Belly Fillers

Y'all, today I'm in the kitchen with the cutest young man

His name is Ed Lee. Y'all, Ed is a Korean-American chef who moved to the South

and has a flair for mixing Asian flavors with Southern soul food

It's a little bit of everything. It's a little salty, it's a little sour, it's a little sweet. We're gonna fill our bellies with seven cup of dishes that have a unique Korean twist

I'm here to change your world today, Paula. First up, Ed's making me his version of fried chicken and waffles

You come into Paula Deen's house and you making fried chicken? Yes, I am. It's on

I show Ed how it's done with my turnips stuffed with winter greens

This is really good. Out of this world. And we'll finish the meal with a refreshing drink

My favorite, blueberry limey. Yum, yum. I've always been so interested in Asian-type cooking and style of cooking

but I've never had somebody that could teach me, so I am all in

I'm here to change your world today, Paula. Yay! I can't wait to ride

What's your favorite southern dish? Because I know what mine is. Well, fried chicken

There you go. Fried chicken. So I came up with this fried chicken recipe, which you can make at home

It's delicious, it's easy, and it's also safe. You come into Paula Deen's house and you're making fried chicken

Yes, I am. It's on. All right. It's on. Let's do this

I'm going to do... We're going to fry it in vinegar. So I'm going to do this

I'm going to poach it in vinegar and some Asian spices. Would you like for me to turn that heat on

Can you turn me on some heat? I can turn you on some heat. All right. I got two and a half cups of vinegar

I got a cup and a half of water. Will you throw some of my spices in this broth for me? Yes

All right. Red pepper flakes. Yeah. How many? As much or as little as you want

I like it a little bit heat. Well, okay. That's a half

Is that it? That's good. That's good. And then about a quarter cup of soy sauce

I'm going to throw some bay leaf in there. And five bay leaves

Five bay leaves. I put in there, just like a nice, chunky pinch of sugar

These are really Asian flavors. When I poach it in here, it's going to absorb all these flavors

Pepper, corns, what do you want? However many, cut just a couple. A small, a baby's fistful

Perfect, perfect, perfect. All right, and then I got garlic. I usually do about two, three cloves of garlic

but you can do more or less. So, Sid, you've got about two pounds of chicken here

I don't use the breast. I don't use my pan. I only use dark meat. So, high five

I like the thighs, the drumsticks, a couple of wings if you want. Love wings

That's the only white meat, though, that I really did. It's too dry, isn't it

It is too dry. Will you throw that in there for me? Yes, yes. Just put it all in there

So, how long are we going to cook this, Ed? So, I bring it just to a simmer

I don't want to boil. I don't want boiled chicken. I just want gently poached chicken

And as soon as that thing comes to a boil, I'm going to turn the fire off and then just let it steep in there

Okay. The longer you leave it in there, the more that flavor it's going to absorb

Tell that. Smells so good. And that vinegar is the key. So what are you fixing to do down here

Are we fixing to make the waffles to the fried chicken? Yeah, so I'm going to make a savory waffle batter

A savory waffle batter. Because you don't want it too sweet because you've got your fried chicken

So can I mix this up for you? Yeah, can you do the dry ingredients for me? Yes

And I'll do the wet. All right, now is this all-purpose flour? All-purpose flour

You got about a cup of all-purpose flour. Do y'all actually have waffles in Korea

No, we don't have waffles in Korea. I didn't think so. But that's a southern boy in me talking

That's a redneck coming out in you. What is this, cayenne? It's paprika

Oh, paprika. About a half a teaspoon will be plenty. It's perfect

Perfect. What is this? A teaspoon of bacon powder and then a teaspoon of sugar

Okay. In the meantime, I've got two eggs, about a quarter cup of melted butter, and about a cup of buttermilk

Okay. I love buttermilk. I do, too. I never used buttermilk. I didn't even know what it was

Get out! I never knew what it was until I moved this out. Just a pinch

I mean, I just use my fingers. It's like that. Okay. How about the pepper

Just a pinch. Perfect. Well, what's a nice Yankee boy like you doing in a place like this

By this, I mean the South. I can't tell you exactly why, but I know that the first time I stepped foot in Louisville, I knew it was home for me

Has something to do with cheap wine and a good-looking woman, right? Cheap wine and a good-looking girl

You want to throw this dry batter as I mix Oh sure I thought you was going to do it the other way around I sorry One of the things I realized Paula when I moved to the South is how much Southern food and Korean food actually have a lot in common

Really? So, yeah, one of the things I started to do was to see if, can I mix some of the roots of my Korean cuisine and then take it with this newfound love that I have for Southern cuisine

And how has your family taken to your new style of cooking

Do they feel like you've deserted? No, they absolutely love it. No, they absolutely love it

Because you know what? It's all about the future of what we do. You know, you take traditions, you respect it

but you've got to look towards the future and keep coming up with new combinations or else, you know, everything is boring

