Chang hunts down ‘Ugly Delicious’ for Netflix show
Docu-series will feature favourite comfort foods
“This is basically one of the ugliest dishes I’ve ever made,” chef David Chang says of a “vaguely Portuguese- Korean” creation in a clip from his new Netflix show, Ugly Delicious. As he prepares to make the braised cod dish, Chang explains that “home cooking — or (what) I call ugly delicious food — has now become the food that I also want to make in the restaurant.”
All ei ght episodes of the docu- series premiered worldwide on Friday. Its title refers to a hashtag Chang uses on Instagram to share some of his favourite, unstyled, comfort foods: kimchi, spider crab, and shredded seasoned dried pollock ( “Easily one of the best things to eat with steamed rice”) have all made appearances.
The founder of Momofuku, Chang runs restaurants in NYC, Toronto, Sydney, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, and most recently, Los Angeles. In the show, Chang travels the world dining with comedians such as Ali Wong and Jimmy Kimmel. Celebrated chefs i ncluding Massimo Bottura, René Redzepi and Sqirl’s Jessica Koslow share the stories behind some of their preferred (homely) foods.
Each episode focuses on a theme, like “Home Cooking,” “Barbecue,” “Fried Chicken” and “Pizza.” Through exploring the “really ugly food” that people love to eat, Chang addresses identity and questions the notion of authenticity.
“We wanted to be truthful, we wanted to tell stories that weren’t being told,” Chang tells Observer. “We wanted to show that multiple truths can be true; that often your cultural food beliefs were most l i kely going to be wrong.”