Sohn-mat - by Monica Lee (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Monica Lee opened Beverly Soon Tofu in 1986, just as Los Angeles's Koreatown was taking shape as a cultural hub. For over thirty years, Beverly Soon Tofu was an anchor to this community, and newcomers and regulars alike would line up for the restaurant's specialty: a bubbling hot bowl of soondubu jjigae, or soft tofu stew, each one made to order. Sohn-mat translates to flavor in the fingertips. It is the cook's fingerprint, her natural, deep-seated instincts with flavor, ingredients, and seasonings that make her dish truly her own. In Sohn-mat, Monica's first-ever book, she shares the knowledge she built over decades and the trial and error that went into creating her version of this iconic dish. And, in addition to detailing each component of soondubu, the book includes recipes for all the foods to serve with it, from many types of banchan and kimchi, to grilled meats and bibimbap"--

Book Synopsis

A BEST COOKBOOK OF THE YEAR: Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Vice

From one of the country's most beloved Korean restaurants, a master class in making the iconic Korean stew, soondubu jjigae, with recipes for everything to serve alongside it, including kimchi, banchan, grilled meats, and more.

Monica Lee opened Beverly Soon Tofu in 1986, just as Los Angeles's Koreatown was taking shape as a cultural hub. For over thirty years, Beverly Soon Tofu was an anchor to this community, and newcomers and regulars alike would line up for the restaurant's specialty: a bubbling hot bowl of soondubu jjigae, or soft tofu stew, each one made to order.

Sohn-mat translates to flavor in the fingertips. It is the cook's fingerprint, her natural, deep-seated instincts with flavor, ingredients, and seasonings that make her dish truly her own. In Sohn-mat, Monica's first-ever book, she shares the knowledge she built over decades and the trial and error that went into creating her version of this iconic dish. And, in addition to detailing each component of soondubu, the book includes recipes for all the foods to serve with it, from many types of banchan and kimchi, to grilled meats and bibimbap. Sohn-mat is an invitation to cultivate your own intuitive cooking and perfect soondubu in the process.

Monica Lee opened Beverly Soon Tofu in 1986. It was the first restaurant of its kind in LA, a pioneer serving soon tofu stew to residents and visitors of Koreatown for over thirty years.

Tien Nguyen is the co-author of multiple books, including New York Times bestseller L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food with chef Roy Choi, and The Red Boat Fish Sauce Cookbook, one of NPR's 2021 Books We Love.

Review Quotes

"Beverly Soon was a special place for my family and I and this book is a must for anyone who loves Korean cooking."--Bricia Lopez, chef and author of Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling, The Guardian

"If I close my eyes, I can taste the thick bubbling spicy stew and see Monica cooking 12 of them at the same time over viciously bursting open flames with only a pair of pliers in her hand to grab the pot. And in that dream, Uncle Tony Bourdain is still alive and we are cracking eggs into each other's bubbling bowls, laughing. Welcome to Beverly Soon Tofu."--Roy Choi, author of L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food

"Reading Monica Lee's new cookbook, devoted to the expansive pleasures of the stew and its infinite variations, it's easy to see why her restaurant became so essential to Los Angeles and the city's multiplicity of tastes. From her structured broths, to her dadaegi, and right down to the way she cracks an egg into the bowl, these recipes offer instructions for cooking with Ms. Lee's sense of precision, care and utter joy."--Tejal Rao, Critic-at-Large, The New York Times

"The book provides an intimate portrait of one special restaurant at the forefront of Los Angeles' booming Koreatown."--Janelle Bitker, San Francisco Chronicle

"This book is so awesomely thorough that even home cooks new to Korean food can quickly make their own seasoned red pepper paste, blended garlic, and beef bone broth--or, create the mung bean pancake batter of their dreams, and from scratch."--Adam Rothbarth, Vice

"With this cookbooks, Lee and Tien Nguyen, one of L.A.'s most insightful writers on culture and food, show us how to recapture the restaurant's spirit in our own kitchens. Lee's story is extraordinary, and so are her recipes; they illuminate her life far beyond spicy, delicious tofu stew."--Bill Addison, Restaurant critic, The Los Angeles Times

"Beverly Soon Tofu may no longer be open, but with Lee's book, readers can recreate many of the dishes the restaurant was loved for." - Genevieve Yam, Bon Appétit

"The cookbook is a gesture of thanks, as well as an acknowledgment of her own contributions to the growing understanding of what Korean food is and has the possibility to be." -Helin Jung, Stained Page News.

About the Author

Monica Lee opened Beverly Soon Tofu in 1986. It was the first restaurant of its kind in LA, a pioneer serving soon tofu stew to residents and visitors of Koreatown for over thirty years.

Tien Nguyen is the co-author of multiple books, including New York Times bestseller L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food with chef Roy Choi, and The Red Boat Fish Sauce Cookbook, one of NPR's 2021 Books We Love.