Right. And you know, I think the one thing we're guaranteed, I've had, is change

Yes. Is that hot enough for you? Ow. Yeah, that's hot. Here's what I like to do with flavors

And part of what I love with Korean cuisine and with Southern cuisine is I'm going to have a little bit of saltiness

I swear you, I would give me your dry cleaning bill. I promise you

Oh, you got it. You got it, buddy. We'll be back in a minute, y'all

Coming up, does Ed's Fried Chicken Recipe get my seal of approval

Is that a look of good or a look of bad? Then, you ready for me to show you my real southern dish

My turnip stuffed with winter greens and later the perfect fruity dream

Ready, Paula

Yes, I am ready, Ed. I'm right here. The fryer's on. So let's make some chicken and waffles

And I've just been admiring everything that you've gotten on me. Listen, there's more to that to come

You know what? That's what's scaring me. So you know what I'm going to do? This fried chicken's waiting for you

I know. So I think I'm going to put me on an apron

Do I get one of those? If you want one and you're good, I will give you one

In fact, as soon as you're through cooking, you can have this one. All right, awesome

So I pulled the chicken out of the broth. Yes. Can you smell

You see it's got a little color? I want to smell. It's got a little chili on there

It's ready to go. So now I'm just going to finish up my Korean fried chicken

All I'm going to do is fry it up like you would normal fried chicken at this point

Okay. Will you dip that in the buttermilk? Yes, I will. I'm going to get some flour ready

So I got flour, a little paprika, a little salt and pepper. So the chicken was poached in that vinegar broth with the soy sauce and the bay leaf

Water, bay leaf. Yep. And I'm just going to dredge it. Red pepper flakes

There you go. So I got this oil at 365, which is the perfect temperature

What I like about this recipe is since we already poached the chicken, it's already sort of mostly cooked on the inside

So I'm only going to fry these up for about three minutes. Hot

Three minutes? Three minutes. You think those fries will be done in three minutes? I promise you

I may have to disagree with you. I promise you. Can we make another waffle

Yes. Because I know one's not going to be enough for this recipe. Fried chicken is one of the most important dishes in my life

not just from a culinary standpoint, but when I asked my wife to marry me

we got a bucket of fried chicken, and I put the ring under the bucket of fried chicken

and that's how it was. No. So you didn't cook the chicken

No, we got a bucket. You went and bought it. Also, I was so nervous, I couldn't cook anything

How did you eat that bucket of chicken? Very quickly. Let me check on this waffle

Ooh, what do you think? That looks beautiful, nice and golden. Okey-doke

All right. Put it right there. Right there. So, you know, the fried chicken has led to a lot of things because we're expecting our first baby on the way

Oh, congratulations. Do you know what it is? Yes, it's going to be a little baby girl

Oh, good luck. And I'm sure one of the... Good luck. One of the first things she's going to eat is some fried chicken

Uh-huh. You ready for this

All right, yes. How do we do this, Ed? I like to just throw it on top of the waffles

We're going to throw apart some of the thighs. So this is a little bit of soy sauce, lime juice, and some fish sauce

Fish sauce. A little chili pepper. I usually do this, put a little bit on

and then serve it a little bit more on the side. If you want to dip it, you can

But that is it. That is my rocking southern meets Korean fried chicken Wonderful Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm

You do taste some of that soy sauce from the broth? Yes

I love the idea of poaching the chicken, because that really does cut down on that cooking time

Yeah, it does. Mmm! Mmm! Mmm! Ooh, I just got a bite of something hot

Yeah, there's a little spice in the back there. But I love it. Not everyone's got a deep fryer in their island kitchen at home

Right. So you can use a cast-iron skillet and just shallow fry it. Just about an inch of oil on a cast-iron pan

And you get the same effect. Now let's taste it. Did you just put maple syrup in my fried chicken

If you just bettered my fried chicken recipe... That's pretty good. That's pretty good

We make a good team. Mm-hmm. Well, I tell you what. Now that I'm back in control, I'm going to take my apron off

and I'm going to show you one of my southern dishes. All right, you got it

Cutie. Coming up, I show you one of my favorite recipes. Is this a secret to all your cooking

And other things. And later, we'll see what happens when east meets south in my kitchen

Mm-mm. Mm-mm. So you're ready to get started

Let's do it. You know what I'm doing? What? I'm going to do stuffed turnips

Have you ever cooked turnips? I love turnips. I've never stuffed one, but I love them. I love turnip roots almost as much as I do their green tops

Okay. So all we're going to do is rub these with butter and wrap them just like we would a baked potato

And we're going to roast them in the oven for an hour. Yes

This feels good, Paula. Yes. Now, what do I do with my fingers after I'm done

You lick them. Oh, that's not bad. All right, so I'm going to put these in the oven, Ed

350, and we're going to bake them for like one hour. Kind of like we're baking a potato

