We all know cooks whose fingertips seem to infuse every meal with deliciousness. In Korean, that magic touch is called sohn-mat, or "hand taste"―but you don’t have to be born with it. Esther Choi picked hers up from her halmoni, or grandmother, who used her hands for everything from smearing cabbage with pepper paste to make kimchi to crumbling tofu for mandu (dumpling) filling and tossing vibrantly flavored noodles for japchae.
Hand taste starts with seasoning but ultimately describes a way of cooking rooted in heritage, intuition, and heart. In her hotly anticipated debut cookbook Hand Taste: Cook Like a Korean Grandmother Choi offers delicious entry points to Korean and Korean-American cuisine, with foundational techniques alongside quick weeknight recipes and show-stopping traditional spreads.
In her conversation with Eric Kim, Esther Choi will discuss her career and her debut cookbook.
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Hand Taste: Cook Like a Korean Grandmother with Esther Choi
HYBRID PROGRAM
Tuesday, October 27, 2026 | 6 PM (EDT)
The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017
About the Speaker:
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Esther Choi is a chef, entrepreneur, and TV personality. She is the owner of Mokbar, with locations ranging from New York City to Las Vegas, and Ms. Yoo, a Korean-style gastropub in Manhattan. Choi is the co-host of Food Network's 24 on 24 and the host of “Heat Eaters” by First We Feast (12.9 M subscribers), a spinoff from the hit series “Hot Ones.” Choi has been a finalist on Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. She lives in New York City with her husband and son. |
About the Moderator:
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Eric Kim is a New York Times contributor and essayist born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. His debut cookbook, Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home, was an instant New York Times Best Seller. A former digital manager for the Food Network and contributing editor for Saveur magazine, he now hosts regular videos on NYT Cooking’s YouTube channel and writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine. |
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