All throughout May, 草莓传媒 is celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with聽stories about the people and places shaping the D.C. region.
Raised in Brooklyn, New York, in a family of Korean immigrants, Chef Edward Lee eventually moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he said he immediately became transfixed with the local traditions.
“A lot of what we think of as American food really started in the South,” Lee said. “And I was fascinated 鈥� and I still am fascinated 鈥� with all the ingredients and the culture there.鈥�
Lee is best known as the author of the James Beard Award-winning book, 鈥溾�� and for his appearances on TV shows like 鈥淭op Chef,鈥� 鈥淚ron Chef America鈥� and 鈥淐ulinary Class Wars.鈥� He also works as the chef and owner of two Louisville restaurants 鈥� 610 Magnolia and Nami 鈥� and serves as culinary director for two Succotash Prime locations in the D.C. area.
Lee told 草莓传媒 that he prefers not to cook 鈥渢raditional鈥� Korean food.
鈥淭here’s something unique about creating ingredients that just really blend well with lots of other techniques and other ingredients and other traditions,” he said.
With his new D.C. restaurant, , he wants to create a new type of Korean cuisine that is modern and forward-thinking.聽
Since opening in November of 2024, SHIA has been described as 鈥�,鈥� 鈥�鈥� and 鈥�.鈥� He said he wants his restaurant to also be 鈥渁 part of the solution,鈥� referencing his commitment to zero plastic, zero gas and waste reduction.
Along 4th Street NE, SHIA has an intimate 22-seat dining room that accommodates just two seatings per night. Each meal encompasses a tasting menu of seven courses for $185 per person, or five courses for $90 per person.
The menu includes staple Korean ingredients like doenjang (a fermented soybean paste, pronounced “denjang”) and ssamjang (a spicy combination of doenjang, red chili paste called “gochujang,” and other spices).
One of the menu鈥檚 first dishes, 鈥淏lack Sesame Gooksu,鈥� is especially important to Lee. The dish includes house-made noodles flavored with a Korean variety of mugwort, topped with a black sesame and tofu sauce with a little caviar.
鈥淭here’s kind of the myth that mugwort is related to sort of this mythical legend of a tiger who gives birth to a person who is the founder of the Korean dynasty,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e mostly see Korean food through the lens of Korean barbecue, which is delicious and great, but oftentimes, we overlook all the other ingredients, all the other techniques, and all the other wonderful things that Korean food has to offer.”
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