They could be ready in 45 minutes or so. All right, so we've got kale and some collard greens

And we're just going to take that big stem out of the collards just like that

I can do that. Prove it. I need my fiber. I'm going to put a little butter in our pan because we're going to saute these

I'm going to add a little salt and pepper when you get through putting that in. Ed, I know you weren't born here, but there's no place like the South, is it

No, and you know, to me, it's like the South isn't a geographical place

It's a place of the heart, you know? And I literally, when I moved down there, I knew nothing about the South

And everyone was so welcoming and warm and the food and the people. You said that beautifully

You know, I've never thought about that. It's not. Yeah. And I feel like a southern boy

I don't know. I can't explain why or how, but it's my home. Would you chop those, please

You got them. You've got about four green onions there. All right

So I think this is sautéed enough, Ed. So what I'm going to do is just put it on this cookie sheet and let it cool

And then we're going to sauté our onions. And I'm going to use the rest of this butter for that

It smells awesome. Doesn't it smell good? You know, down south, we love our greens

You want to... Yeah, what do you want me to do with that? Yes, let's just add them back together now. Okay

Yes. So, Ed, where did your style of cooking come from? The sort of intersection where southern food and a lot of Korean food kind of meet is we both love barbecue and we both love pickles

And I think barbecue and pickles go really well together. So any time I can take a dish and kind of..

Koreans do a lot of barbecue. A lot of barbecue with a lot of charcoal flavor and smoke flavor

So anytime we can find a way to combine the two, it's really fun

So we are going to make a topping for our stuffed turnips. Okay

Now, I've probably put in two tablespoons of butter. Perfect. And now we're going to add a half a cup of just plain breadcrumbs

And I tell you what, if you would zest me a little lemon in there

I'm really good at zesting. Good. And, you know, here's my... Look at you, Zep

I was bored for this I can take my eyes off of you It the follow through All right so here my question to you How could you Koreanize this dish

This one right here? Yeah. I'm going to put my finger in it

That's Korean. There you go. Done. See you next week. Now it's southern again

Coming up. Oh, this looks good. Go, baby, go. Ed and I put the finishing touches on our stuffed turnips

Yum, right? Sounds perfect. Now you know what the whole dish does like

And we'll wash it all down with my delicious blueberry limeade. Do you mind if I put it on your apron

Oh, I would love for you to put it on my apron. Now we're ready to go

Oh, it matches your shirt, Ed. Now I'm ready to cook. Listen, get them turnips out of the oven

and I'm going to show you what we're going to do with them. Yes, ma'am

Remember, we've got our breadcrumbs. Okay, sit it down right there, please

Oh, they're powerful, huh? All right, so what we're going to do is cut the top off a little bit

just like we would a twice-baked potato. Yeah. And now we're going to scoop it out

Okay. And we're going to leave a shell in there. Mm-hmm. You're going to let me make my version of this, right

Well, I asked you what you could do to make this Korean

So I brought something with me. Kimchi. Smell. Kimchi is fermented cabbage with ginger, garlic, salt

Think of it as... Well, that hurt me if I go like that. No, no, no. Think of it as Asian sauerkraut

Not bad, huh? Not bad. Now, you're going to stuff one of yours, and then I'm going to stuff one of mine

Is that a deal? Oh, okay. Okay. I'm going to mash your turnips

Yes, thank you, mash my turnips. See how good I am? Oh, this looks good. Go, baby, go

I'm sweating up a storm here. So all we have to do now is stuff our turnips

Mmm. Yes, I like the way this looks

That's my fault, it's so good. Really? Yeah. This is why whenever I cook at home, I get full before

Mm-hmm. Yum. Yum, right? That was perfect. Now you know what the old dish tastes like

That is really good. All right, where's this going? In the oven

We're going to stick them in a 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes

and then broil them until the breadcrumbs are just golden brown. Now, we just need something to wash it down with

I agree. So I'm going to make us a blueberry limeade. Okay. I've got a 10-ounce package of frozen blueberries

one cup of fresh lime juice, one cup of sugar. That's perfect

Perfect. Perfect. We doing good? All right, we've got five cups of cold water

right here. Doesn't that look yummy? All right, let's get these out of the oven

They smell incredible. All right, I'm going in for yours first. Okay, I don't know what I'm going in for

Look at that, y'all. These are really nice. They're really, really, really nice

I'm going in with the kimchi right now. I don't need a fork

I'm just going to go in with my hands. I am loving the kimchi

I'm pushing mine and eating it like it's a burger. This is really good

Out of this world. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Do you like it

I wish I had a little bourbon in it, but it's good. Yum

Yum. All right, so you're going to come back? I would love to come back

You've been such a sport. You have been a sport. Can I give a hug

Yes, you can get on. Thank you so much. Thank you. I've had so much fun with you

Thank you. Cheers. And I always send you and all of our friends out there

best dishes and love.