Chef Ed Lee fuses Korean heritage with Kentucky flavors

In Hawaii, we’ve been versed in the craft of fusion cooking for three decades, but one thing we haven’t seen is the merging of Southern and Asian cuisines.

Before chef Edward Lee’s appearance at the Culinary Institute of the Pacific Friday night, it was tantalizing to imagine what such cuisine might be like. Bright yuzu and acidic kim chee have the potential to bring lightness to fattier foods, while miso and soy sauce easily substitute for sugar and salt.

Lee’s balancing act comes as a result of his Korean heritage, a Brooklyn upbringing with exposure to an international array of cuisines, followed by a move to Louisville, Ky., after he fell in love with the city during a 2001 road trip to the Kentucky Derby.

Lee was the guest chef at Friday’s launch of the CIP’s “Ignite” dinner series that brings accomplished chefs to the islands to work with students and introduce the community to novel approaches to cuisine.

Recent politics give the impression that red states like Kentucky are not particularly open to Asian influence, but Lee said his food was well-received from the start, when he opened 610 Magnolia in 2004. MilkWood followed, then Succotash in Washington, D.C., and the Louisville whiskey and burger bar, Whiskey Dry, where grilled shishitos share the menu with a fried chicken burger with soy-maple glaze, and a grilled hanger steak is topped with both chimichurri and kochujang butter.

He’s learned never to underestimate one’s clientele. “If you cook the food you love and it tastes great to you, chances are it’s going to taste great to someone else, too,” he’s said in past interviews.

The demonstration of his cuisine Friday night brought Southern comfort fare to the table with multiple elements of an Asian pantry.

The casual, walk-around dinner in the CIP kitchen proved to be an eye-opening introduction to the dinner series made possible by the Lyle L. Guslander Distinguished Visitors Program in Advanced Food Service and Hospitality Education in conjunction, with Kapiolani Community College. Dinner events are expected to take place quarterly.