When Roy Choi was named as a 2010 F&W Best New Chef, he was as shocked as anyone. He’d come up through the ranks working at hotel restaurants and owned a food truck and said on an upcoming episode of the Tinfoil Swans podcast that he found himself at a party he’d never imagined being invited to.
No one else was shocked, though. From his groundbreaking Kogi truck and community-oriented fast-food chain LocoL to his smash-hit Las Vegas restaurant Best Friend and brand new health-oriented cookbook The Choi of Cooking, Roy Choi has never been afraid to bust through boundaries and preconceived notions, honor his Korean heritage, and lift up the Los Angeles street food that made him the icon he is today. Here are his recipes for oxtail ramen, gas station tacos, a condiment you’ll slather on everything, and a hot dog that’s one of the best recipes Food & Wine has ever published.
Pasta Aglio e Olio
Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Breanna Ghazali
If you loved the movie Chef, you already know this luscious, garlicky pasta. Director Jon Favreau specifically asked Choi for the recipe to re-create when his chef character, Cal, makes a batch to woo the restaurant’s hostess. It’s nothing fancy — just garlic, lemon, red pepper flakes, parsley, oil, and Parmesan — but it’s simply perfect.
Chicken Katsu
Cara Cormack
“People think frying chicken cutlets is simple, but it’s like cooking pasta,” says Choi. “It’s a dish that seems remedial, but when you get it right, it changes the whole ball game. I call it the cult of katsu.” What’s key, he says, is working cleanly in each step so you can maximize the distinctive panko crunch.
Kimchi Fried Rice with Spicy Shrimp-and-Sesame Sauce
Leftover rice gets new life with a pop of chopped kimchi, and a stellar sauce of dried shrimp, gochugaru, jalapeño, and aromatics. The kimchi gets sweeter when it’s heated while still bringing the funk and crunch.
Mojo-Marinated Pork Shoulder
A meld of herbs, spices, orange juice, garlic, and olive oil make a mighty overnight marinade for pork shoulder that’s sumptuous on its own, or a killer filler for the greatest Cubano you’ll ever make.
Mojo Pork Cubanos
Speaking of Cubanos, that mojo pork is magic when it’s pressed against boiled ham, Swiss, and dill pickles on a baguette slathered with butter and plenty of mustard. Pork roast from the store is fine, too, but c’mon — you deserve the extra oomph.
Midnight Tortas
Roy Choi had Los Angeles’ late-night scene in mind when he schemed this jalapeño-spiked sandwich. In true Choi fashion, it’s a brilliant mash-up of cuisines, with skillet-crisped pork belly, lime-kissed fried eggs, wilted spinach, cotija, tomatoes, and plenty of fuel to keep the party going on through dawn.
Triple-A Veggie Sandwich
Victor Protasio / FOOD STYLING by CHELSEA ZIMMER / PROP STYLING by CHRISTINA DALEY
If you’re more in a meat-free mode, this A-plus sandwich is stacked with avocados, alfalfa sprouts, and arugula, along with cucumbers, onions, herbs, tomatoes, and cheese, and dressed in an orange juice and ginger-kicked vinaigrette that you’ll want to pour on everything.
L.A. Gas Station Tacos
Spend time behind the wheel of a food truck, and you’re bound to become intimately acquainted with gas stations. Roy Choi has a particular appreciation for their cuisine, and honors them with these clever tacos layered with American cheese, canned bean and jalapeño cheese dips, beef jerky, pork rinds, and apple matchsticks. No pan? No problem. These come together quickly in the microwave, served with whatever hot sauce is on hand.
Sweet-and-Salty Korean Barbecued Short Ribs
Roy Choi considers himself a lifelong connoisseur of Korean barbecue and says, “Growing up, I was the ultimate Korean barbecue champion. If you took me to an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurant, forget about it.” His short ribs rest in the fridge overnight in a marinade of onion, scallions, garlic, soy sauce, orange juice, mirin, sesame oil, sugar and sesame seeds before a quick sear on a grill on in a pan.
Kogi Dogs
In 2018, Food & Wine named Roy Choi’s signature hot dogs from his Kogi truck as one of our 40 best recipes of all time. These dogs are piled high with cabbage, kimchi, cheddar cheese, and a squirt of Sriracha, and they’re the stuff of legend in Los Angeles and soon to be in your house.
Double Cheeseburgers, Los Angeles-Style
It seems as if every restaurant has a signature burger these days, but Choi’s are a standout, due to a toasted sesame seed mayonnaise and the distinctive flavor of perilla leaves. Life is short; don’t shortchange yourself on the second patty.
Spam-and-Kimchi Musubi
If you haven’t yet succumbed to the siren song of Spam, now’s the perfect time. “This is the peanut butter and jelly sandwich of Hawaii,” says Choi. “If you’ve been swimming, if you’ve been hanging on the beach, it’s the perfect snack. Something about it just hits the spot. And the best place to find it is at a 7-Eleven.”
Oxtail Soup with Daikon and Ramen Noodles
Tender oxtails co-star in this rich ramen recipe and pull double-duty as broth and protein alongside daikon braised in sake and ginger. For a little extra crunch, you can’t beat golden-fried slivers of garlic sprinkled on top.
$4 Spaghetti That’s Almost as Good as $24 Spaghetti
The titular $24 pasta is a wink and a nod to a specialty at Scott Conant’s Scarpetta restaurant, and Choi crafts his with tomato sauce amped up by a quick mushroom broth and slow-cooked garlic.
Curry-Coconut Clam Chowder, Papi-Style
Chris Court
Choi credits the inspiration for this light, tangy chowder to his days working at the Los Angeles country club where he was tasked with making a heftier version on Friday nights. He swaps in coconut milk and lime along with green curry paste for an extra zing of flavor.
Sticky Glazed Baby Back Ribs
Side Street is the Honolulu dive bar where Choi fell in love with fried, glazed, tangy ribs. In his homage, he deploys hoisin, black bean sauce, oyster sauce and sriracha along with orange juice (you may have noticed a theme by now) for layers upon layers of sticky, meaty bliss.
LocoL Dipping Sauce
In his days at the community-centric LocoL burger chain, Roy Choi and fellow F&W Best New Chef Daniel Patterson crafted a tomato-based spicy sauce with Korean chile paste that’s a pow of a pairing with everything from fries and onion rings to burgers and chicken.
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