founder and chef of Tacos Por Vida in L.A. and Best Friend at Park MGM in Las Vegas. His bestselling book, The Choi of Cooking (released April 15), creates flavorful yet healthy takes on dishes like Kimchi Philly Cheesesteak. Here, he discusses why he shifted to healthy eating — and why it doesn't mean giving up your favorite foods.
Choi's latest book, The Choi of Cooking, released April 15.Courtesy of Clarkson Potter/Publishers
Q: How did you begin building your brand in L.A.?
A: Kogi was a happy accident. We all got fired around the time the economy crashed, and a friend of mine — who I worked with at the Beverly Hilton — pitched the idea: Korean BBQ in a taco, [from a truck] parked outside the clubs. It cracked open a door that had always been there. I grew up around tacos, burritos, lowriding culture, Korean food. When people bit into [the taco], it tasted like our L.A.: Pico Union, Koreatown, East Hollywood, South L.A. That bite defined a city that hadn't really had its signature dish yet.
Q: Your first book, L.A. Son, was as much memoir as cookbook. With The Choi of Cooking, you're again blending recipes with personal wisdom, but this time through the lens of balance and sustainability. What inspired this shift?
A: L.A. Son was a time stamp of everything up to the Kogi days. Since then, I've grown a lot — lost friends to health issues and seen firsthand how processed food impacts our communities. My own health hit a breaking point. This book is about finding that middle space: creating comfort food with more intention but still flavor-forward, still soulful. Not Erewhon, but not junk either. It's for the working-class side of L.A. that deserves wellness too.
GO GREEN Chef Roy Choi packs veggies into his dishes, like green bean and chicken stir-fry.Courtesy of Bobby Fisher
Q: How does this book challenge conventional ideas of healthy eating?
A: A lot of wellness media only shows the final picture: perfect skin, yoga pants, beautiful people. But not everyone is there yet. This book meets people where they are. You can still have a burger or a hot dog — not everything has to be 100% healthy. Maybe it's butcher-made, or on artisan bread, or with homemade relish and mustard. It's about taking steps, not leaps.
Q: What's one small step from your book that could make the biggest impact on how people eat?
A: Flavor agents. People don't want to eat whole raw vegetables. But if you take those same veggies and puree them like guacamole or a salsa, that's creating a flavor agent. Keep these in the refrigerator. Then, you can put these flavor agents on and you're getting vegetables and nutrients. But you're getting them in a way that you want to eat them, because they're full of deliciousness.
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37 minutes ago
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