When the longtime Koreatown restaurant Beverly Soon Tofu announced it was closing permanently in September 2020, it felt like LA was losing a piece of its culinary history. Monica Lee opened Beverly Soon Tofu in 1986 and ran it for more than 30 years. Its popularity exploded in 2013 after the late Anthony Bourdain stopped by. Now Lee has published a cookbook, Sohn-mat: Recipes and Flavors of Korean Home Cooking.
“Sohn-mat” means “tasting the fingertips.” Lee tells KCRW, “When we make any kind of food, I have to pay attention to what I’m making … and who's gonna eat this and how they're gonna enjoy my food. So that is from love and sharing. Everybody can have sohn-mat if they try.”
“When we make any kind of food, I have to pay attention to what I’m making … and who's gonna eat this and how they're gonna enjoy my food. So that is from love and sharing. Everybody can have sohn-mat if they try,” says Monica Lee. Photo by Rick Poon.
Lee opened Beverly Soon Tofu nearly a decade after she immigrated to the U.S. from South Korea in 1977, but she never intended to become a restaurateur. She originally went to school for nursing, but ended up not liking the job because it often involved sad situations, she says. She decided instead to open a restaurant to enjoy her cooking hobby.
Running the business came with challenges. Lee worked long hours — sometimes 24 hours at a time — and had to figure out how much food to prepare on any given day.
Beverly Soon Tofu opened in 1986 and closed in 2020. Photo by Rick Poon.
“Sometimes I didn't [get] tired because I [was] so worried about the business. … I cut vegetables, and I cut the meat. Sometimes, I’d bring it home, and then during the nighttime, I work. So everybody said, ‘Oh Monica, you’re [a] workaholic, when [are] you going to sleep?’”
Soon tofu chigae became Lee’s signature dish — a boiling cauldron of bright red, spicy soup with a freshly-cracked raw egg and a pillowy, soft, silky kind of tofu. Chili paste — and Lee’s specialty tofu — is also key to this recipe.
Monica Lee is author of “Sohn-mat: Recipes and Flavors of Korean Home Cooking.” Credit: Hardie Grant.
While opening a new restaurant might be hard in the future, Lee says she can see herself making soup starter kits or working on more books — rife with fresh recipes for side dishes or parties.
Dadaegi
Seasoned red pepper paste
Makes ½ cup/160g
Dadaegi is seasoned red pepper paste. Photo by Rick Poon.
Every Korean restaurant has its own signature dadaegi, and this is mine. I have treasured this recipe for the last thirty-five years; it is the heart and soul of every soon tofu soup I make, the base that enlivens the stew with a medley of spiciness, saltiness, sweetness, and richness. It has many uses beyond soon tofu, too. Use it to build flavor in my Gochujang Chigae / Red Pepper Paste Stew with Tofu or the Spicy Squid Soup. It is very simple to make, but it does require two days to develop its flavor. Because it is so versatile and stores so well, I suggest making plenty. Back when I ran my restaurant, I made gallons and gallons. In fact, the longer it sits, the deeper and more complex the flavors become.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup / 45g coarse gochugaru
- 1/4 cup / 30g fine gochugaru
- 1/4 cup / 60ml soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Instructions
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In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup / 60ml water with the coarse and fine gochugaru, soy sauce, salt, fish sauce, and sugar. Mix until the sugar has dissolved and the gochugaru are well incorporated. Place the mixture in a glass container and cover. Leave at room temperature for 1 day, then place in the refrigerator. It’s ready to use the next morning. Store for up to 1 month in the fridge.
- To make a vegetarian or vegan version, omit the fish sauce and increase the salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons. Mix and store as instructed.