(upbeat electronic music) (joyful pluck strumming) - Asian families are known for their pride in their children, and their love for gathering around the table for big family meals.

The Cole Hyun family has it both ways.

12-year-old Toby Hyun, who has been cooking since he was three, competed last year on the Food Network's "Kid's Baking Championship."

I've come to Westchester County, New York so that Toby can cook me and his family a meal he learned from his grandmother.

(joyful pluck strumming) Hi!

- Hi.

- (laughs) Toby, gimme a hug.

How'd you learn how to cook?

- Well, I learned how to cook by watching my nanny, my mom, and really just anyone who was cooking around me, and it was a really fun experience.

- You are 12 now?

- 12, yes.

- So, you started cooking when you were how old?

- I started cooking when I was around three.

- Three?

- Three.

I used to carve like little apples, and made 'em into pretty little swans.

- Oh that's so creative.

So, this is a new dish that you, kind of, created after you visited Asia over the summer?

- Yeah, it's also, yeah, heavily inspired by my trip, and I just found it really unique compared to the standard American cheeseburger, and heavier foods.

- Tell me what you've been up to - So, I actually recently was on the Food Network.

- Was it nerve wracking to be on the show?

- It was definitely very nerve wracking being in front of the judges.

- Yeah, I can imagine!

- 'Cause like it is a big studio and it is very intimidating.

- Definitely.

And then, does your brother Cameron help you?

- Uh, no.

- Hi, Cameron do you wanna come and help?

- Hi Cam.

- Hi.

- Are, are you interested in cooking?

- Yes, well sometimes.

- More eating, huh?

- Maybe.

- Maybe?

- Eating, yes, eating.

- These are like, I think, 16-ounce ribeyes, and I'm just gonna take.

- How did you know that was my favorite cut?

- No, I just, it's my favorite cut.

- Oh really?

- I'm just gonna all the way around in salt.

(gas hisses) Oh, yep.

And, you got heat.

And gonna just lay this steak in (steak sizzles) and, yeah.

- There's a nice crust.

- There's a crush.

- Yes.

- Last flip.

- How do you eat your steak, medium rare?

- I like mine medium rare.

- So, what do your friends think about your cooking?

- Well, sometimes when we have friends over, I like cooking a lot, so that just leaves me in the kitchen so I don't get a socialize as much.

But, it's definitely a huge reveal when I show them what I've made.

And, that's the really social part for me.

- Right, and, then sitting down and eating together.

- Kinda sear off all the sides for just a few seconds, oh, cut then I'm used to, - But, it's the attention to detail that gives it, that makes it really, it's like perfection.

- Worth it, yeah.

Cutting board onto the not and raw meat side.

Take it out, nice.

- I'm very hungry now.

(laughs) - We're gonna go in with some onions and some garlic.

It's like a soy sauce marinade, little bit.

- You're adding some mirin to that or another kind of.

- It's like Korean mirin.

- Okay, you just add the sesame oil straight.

- Some sesame oil for just like the flavor and then I guess whatever this much sugar is.

Perfect, yeah.

- And you dip the steak in the egg?

- Yeah, we're gonna serve the egg raw over the top.

- Okay and what does that do to the steak?

It gives it?

- It gives it a little bit of creaminess and when you pop it, it just like coats all the rice and everything to make it a little more like depth.

- So it gives a body too.

- It gives a little body, yeah.

Now this is where the magic happens.

- Looks perfect, medium rare, here we come.

- Medium rare.

- Do you like steak?

- Yes.

- Is this your first time making this?

- I've made it once before and it turned out pretty good so I wanted to make it again.

and just put a little bit.

Last step is to put all the little garnishes on.

So we're gonna take some scallion, crispy carrot.

And finally we're gonna put beautiful egg yolk.

- That is simple, it looks delicious.

But it was actually so simple to make.

- It was pretty simple to make.

- Yeah, it's just using the right ingredients and knowing the right techniques - Yeah, and I think anyone can make it at home.

- No, let's eat though.

Yeah, this looks so good.

(soft music) - My grandparents, they were the first ones to eat my food.

Always the first one to eat my food.

Supervise me as I was cooking.

- So Anne, how did you feel about your son being on tv?

- Toby told me it was like summer camp because they all loved baking and I think it's because of that group of kids that it just made it, not really a competition, but just more fun for them to be together.

And actually when he left the show, the main thing that he was so sad about was just not getting to spend even more time with the kids since he just loved, you know, baking with them, talking about baking.

As you could see a lot of the inspiration behind Toby's cooking or what you know Cam likes to eat is really because of the blended cultures, the Korean and Chinese culture.

And even though I know when we were talking about this, you said he could cook anything, but he just really wanted to cook something that he learned from his grandparents.

