L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food
by Roy Choi
Reviewed by Jo Bradley
This is an unexpectedly engaging memoir/cookbook, the story of chef Roy Choi’s life growing up in a traditional Korean family in L.A. in the ’70s. It takes us through various phases of his life: from “golden child” to juvenile deliquent and thug, and finally to chef. His perspective on the humor in life shines through even during the most hair-raising parts of his tale.
Recipes within each chapter run the gamut from traditional kimchi to “$4 spaghetti” to saltrub-roasted pork. You get the feeling that he, as a chef, pulls from all the places he has been and celebrates the wide range of faces L.A. can put on.
Some of the recipes I’m looking forward to trying:
– Instant Pickled Cucumbers
– Spaghetti Junction, “the four dollar spaghetti that tastes almost as good as twenty-four dollar spaghetti”.
Check availability on L.A. Son
About the reviewer: Jo Bradley is a hand-crafting enthusiast and the sole proprietor of JoBie Bags, using up-cycled burlap coffee bags to create stylish handbags and purses.
