David Chang's 15 Best Cooking Tips For Home Chefs

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In the cutthroat world of restaurateurs, David Chang has managed to rise above the fray and make a lasting impact. With his magnetic personality and revolutionary, sometimes surprising cooking methods, Chang has become an iconic figure in the culinary realm, known even to those who have yet to try his mouth-watering dishes, making a name for himself a through popular podcast, a Netflix series, and of course, his restaurant empire, which includes the acclaimed Momofuku.

Chang's approach to cooking is a delightful fusion of tradition and innovation, or as he put it in an article he wrote for Wired, it is "the new and familiar woven together in a strange loop." Drawing inspiration from his Korean heritage, he pays homage to his roots while pushing conventional cooking boundaries, including by using unlikely tools such as the microwave, as we will see. Perhaps even more striking is Chang's ability to harmonize unexpected flavors, such as miso and sweet corn or fermented black beans paired with tender pork. Whatever the case, the result tends to be an extraordinary sensory experience. Let's take a look at some of the ways in which he achieves that as tips you can apply in your own kitchen.

If you're an avid home cook, you probably have a few paring knives lying around. But if you don't, not to worry: you can buy one for under $10 and get the job done just as easily as if you'd purchased a fancy one. In fact, in a video on his Instagram account, Chang says there's no need to go above that price tag, and that this has been the norm in most of the kitchens he's worked in. It's the cheap kitchen tool Chang uses all the time. A basic model will work just as well as anything to mince, chop, and slice, and when the blade gets dull, it can easily be sharpened at home. 

Just make sure that you pick a model that fits your grip. The paring knife should basically act as an extension of your hand, so you'll want to pick something that feels comfortable and affords you a lot of control.

If you don't have a dishwasher, you're going to love this idea for macaroni and cheese made with only one pot. You won't even have to use a colander. All you'll need is one wok, the macaroni ingredients of your choice, and no more than four or five cups of water. Chang recommends cooking the macaroni until the water has almost evaporated completely, then stirring the butter, flour, and cheese directly into your wok. At this point, you can customize it with whatever you like. Breadcrumbs can add texture and a bit of crunch, while truffle oil, truffle cheese, or truffle salt can each add a hint of decadence to the dish.

But if you're feeling like changing things up, just add David Chang's own secret ingredient to your mac and cheese: Worcestershire sauce. As seen on his Instagram account, you can simply add this ingredient last, after your mac and cheese is good and ready.

If you're a fan of one-pot cooking, don't limit yourself to the wok or cast-iron skillet. Make sure you also have a versatile donabe in your arsenal. This is a Japanese earthenware pot that comes with a lid and can be used to braise or steam fish on the stove, or you can pop it in the oven to make a stew or a roast. In fact, the adaptability of this pot cannot be overstated. You can use it to make rice by cooking it with water on medium heat for 14 minutes, then letting it sit and steam to perfection for 20 minutes. You can even layer vegetables and meat on top of the rice at the steaming stage to create a full, healthy steamed meal.

And don't forget to use it for your next hot pot meal. It is widely used in Asia to cook a broth into which diners can dip their uncooked meat, seafood, or vegetables, much like a European-style meat fondue, which can be made with broth or hot oil. When it's all over, store your donabe on your open kitchen shelves as an attractive decoration.

Chang would deck out his kitchen with copper cookware because has two main benefits: it makes cooking more efficient, and it looks pretty. In fact, copper is known to be 10 times more conductive than stainless steel, which makes it cook more evenly and heat up the contents faster, including when boiling water. This is great for when you're cooking delicate items that require careful temperature control, like flaky fish or caramel sauce. Copper is also antimicrobial, which means you can use it practically forever and never have to worry about bacteria taking over.

All that sounds like heaven, but be aware that cons do exist. Firstly, copper cookware is incredibly expensive. Even a small pot might set you back $100. Second, copper requires a bit more maintenance than your usual stainless steel items. Oxidation is a constant threat, so the pans need to be hand washed and polished frequently. You can polish your cookware with a copper cleaner and a soft cloth every six months, but you can also use household products including lemon juice or ketchup to fix your copper pans.

After the microwave was first rolled out to residential consumers in the 1960s, it experienced a massive boom, with 80% of American households owning a device by 1993. But ever since 2004, sales have dwindled by up to 40%. This is in part due to a saturation of the market, but also to a growing preference for fresh food and a perception that microwaves zap out some of a food's nutritional content, though this has proven to be untrue. Whatever the case, microwave cooking has gotten a bad rap.

Not so in David Chang's kitchen. He has been known to use this cooking tool to make anything from flaky salmon to mashed potatoes. In the first case, just place your salmon filet in a microwave-safe container, pour some soy sauce and agave on top, making sure it's evenly distributed, and season with salt and pepper. Place the salmon in the microwave, cover it loosely, and zap it for three and a half minutes for a medium-rare filet. For the mashed potatoes, just peel and cube your potatoes as you normally would, then season them and place them in the microwave inside a microwave-safe lidded container. Zap them for eight minutes, and then add your butter and milk and mash as usual. That should all take about 10 minutes, and that is literally all there is to it.

One of David Chang's core tenets is that you don't always need fancy ingredients to make a fancy dish. In fact, one of the ingredients he suggests using to make his signature cacio e pepe is ramen noodles straight out of the packet. That's right, the instant kind. Although his version is a far cry from the traditional Italian dish, the ingredients are mostly the same, and the result is still delicious, which is the important part. 

To make David Chang's version, you just need some instant ramen noodles and your homemade cheese broth, made with finely grated Pecorino Romano, melted butter, and enough water to cover the noodles and rehydrate them. Combine the ingredients until the noodles are soft and the water has reduced, though you might have to pour some of it out at the end. And if you don't know what to do with that leftover ready-made mix in your instant noodle packet, just use it on your next batch of roasted potatoes.

David Chang is no fan of American-produced miso and he's not afraid to hide it. He maintains that it has too much sodium and tastes too salty. But that doesn't mean we have to go all the way to Japan to get this ingredient. All we have to do to undercut the saltiness is mix it with butter. This trick also works when you feel you might have added too much miso to a dish.

Once you've got your balance of flavor down pat, you can use miso in a whole host of recipes. The world-famous miso soup is one dish everyone should try at least once, but you can also rub it on salmon, creating a beautiful salty and sweet glaze, or add it to your braised pork belly. But don't stop at the main course: Miso's combination of saltiness and umami can go great with certain baked goods, like banana bread or caramel cake.