If Phil Lee has his way, one day, perhaps one day soon, there will be a jar of kimchi in every refrigerator across America. Some fifteen years ago, when the Kimchi Taco Truck owner wrote his final paper for Cornell’s Hospitality Management program, he pledged to put kimchi, the national dish of Korea, on the map in the United States. Most people associate kimchi with the spicy, pungent, red chili-infused variety of the fermented cabbage, but as Phil explains, “there’s over a couple hundred kinds of kimchi.” And kimchi finds its way into every single dish on the Kimchi Taco Truck, in exciting and inventive ways.
Phil’s path to opening the Kimchi Taco Truck was a long and winding one. Despite his early enthusiasm for kimchi, his postgraduate career track found him in front-of-house roles at fine dining establishments around New York City. After more than a decade working as a general manager for prominent restaurateurs, including Jeffrey Chodorow and Steve Hanson of the BR Guest Hospitality, Phil was ready to make a change. “I went to BR Guest thinking I was just going to be there a few years, but then I had a family and kids and all that. The next thing you know it’s nine years. And you’re like, it’s time to do this. The kids are a little bit older. You’ve got to take a chance at this point or else you’re going to end up dying regretting it.”
Phil grew up on Long Island, where American foods and kimchi existed side by side on the Lees’ table. If Phil’s mom packed him a turkey sandwich, it had a few pieces of kimchi on top. For Thanksgiving, the family enjoyed a turkey with all the trimmings, but his dad “would still need Korean food.”
Pairing American classics with a Korean twist came naturally to Phil. He wanted to make Korean food accessible to people who might never think of stepping into a traditional Korean restaurant. But with the economy still in a slump in 2010, gathering the capital to open a storefront was a challenge.
“For me it’s about my personal goal of trying to get Korean food to as many people as possible, especially kimchi. It’s something that I grew up with, something that I’m proud of. It’s part of my heritage and culture, and I want to share it with as many people as possible. Hopefully I’ve done that.… That’s what it’s all about.”
From a business standpoint, the more that Phil looked into opening a truck, the more sense it seemed to make. The Kimchi Taco Truck not only had to build a following, but they also had to create a market for kimchi. With that in mind, the lower investment and mobility of a food truck proved to be an advantage. “I think New Yorkers definitely get bored very easily because there’s always new things happening all the time. Just understanding that mentality, I think the truck is the perfect concept because you don’t have to go to one place seven days a week. You go to different places and keep them wanting more.”
As the food truck landscape has grown, so have the number of Korean taco trucks in New York, with many patterning themselves after Kogi BBQ, the Los Angeles-based truck that first popularized Korean-style barbecue tacos in late 2008. While no fewer than four other trucks serve Korean tacos in the New York City, the Kimchi Taco Truck takes that concept one step further, melding traditional street foods and Korean traditions to come up with dishes like “Kim-Cheesesteaks” served Philly style (“wit’” or “wit’out Whiz”) and BBQ nachos topped with bulgogi, a marinated barbecued beef, as well as spicy seared pork decked out with kimchi, queso blanco, cheddar, pico de gallo, green onion, and a miso crema. Their falafel is milder than its Middle Eastern cousin. Made from tofu, edamame and chickpeas, it’s flavored with perilla seed and cilantro, and is served up with kimchi-infused refried beans alongside a light and refreshing summer cucumber and pickled daikon kimchi.
Still, cultivating a following wasn’t easy. “Even though kimchi was really good to me and went well with everything. It didn’t go well with everything for everyone,” Phil admits. Over the first year, their menu underwent several extensive overhauls. Their kimchi recipes have changed to better balance the flavors. “It terms of the traditional kimchi, the red kimchi, we’re only using it in the pork because it can stand up to it. With the beef, which is a very delicate meat, along with the chicken and the falafel, we use different types of kimchi.” Chicken and falafel are paired with the summer kimchi, which pickles for a just a few days so that it retains a bright crispness. The barbecued beef is matched up with a house blend of the red kimchi and the summer kimchi.
The kimchi pickling and prep work for the truck is all done at The Kimchi Grill, their take-out shop in Prospect Heights, where they are able to offer a more extensive menu that includes include soups, pork belly, and Korean fried chicken tacos, items that are hard to serve on the truck due to constraints in space and equipment limitations. “The biggest issue is the equipment itself. You’re dealing with propane as opposed to natural gas, so your BTU is not as powerful. When you’re trying to do x amount of volume at a certain BTU, the meats don’t get seared properly. Things don’t get hot as quickly as you want them to.” The truck supported the eventual opening of the store, and now the store supports the truck, by allowing Phil’s team to experiment more with their menu, constantly tweaking and improving it.
As a seasoned restaurateur, Phil has long enjoyed street food in the New York City and frequents a number of the food trucks. A food lover, first and foremost, Phil enjoys seeking out new dishes and flavors. With regard to other trucks, he says, “For me personally, I think the more the merrier. That’s what New York’s all about. You’re able to have different variety, different options. I think that’s what makes New York special.”