- So did you guys always cook together when the kids were young?

What do you think?

- Sometimes I go at their house or that they come to my house.

It's, well, you know, that's not a lot of times, but we cooked and then he watched and then I watched his baking.

- And what did you learn from his baking?

- His baking and that I am not a good baker.

So (laughs).

- So I, because we didn't grow up with ovens.

- Right, I mean he's more mature than me.

- They're not only developing their palette, but I think they're understanding other cultures, other generations just so much to absorb from that practice.

You must be so proud of both of your grandsons.

- Yes, I am very proud of them.

When he was like, I think it's three, four years old and then I went to babysit to their house and then he made the cookie for me and he made like a flowers and the measures and the things and put it in.

And then I said, "I can't even do that.

I said, how did you do that?"

He said, "I like it."

(light music) (background chatter) - Star Chef Hooni Kim's latest venture is a tribute to Korean moms and to the way they have guarded their family's health for a thousand years.

At the Little Banchan Shop in Queens, he prepares and packages gourmet takeaway versions of the constellation of small dishes that accompany every Korean meal.

(light music) - Oh for the advanced banchan lover, the cucumber.

This is something that is always at a Korean table I feel.

- Yeah, something like this, sweet black beans where kids love this banchan 'cause it's sweet and it's has a little bit of a chewiness.

You know that Korean movie "Minari," it's Korean watercress So it's sort of like a green vegetable, almost like a spinach.

All of our, you know, banchans are cold and you're supposed to eat it cold, but eating something cold is not the best flavor.

That's why you need that hot bowl of rice.

And if eat it together, it sort of becomes magic inside the mouth.

- I'm salivating.

What are the most popular ones?

- So the baby anchovy, it's great with banchan on here, have some.

- This is better than any potato chip snack I've ever had.

- Thank you.

Throughout the year, we're cooking 85 different kinds of banchan.

This is the soup section right now because the weather's cold, this section's really popular.

These are just take it home, microwave it or take it home.

Heat it in a pot for about three, four minutes until it boils and then you have it.

You know, even now I go to Asia and the ingredients, most of the time it's just better, you know, organic here it's a thing.

Pesticides are more expensive than growing it organic and that was the foundation of Korean food where, and it always has been where food is not about flavor first, it's about nutrition and health first.

And that comes from the history of Korea, being in so many wars and being invaded by everybody at a certain time for so long that we've always had to deal with less nutrition than the neighboring countries.

And how do you maximize the little nutrition that you have in the country is making sure that you eat seasonal, making sure that you preserve the nutrition that you have and that's where fermentation comes in.

We make all of our kimchi and today is our kimchi day.

So you'll get to see us making the kimchi.

We also make white kimchi, we also make aged kimchi.

And in the summer months, when usually the traditionally in households, the summer months is when you run out of kimchi, 'cause you make it in the fall.

And some 'cause you eat too much of it.

And that's why there's a distinct different kinds of summer kimchis, which are like scallion kimchi.

Like summer, summer cabbage kimchi, which is a little bit different.

Radish, radish stem kimchi.

- People always associate Korean food with kimchi, but for good reason.

Kimchi came around to sort of prevent scurvy or to provide a source of nutrients for Northern Koreans as a fermentation or preservation process.

- Yes.

Is that right?

- Yes and to make sure that cabbage could last a whole year or two or four or even 10 years.

Because otherwise if you don't pickle it or brine it or ferment it, then it's not good for more than a couple of months at most.

This is our kitchen and right now we are packing our food.

- So that's one of your most popular dishes, huh?

- It is, yes.

Do you want to taste one?

- Yeah, sure.

Oh, look at that yolk.

It reminds me of the Chinese tea.

- Definitely at my age I've been to eat more healthy and healthy doesn't mean I'm on a certain diet like keto or whatever.

Healthy just means trying to eat ingredients with as little manmade chemicals as possible.

So nutritious food and a lot of probiotics, a lot of probiotic food because it just lets my body absorb the nutritious vitamins that the body needs to heal myself.

And I feel like, you know, it gives me a lot more energy.

My digestive system very, very settled.

- Really?

- And 'cause of that I feel happier.

Yesterday we salted everything, started brining.

This morning, we washed all the salt away, rinsed all the cabbage.

And right now we're draining the extra water that comes from the cabbage with a little bit of a homemade weight.

(Danielle laughs) - And then with this we're going to marinate it with our kimchi marinade.

- That is a lot of pepper.

- Yeah.

- What else is in this?

- Garlic, apple puree, scallion, fish sauce, salted shrimp.

Basically the cabbage is brined.

The marinade is made.

So even though we have a distinct recipe, we have to make sure the balance is right.

- So can I try it?

- Yeah, sure, here.

