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MVT in the News: Mandu’s Chef Danny Lee Featured in NBC4 Piece Highlighting AANHPI Voices Around the DMV

Friday May 24, 2024

Throughout Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month (Wednesday, May 1 – Friday, May 31), NBC4 has been profiling prominent Asian American and Pacific Islander figures around the DMV in a series called “AANHPI Amplified“. In a recent segment, NBC4’s Eun Yang sat down with Chef Danny Lee and Chef Deuki Hong and New York Times journalist Matt Rodbard, authors of the recently published cookbook, “Koreaworld: A Cookbook,” to discuss the revolution of modern Korean food that is being championed in America by chefs like Danny. In the feature, Chef Danny prepared a “Seoul Barbecue” style braised pork rib topped-off with brûléed cheese. The cheese, it’s noted, is a recent addition to Korean cuisine over the last 10 years or so and signifies a renegade shift into what the authors of “Koreaworld: A Cookbook” are calling modern Korean food. Chef Danny explains that though cheese is not a traditional ingredient in Korean cooking, it pairs incredibly well with the flavor profiles that make up classic Korean dishes. Don’t believe it? He recommends trying kimchi with a sharp cheddar cheese!

For their cookbook, Chef Deuki and Rodbard traveled through Korea and America to collect stories and recipes from chefs and home cooks to understand Korean food’s global evolution. Reflecting on the uniqueness of the culinary empire Chef Danny has created, Rodbard said in the NBC4 piece:

What’s happening here in Washington, DC is special in America. What Danny and his mom have created here with Anju, Mandu, and CHIKO defines modern Korean food. I live in New York. I don’t have a Danny in New York!

We’re so honored to have Mandu and Chef Danny – recipient of our 2021 Community Stakeholder of the Year Award for his effort to combat hate against the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities – right here at 453 K Street NW as part of our Mount Vernon Triangle community! Mandu is open for dinner service daily beginning at 5pm and lunch takeout and delivery beginning at 11am Thursdays-Sundays. Check out the menu and reserve a seat at mandudc.com!