Adapted from Phil Lee’s recipe
Many halal carts offer Philly cheesesteaks, but the Kimchi Taco Truck takes that concept one step further, replacing the thin pieces of chopped steak with bulgogi, Korean barbecue beef. This recipe calls for sirloin steak—the tender cuts of meat from a cow’s hips—but if you want to go all out, use rib-eye, the delicious well-marbled cuts from the meaty top of the ribs. For ease of preparation, ask your butcher to thinly slice either of these cuts for you. A sesame oil and soy sauce fruit marinade is enhanced with white wine and mirin, a sweet Japanese rice wine makes the bulgogi meat super tender. The sugars from the marinade caramelize when the meat hits the grill giving it a nice char. At the truck you can get it true Philly-style with Cheeze Whiz or provolone cheese.
½ medium-sized white onion, puréed
4 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
1 Asian pear, peeled and grated (about ¾ cup)
1 apple, peeled and grated (about ¾ cup)
1 kiwi, peeled and grated
2 scallions, white and green parts julienned
cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sauvignon blanc or chardonnay
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
1½ pounds sliced sirloin or rib-eye, thinly sliced (about ¼-inch thick)
1½ cup red kimchi
6 (6-inch) hoagie rolls, split
12 slices of provolone cheese, halved
In a large bowl, combine onion, garlic, pear, apple, kiwi, and scallions. Stir in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, mirin, white wine, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add beef and toss to combine and completely coat meat.
Cover and marinate meat in refrigerator for at least 4 to 5 hours or overnight.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Working in batches, add 4 or 5 slices of beef to the pan and cook on high heat for about 2 minutes to get a nice sear. Add 3 or 4 pieces of kimchi to the pan and stir to let the juices release. Turn the meat and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, being careful not to overcook the meat. Transfer cooked meat and kimchi to a cutting board and coarsely chop.
Cover both sides of each roll with chopped beef. Add two provolone slice halves to each side of the hoagie. Place under the broiler for 1 minute, or until the cheese is completely melted, keeping a close eye on the sandwich so as not to burn the cheese. Join the two halves to form the sandwich and serve.
Note: If you’re a huge kimchi fan, coarsely chop ½ cup kimchi and add several tablespoons to the top of each hoagie before closing the sandwich.
Adapted from Phil Lee’s recipe
Daeji bulgogi or Korean barbecue pork is marinated in gochujang, a spicy Korean fermented red pepper paste that can be found at Asian specialty shops. American pork tends to be ultra-lean and can dry out quickly upon cooking. Because of this, Phil Lee recommends using pork butt, the marbled cut of meat front the top of a pig’s shoulder. The word “butt” derives from an Old English term, and don’t confuse this cut of meat with pork shoulder roast. You want the pieces of pork to be very thinly sliced against the grain. You can ask your butcher to prepare the pork for you to ensure that it’s cut properly. The pork can be substituted for beef in the BBQ Beef Kim-Cheesesteak (page 111).
½ medium-sized white onion, puréed
4 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
1 apple, grated (about ¾ cup)
cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
1½ pounds pork butt, thinly sliced
In a large bowl combine onion, garlic, and apple. Stir in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, gochujang, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add pork and toss to combine and completely coat meat.
Cover bowl and marinate meat in refrigerator for at least 4 to 5 hours, or overnight.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Working in batches, add 4 or 5 slices of pork to the pan and cook on high heat for about 2 minutes to get a nice sear. Add 2 tablespoons of marinade and stir to coat pieces. Turn the meat and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, being careful not to overcook the meat. Transfer cooked meat to a cutting board and coarsely chop. Store covered for up to 2 days.
Top warmed double stacked small corn tortillas with ¼ pound of either Korean BBQ Pork or Korean BBQ Beef (see page 111) finish with Korean Style Pico de Gallo (page 114), Miso Crema (page 114), and shredded kimchi.
This fusion pico de gallo gets its pucker from rice vinegar and lime juice and makes for a great topping for Korean style tacos with Korean BBQ Pork (page 113) or Korean BBQ Nachos (page 115).
1½ large tomatoes, diced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, deveined, seeded, and finely chopped
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
In a medium bowl, combine diced tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, rice vinegar, and lime juice. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Ordinary sour cream gets a new identity with a touch of miso paste.
¼ cup sour cream
½ teaspoon mild miso paste
In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and miso paste. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.
Adapted from Phil Lee’s recipe
Perfect for game time or anytime, these Korean BBQ nachos pack a pungent punch and will last you through overtime.
1 (16-ounce) bag yellow corn tortilla chips
12 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (about 3 cups)
½ pound Korean BBQ beef (page 111)
½ pound Korean BBQ pork (page 113)
1 cup kimchi, coarsely chopped
1 cup Korean-Style Pico de Gallo (page 114)
¼ cup Miso Crema (page 114)
½ cup grape tomatoes, sliced
Move the oven rack to the top position. Preheat oven to 350°F. On a large oven-safe plate or platter spread 
of the tortilla chips in a single layer. Sprinkle with about half of the cheese and top with half of the beef, half of the pork, and half of the kimchi. Cover with remaining tortilla chips; sprinkle with remaining cheese; and then cover with remaining meats.
Place the nachos in the oven and heat for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, top with pico de gallo, miso crema, and tomatoes, and serve.