- So we're looking for balance.

- It's a little salty with a cabbage, but that's a good thing.

But that sweetness is gonna grow because we put rice flour inside as paste and rice flour is basically turns to all sugar to feed the bacteria.

And then it goes right in here, our fermentation room.

- Wow.

- We keep this at 32 degrees and all the white buckets are the Napa cabbage.

And you'll see the dates that's.

- Can I take a look?

- Sure.

See how it's ballooning up because of the air, it, when you ferment it has to be airtight.

You can't have oxygen going in.

So the gases formed during fermentation at sort of making this balloon.

- That is so cool.

- Usually every day in a meal, the mom, the matriarch or the chef of the family will make an entree or maybe a soup and the rice.

But all the other cold little side dishes, it's in the fridge and you know, you either make it once a week or you know, seasonally.

But most people these days they buy it at the banchan shop.

Every neighborhood in Korea has one or two banchan shops where they have like a hundred different kinds of banchans that you pick up on your way home and you eat it for not just that day.

This is the key, when you visit a Korean home, you open their fridge, you will see 10, 12, 15 different kinds of banchans.

- So what are you making there?

- This is dried squid.

So get dried squid flavored with gochujang, which is a fermented red pepper paste.

But then because a fermented red pepper paste, it's a little spicy, it's a little acidic, it's a little, we try to balance it with a simple syrup and as well as a sesame oil to sort of round everything out, and sesame seeds.

I've been doing this for so long that I know flavor-wise, I can't please everybody.

Everybody's palate's different.

But the one thing that I am certain of is that when you dine at my restaurant or when you eat our banchan, you're going to leave a little healthier than before.

And that is something that is not subjective.

It is fact.

And that is our motivation, our entire staff's motivation to cook the way we do because we are making people healthier.

(light music) - After educating me in the health benefits of kimchi, Hooni put me to work on the kimchi line.

- The most important thing, is see how it's in layers?

Each layer, it needs a little bit of sauce, a marinade, okay?

- Okay, just wanna make sure that every layer gets covered.

- Yes.

- This is a lot of fun.

This is like we should have a kimchi making party, like a dumpling making party.

- Well you know, this should be done standing up.

- Why is that?

- Just traditionally it's, you know, you don't really cook sitting down, but most people don't make thousand pounds of kimchi every month.

- You make a thousand pounds?

- Yeah.

A lot of people do notice that after they eat our food, you know, they feel lighter and physically and mentally happier.

And that is the whole point to make sure that everything digests well and then, you know, physical health, direct correlation to mental health.

- Absolutely.

- So yeah, I'd love to have happy customers.

- Has that always been your mission?

- No it hasn't.

- What happened?

- I learned traditional Korean food, I learned what it was about.

It was not about chasing flavors, it was not about restaurant food It's about Korean moms cooking to make sure the family stayed healthy during all the invasions and the occupation, the wars Korea went through for a thousand years.

It was a tough place for just for us to survive as human beings with the little nutrition that we had.

But Korean moms took care of us, took care of that and we are who we are now as a country because of the history of Korean moms, what they, the magic that they did in the kitchen.

(light music) - Asian moms are celebrated for nurturing and nourishing their families, but you can't take care of someone else unless you're taking care of yourself.

That's the idea behind the age old tradition of confinement or healing after childbirth by resting and eating nutritious foods.

Jennifer Jolorte Doro took me through Chiyo's Kitchen in Kearney, New Jersey, which creates Asian food therapy based meal plans for every stage of pregnancy.

It puts the focus back on the mother, which is something I can subscribe to.

What's happening here?

- So we have all of our meals prepared in terms of like our ingredients.

So this is some of our tofu that we've already portioned out Tofu for us is such a key ingredient.

And obviously we use different soy products.

So like edamame, we use tamari.

Everything we do is gluten-free and dairy free also.

But truly no fillers.

So every single ingredient truly has a purpose in every single meal.

- Are you a nutritionist by training?

- Yes, I am.

So I am also a nutritionist, birth and postpartum doula, pre and postnatal yoga instructor and a lactation counselor as well.

This dish here, it's a good example of what east meets west.

And so here we'll have like a bed of quinoa.

This is obviously a really great plant protein.

We also have edamame here speaking to the soy.

We have a mix of sweet potatoes, kombucha squash, black woodier.

And so this in and of itself has like three or four different types of protein.

- So at Chiyo you actually break down your meals based on several different stages from conception through to postpartum.

- Our meal programs focus on fertility, pregnancy through postpartum.

I think a lot of folks very recently have started to take a look at nutrition more and more, especially in the stages of fertility, hormonal balance, trying to conceive, you know, just making sure that you're having balanced meals, you're eating consistently, your timing of meals.

