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Kimchi, Kimbap, Ka-pow! An Interview With Comics Chef Robin Ha

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By Dave Kelly

Robin Ha, whose credits include Women of Marvel, Heavy Metal, and the blog Banchan in Two Pages, has just released Cook Korean!, a comic book-cookbook of Korean recipes.  What began as an experiment in her mother's suburban kitchen quickly snowballed into a book deal with Ten Speed Press, and the book itself debuted this week at #4 on the New York Times best seller list for Paperback Graphic Books.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Robin in the midst of a publicity scramble for our respective new books.  Robin is also my former studiomate, a good friend, and an upcoming contributor to Tales of the Night Watchman, the series I write for So What? Press.

If you live in or around New York City, stop by Mama Says Comics Rock on July 28th.  They'll be hosting a joint signing for Cook Korean! and the latest issue of Tales of the Night Watchman, a one-shot entitled "The Mad Mind of Anton Sebaum", illustrated by J. Vigants.  In the meantime, here is what Robin had to say about Cook Korean!

DAVE KELLY:  Congrats on Cook Korean! debuting as a New York Times best seller!  This is a pretty big deal.  How do you feel?

ROBIN HA:  My everyday life hasn't changed a bit, so I don't really know what it means to be a New York Times best seller.  But it's very exciting to see my book in the media, and I am just so glad that it's been received well by the public.  It's the validation that all the hard work I've put into this book hasn't been in vain.  I'm very proud of the food from my motherland, and I hope my book would help everyone around the world to get into Korean food.

DK:  We've been friends for a while now, and I know how much blood, sweat, and tears went into this book.  What was the most difficult part of creating a comic book-cookbook of Korean recipes?

RH: The most difficult part was writing the recipes so that everyone could understand. Like all rustic cooking that has been passed through generations, nobody measures anything in Korean kitchens.  It's all little bit of that, a little bit of this, so putting a stop to the natural flow in cooking to measure everything, and describing it in a way that people who aren't familiar with Korean food can understand, was the hardest part.

DK:  How many times did you test-drive the recipes to make sure they were perfect?

RH:  I had to make the same food at least three times to make sure that my recipe worked, and I had to eat the leftover dish throughout the week.  Korean food is very healthy and non-fattening, but I gained fifteen pounds last year working on this book because I ate, like, two servings every meal just to finish all the leftovers!

DK:  I've seen on Twitter that people are trying your recipes.  Lara [Antal, co-creator of Tales of the Night Watchman] and I recently made your kimchi.  It was delish.  What do you hope people take away from reading the book, aside from learning a thing or two about Korean food and culture?

RH:  I would love to take away people's fear of cooking, especially cooking something that they aren't familiar with. Being able to cook delicious food for yourself and your loved ones is a great asset to have in your life.  And, if my book can give someone the confidence to cook and be adventurous enough to dabble with the world's cuisine, that would make me very happy.

DK:  I was honored to be your sous-chef a couple of weeks ago as we cooked for people at Fantom Comics.  One thing I learned that day was how much Koreans love Spam.  Americans tend to have an adverse relationship with the stuff.  Do you think that needs to change?

RH:  I think hating something without trying it, just because of your preconception, is stupid.  If you tried it and still don't like the taste, that's fair enough.  It's bizarre to me that Americans eat all kinds of processed meats like hot dogs and chicken nuggets, and they are afraid to try Spam.  Spam isn't a health food by any means, and I am not trying to promote eating processed meat here, but I just don't like the notion of being a picky eater because of what is going on in their heads, rather than the taste.

DK:  Last thing:  Care to share your favorite recipe from the book?

RH:  Oh, this is a hard question.  I like too many foods!  At the moment, my go-to dish is the spicy cold noodles (bibim guksu) because it's so easy and quick to make, and it's such a refreshing dish on a hot summer day.  I've been eating this for almost every lunch this month.


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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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