Samgyetang: Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup Across Generations
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Ginseng is known and used in many ways by Korean and Korean American families. In this program, Korean American chefs Yesoon Lee and her son Danny Lee—who separately own and operate several popular restaurants in the Washington, D.C., area, including Mandu, Chiko, and Anju—will prepare and talk about one beloved dish and its significance to the Korean American community.
Samgyetang is a traditional Korean ginseng chicken soup which is eaten for its rich flavor and healthful properties in the heat of the summer. Yesoon will prepare a more traditional version of the soup, while Danny will prepare a contemporary take on the dish using his mother’s samgyetang, similar to a dish he serves at Anju. They will discuss the tradition behind the soup, their own cooking experiences, and how Korean Americans use ginseng in other ways. Folklife researcher Grace Dahye Kwon will moderate the conversation.
Sponsor
This program is part of the Festival’s American Ginseng: Local Knowledge, Global Roots project, which received federal funding from the Asian Pacific American Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.
Accessibility
Real-time captioning (CART) and American Sign Language interpretation will be provided for this program while it’s live. To access, please follow the links below.
- Simulcast with ASL and CART (via Zoom)
- CART only (via Streamtext)
About the Artisans
Danny Lee, owner of the popular Washington, D.C., area restaurants Mandu, Anju, and Chiko, learned to cook many traditional Korean dishes from his mother, Yesoon Lee. He uses ginseng in dishes at his restaurants and introduces this traditional Korean ingredient to a wider American audience with some new twists.
Yesoon Lee first came to the United States as a graduate student in her early twenties to study music composition. After her husband passed away, she turned to her other talent: making delicious Korean cuisine. She is the co-owner of Mandu restaurant in Washington, D.C., and the mother of chef Danny Lee. She has used ginseng in her restaurant and at home as a boyak 보약, a restorative herbal ingredient in her cooking.