But there's also a lot of recent research also that thinks about the actual nutrients that can help with egg quality, sperm quality.

- Can you walk me through a day of Chiyo food?

- Our menu consists of tonics, broths, breakfast, lunch and dinner and snacks.

And so we typically say that a day of meals would consist of a morning tonic before breakfast.

Then you'll have lunch and then you'll have some of our broth.

And so we make our broth in these broth cubes, you'll add two to a cup of hot water.

And those are infused with traditional Chinese formulas and herbs.

In our soup, we also have these icons that kind of relate to, you know, what it's gonna tackle.

So this is like dehydration, this is fatigue with the key ingredients in here.

- This is so beautiful.

It's literally a rainbow of food.

- Yeah, so the kabocha, we have plums here.

We have red cabbage, squash, Chinese broccoli, papaya.

These are Okinawan potatoes as well.

We have lotus seeds, we have (speaking Korean).

this is Kombu, so it's dried seaweed.

And so we use this in soaking our grains, our beans to make them more digestible.

Yeah, so we have mung beans, we have black rice here, we have zuki beans.

And again, these are really great sources of protein that we use in a lot of our meal (light music) Dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu, tamari, and that's the basis of our vegan broth.

And then this soup in particular has Chinese broccoli, dican, some button mushrooms.

So many folks only focus on, oh okay, what is the protein and what is the meat protein?

And I think like that should almost be like the side dish where the focus should really be on like the really colorful ingredients or all of the other ingredients or maybe garnishes that really make it more of like a substantial kind of like balanced meal.

We wanna focus on complex carbs, easier to digest, but then also has a lot of energy for you.

We have our mung beans here, which we love.

It's a really great source of protein.

And then we also top it with some fresh cilantro.

- It's simplicity, right?

You don't have to source and cook and you're still getting the nutrients that you need.

And then it gives you more time to be mindful of what you're eating.

It's not like making food routine or a chore, but it's introducing you to a new regimen and diet.

- And I'm making sure that in every single bite there is protein, there's a lot of functional ingredients here so that you don't have to worry about anything.

We do all of that legwork for you, all of the sourcing, all the research, all the curation, so that all you can do is focus on your health, your recovery, and making sure that you're getting every nutrient for yourself and baby.

So a lot of what we focus on is very much kind of debunking the very traditional or like clickbaity, what I like to say, like the doctor Google search results that you might find in terms of nutrition for pregnancy and postpartum.

And so obviously as a nutritionist we take care of all of that for you.

I curate the menus.

I make sure that in every single bite there is optimal nutrition and the nutritional needs that you need for your growing baby, but also to support yourself in postpartum.

- It's perfect.

- Oh good.

- So hearty and.. - Like the crunch from like this sesame seeds.

- Yeah, the, this is exactly what you're craving.

It's like, I don't wanna call it bland because it's so flavorful for me, but it doesn't scream, you know, it's just you can taste the natural flavors of the food and the ingredients in the marriage of all of them together And I love the mushroom broth.

- Yeah, so obviously when we make our own broth, focusing on again those functional ingredients, so just like the umami flavors from dried shiitakes and then the kombu, the natural salts there just makes such a big difference This would be the size of our one day trial.

So essentially this is a day of meals that you can try before you opt into our full program.

And so it includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, broths and tonics for an entire day.

So I can show you examples here.

So this would be one of the breakfasts.

This is our zucchini chickpea pancakes.

And we also add our chili oil in here.

And this is one of our dinners.

So it's a jackfruit rendang.

This is, you'll see we have like the dinner label kind of on a description of like what it is.

So this one in particular focus on a lot of ingredients with vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, all really super important for postpartum recovery.

Lots of veggies here.

And so it's kind of our version of a rendang, but we use jackfruit and then a beautiful piece of arctic tar as well.

- I love this.

You're like getting mothers to eat their vegetables, try new things, you know?

Have an open mind.

- So this is a strawberry rose bite.

So here we kind of list a lot of the like blend of traditional Chinese medicine, but then also kind of the western nutrition.

So in this description as well, it says rose is a TCM ingredient that helps with chi So your energy, helps with blood stagnation, which is super vital obviously during your postpartum period.

And then strawberries are really rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, so you improve your mood.

So this is what they look like.

- Can I try that?

- Yeah, for sure.

- Strawberry rose bite.

- And so like no additional sweetener besides coconut sugar, dates and that's it.

- This was like an energy bite.

Yeah, I love it.

- Yeah, especially those late nights when you know baby wakes up at like 1:00 AM, and you're like, what am I doing here?

(laughs) - Right, right, exactly.

And you're just like starving, but you don't have energy to eat a whole meal, but you need something to boost your chi.

- Exactly, exactly.

(light music)