Roy Choi MasterClass Review

Roy Choi Teaches Intuitive Cooking

Next on our list of MasterClass reviews is Roy Choi MasterClass — a class that will teach you to use your intuition for cooking delicious food.

You might know Roy Choi as the godfather of America's gourmet food truck movement. The 2008 launch of Kogi, his taco-focused food truck in Los Angeles, California, blew up the boundaries between fancy restaurant cuisine and street food and put Roy on the map as one of America's most original chefs.

Roy wasn't trying to start a revolution when he took tacos, kimchi, and more to the Los Angeles streets with the Kogi BBQ taco truck. He just wanted to make what he loved and knew by heart: immigrant-influenced all-American food. Now he's teaching you his recipes, sauces, and techniques. Learn how to cook with your instincts using equipment you already have — and start adding your own twist to tried-and-true favorites.

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The Godfather of America’s Gourmet Food Truck Movement 

Throughout his career, Roy has championed the idea that cooking is for everyone, that delicious food doesn't need to mean fancy food, and that intuition is more important than precision. "I grew up with food everywhere: dumplings on stainless steel countertops, bubbling jars of fermenting vegetables, kimchi stains on everything," he says.

Roy was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Southern California. He helped spark the modern food truck movement through Kogi BBQ by merging food and social media with community and honoring the street food culture that laid the path before him.

As a Korean immigrant raised in Southern California, Roy shows MasterClass members his "American not fusion" food philosophy and encourages them to rely on instincts and senses over recipes while cooking. In his class, he breaks down his "mother sauces" and signature dishes — including, for the first time ever, the secrets to his world-famous Kogi taco, as well as dumplings, carnitas, and kimchi tuna melts and fried rice.

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Roy Choi MasterClass Plan

01 - Meet Your Instructor

Get to know award-winning chef Roy Choi, widely considered an architect of the food truck revolution.

02 -  Roy's Pantry Staples

Roy walks you through the items he likes to keep on hand at all times: a blend of Korean, Latin, and Asian ingredients. In Roy’s mind, it’s the ultimate American pantry.

03 - The Equipment You Don't Need

Simplify and streamline. Pare down your equipment list to the bare essentials through Roy’s “philosophy of one.”

04 - Mother Sauce: Kalbi Marinade

As he teaches you how to make his versatile kalbi marinade, Roy shares the concept of “mother sauces,” which can be used in various recipes and will help you build an arsenal of flavor.

05 - Mother Sauce: Kogi Vinaigrette

Roy shares the secrets to making the famous Kogi vinaigrette.

06 - Mother Sauce: Scallion Dipping Sauce

Roy teaches you how to make his “sauce that goes with everything.”

07 - Mother Sauce: Salsa Verde

Get ready to turn it up a notch. From the smoking grill it’s cooked on to the kick it leaves in your mouth, Roy’s salsa verde brings some serious heat.

08 - Kogi Taco Part I: BBQ Kalbi and Veggies

Roy is giving away the secrets to his famous Kogi taco—just not all at once. In Part I, Roy teaches you how to marinate and grill kalbi beef and vegetables.

09 - Kogi Taco Part II: Slaw, Toppings, and Assembly

In the second half of his Kogi taco recipe, Roy teaches you how to make Kogi slaw and assemble the taco that launched a revolution.

10 - Napa Cabbage Kimchi

It’s time to get messy. You’ll need an apron for this one—preferably one with bunnies on it. Roy teaches you to blend kimchi paste and kimchi napa cabbage.

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11 - Kimchi Fried Rice

Fried rice, fried thrice. Roy offers up his version of the perfect fried rice, with kimchi in the spotlight.

12 - Kimchi Tuna Melt

Embrace the simplicity of the steps to this mashup of Korean flavors and diner food.

13 - Savory Mung Bean Potato Pancake

Roy shows you how to make a delicious savory pancake that’s perfect for dunking in your scallion dipping mother sauce.

14 - 3 P.M. Dumplings: Beef-Pork and Veggie

Learn Roy’s techniques for filling, folding, and cooking beef-pork dumplings and vegetarian dumplings.

15 - Large-Format Carnitas with Pork Fat Cilantro Rice

Try your hand at the mouthwatering recipe Roy dreams of—especially when he cooks his pork shoulder low and slow overnight.

16 - Bonus: Carnitas and Pork Fat Cilantro Rice Burrito

Here’s where you get to roll with Roy. Repurposing the pulled pork and cilantro rice from the previous recipe, he shows you the perfect burrito-rolling technique.

17 - Whole Grilled Fish with Ponzu Sauce

Roy teaches you everything you need to know about fish: how to debone and grill it and what to do with fish eyes.

18 - Panchan: Asian Pear and Watermelon Kimchis

Roy explains that “kimchi” is a verb and shows you how to kimchi unexpected ingredients, like fruit.

19 - Panchan: Blanched Vegetables

Panchan are delightful bites that come at the beginning of a meal and show what the chef is made of. Roy shares his blanching and shocking techniques, which can be used for broccoli or just about any other vegetable.

20 - Panchan: Quick-Pickled Cucumbers

Learn how to mimic the flavor of a pickled cucumber on the stovetop in this panchan recipe.

21 - Rice Bowls

What do you do after a long night of eating? Eat the leftovers. Roy offers four no-waste recipes featuring items found throughout the class and teaches you to combine them intuitively.

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A Fun and Flavorful MasterClass

On Roy Choi MasterClass, besides having access to his "secrete" recipes, ‍you'll be walked through the items he likes to keep on hand at all times, which is a blend of everyday ingredients, and you'll learn how to pair down an equipment list to bare essentials through Roy's "philosophy of one."

He teaches how to marinate and grill kalbi beef and vegetables, make Kogi slaw, and put together the taco that launched a revolution. You'll also learn how to make dumplings, kimchi everything like Asian pear, watermelon, and much more.

Every recipe is easy to make, thanks to Roy's "wiggle room" approach that makes cooking fun and easy.

Final Thoughts

Roy Choi is a character himself. His laid-back vibe is contagious, making this class one of the funniest and most exciting classes on the MasterClass platform.

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