97- Assemble the kimbap: Wrap a bam-
boo sushi mat with plastic wrap; arrange
mat on work surface with slats running
horizontally. Place 1 nori sheet, with
short end facing you, on mat. Evenly
spread about^3 / 4 cup rice on nori, leaving
11 / 2 inches exposed along top short end.
(To prevent rice from sticking to your
fingers, dip hands in water or daikon
pickling liquid as you work.) Cut a sec-
ond nori sheet in half crosswise; place 1
cut half on bottom half of rice. - Arrange 3 pickled daikon sticks, 3
avocado slices, 8 scallion pieces, about
8 pickled jalapeño slices, and^1 / 4 cup pea
shoots horizontally along bottom short
side of nori, arranging ingredients to
stick out past nori sides by about 1 inch.
Tightly roll up using sushi mat. Trim
excess nori across the top. Slice roll
evenly into 10 pieces. - Repeat steps 4 and 5 three times
using remaining ingredients. (Reserve
remaining pickled jalapeños, pickled
daikon, and kimbap rice for another
use.) Arrange roll pieces on a serving
plate; drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle
with flaky sea salt. Serve with lemon
wedges, soy sauce, and hot sauce.
MAKE AHEAD Daikon and jalapeños can
be pickled up to 1 week ahead and
stored in an airtight container in
refrigerator.
BEER Refreshing Korean lager: Hite Pale
Lager
8 scallions, trimmed and cut
lengthwise into quarters
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Flaky sea salt, to taste
Lemon or lime wedges, soy sauce,
and habanero hot sauce, for serving- Make the pickled jalapeños and dai-
kon: Toss together jalapeños, 1^1 / 2 table-
spoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt
in a medium-size nonreactive bowl. Toss
together daikon, remaining 1^1 / 2 table-
spoons sugar, and remaining 1 teaspoon
kosher salt in a separate medium-size
nonreactive bowl. Cover bowls; let stand
at room temperature 30 minutes. Add^1 / 2
cup white vinegar to each bowl. Cover and
chill until ready to use, up to 1 week. - Make the kimbap rice: Rinse rice in a
strainer until water runs clear; shake rice
dry in strainer. Cook rice according to
package directions. Transfer rice to a large
bowl. Whisk together sesame oil, rice vine-
gar, and kosher salt in a small bowl; drizzle
over rice, and stir to incorporate using
a rice paddle or wooden spoon. Loosely
place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on
rice in bowl; set aside. - Make the charred pea shoots: Heat a
large cast-iron skillet over medium-high.
Add pea shoots, oil, and salt; cook, tossing
occasionally, until pea shoots are mostly
wilted and lightly charred, 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer pea shoots to a medium bowl; let
cool 10 minutes.
PICKLED JALAPEÑOS AND DAIKON
6 fresh medium-size jalapeños,
unseeded, stemmed and cut
crosswise into^1 / 8 -inch-thick slices
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar, divided
2 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 medium daikon (about 10 oz.), cut
into 2^1 / 2 - x^1 / 2 -inch matchsticks
1 cup distilled white vinegar, divided
KIMBAP RICE
1 cup uncooked sushi rice (such as
Tamanishiki) (about 6^3 /^8 oz.)
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. kosher salt
CHARRED PEA SHOOTS
3 cups pea shoots (about 4 oz.)
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 / 4 tsp. kosher salt
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS
6 (8- x 7^1 / 2 -inch) nori sheets
1 small avocado, peeled and cut
lengthwise into 12 slicessoft-spoken chef confidently helms the massive and
spendy Korean-influenced restaurant, located inside
Hudson Yards.
“I think people see me as Korean, but in Korea
I’m not Korean. In America, I’m not American, you
know what I mean? It’s like I’m in that gray area.”
Like Park, Kāwi operates in that gray area, too. Is
it Korean? Yes. Is it American? Also yes. It’s in this
zone that Park is best able to push the boundaries
of taste and technique.
Park, who everyone calls Jo, is determined to use
her position to shift people’s perception of Korean
food, just as it was shifted for her. Like Chang, she
embraces gonzo Korean cooking, fearlessly break-
ing with tradition to embrace flavor with a menu
of candied anchovy–stuffed kimbaps and bold,
spicy raw seafood. But Park is more methodical,
less brash. It is why she is so obsessive when it
comes to rice cakes. She is adamant that rice cakes
taste better when made fresh and insists that all
of her cooks learn how to make them so there’s a
new batch for every service. When it came time to
open Kāwi, she special-ordered a rice cake extruder
from South Korea. There is just one for the entire
restaurant, which goes through 600 pounds of rice
flour every 10 days or so. “I just want Kāwi to be
a place where guests can see that Korean food is
not just humble.”PICKLED VEGETABLE KIMBAP
ACTIVE 55 MIN; TOTAL 1 HR 50 MIN; SERVES 4To evenly cut the rolls without crushing them,
use a very sharp knife, in a long sawing motion,
without pressing straight down on the roll. Wet
the blade with some of the daikon pickling liquid
to prevent sticking.PHOTOGRAPHY: TARA DONNE; PROP STYLING: RAINA KATTELSON; FOOD STYLING: CHRIS LANIER