Hi! Welcome to The Subversive Table!
My name is Lis and I’m a former school teacher turned recipe developer and digital content creator. The Subversive Table reflects my experience as a Korean American living in Canada. I love to cook Korean food. And everything else!
I hope you’ll enjoy my food — treasured family recipes handed down multiple generations AND modern classics influenced by my cultural heritage. These are the kind of dishes I love to cook and eat. Enjoy!
What you’ll find at The Subversive Table:
I love Korean food.
Korean food is the way I connect to my culture. I cook Korean food when I need comfort. I also cook Korean food to remember who I am and where I come from.
My goal is to create simple Korean recipes that anyone can cook at home. Yes, you can cook Korean food!
I also like to put my Asian American spin on food. Cranking up the flavor with fermented foods + sauces, intense aromatics like garlic + lemongrass, and spice, spice, spice. Yes, I can’t live without spicy food.
I also enjoy not-too-sweet desserts. Instead of focusing on syrupy sweetness, my desserts highlight texture and bitter/sour/salty/umami.
Some people call this fusion food, others call it Asian riffs on a classic. Either way, I think you’ll find these recipes delicious and tasty.
Let’s stay connected!
Follow me on social media. I love to hang out on Instagram. That’s the place where I post informal how-tos, my latest food obsession, grocery store finds, weekly dinner menus, and behind-the-scenes from the blog.
You can also follow me on Pinterest and Facebook and TikTok!
More About My Story:
I am a Third Culture Kid. Growing up, I didn’t fit into my parents’ culture (Korean) and I didn’t fit into the culture I lived in (white Suburbia). I floated somewhere in between.
At home, I ate traditional Korean food. At school, I ate classic American lunchroom fare.
Then I moved out and needed to learn how to cook.
I learned to cook Western food by watching Food Network and scouring recipe index sites. I subscribed to gourmet magazines and bought cookbooks. There were so many options to help me become a better Western cook.
But when I wanted to cook Korean, there was only ONE option: call Halmoni.
Halmoni is my Korean grandmother. She raised me while my parents worked long hours at the family business. As a child, I spent many hours in her kitchen. As an adult, she became my go-to source for Korean food advice.
That’s how this blog came to be. I’ve always loved food and I’ve always put my Korean American spin on the food I cook and eat. Enjoy!
*I live in Toronto, the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and current home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.*
Culinary Experience
I am a home cook and I’ve been cooking and creating recipes for over 20 years. I’ve also spent many years cooking, tasting, and eating with my Korean grandma — an informal apprenticeship in Korean cooking! I’ve also had the opportunity to share my cooking knowledge and expertise with others:
- University of Toronto (Scarborough Campus), Intercultural Food Discussions cooking class
- University of Toronto (Missisauga Campus), cooking class
- The Drop Inn, community kitchen
Education
- University of Washington, Double BA (Political Science and Art History)
- Teachers College Columbia University, MA (Education)
- Regent College, MA (Theology)
Online Publications:
- Buzzfeed
- Insider
- CJ Newsroom
- PureWow
- She Knows
- Mashed
- The Subversive Table: Food as Mission
- The Tasting Table
- The Storied Recipe
- Tiny Beans
