“Mishpacha” means family in Hebrew.
This project is a love letter to family, memory, and the ways food binds us across cultures and generations.
When I think of family, I hear the overlapping voices of childhood gatherings: children laughing, women bustling in the kitchen, men talking over soju and plates of sizzling anju (Korean drinking snacks). These joyful scenes faded when my grandfather—the eldest son—passed away when I was nine. For years, those memories lay dormant.
Then I met Kenny.
His family dinners stirred something old and familiar in me. The sounds, the warmth, the way food moved through every interaction—it brought me home. As we built our own Korean-Jewish family, food naturally became our shared love language. Our holiday meals now blend latkes with kimchi, brisket that tastes like kalbi, and rice alongside kugel.
But in 2019, the very idea of family shifted.
A day after my father’s funeral, I learned I had been adopted at two months old. This revelation shattered and remade my identity. It forced me to rethink what family really means.
Through grief, reflection, and rebuilding, I came to believe that family isn’t just about ancestry—it’s about connection, chosen bonds, and love. Food, for me, is one of the deepest expressions of that love. Even during strained years with my adoptive parents, food created a bridge—through grilled eels, bubbling stews, and quiet dinners that said what words couldn’t.
Now, in midlife, I imagine our future family gatherings: Kenny and I in our sixties, surrounded by adult children and their partners, celebrating Jewish holidays with daikon-laced latkes and matzo ball soup spiced with ginger. Will I confidently guide them through the Haggadah? Or will I still be learning alongside them?
That’s why, after 20 years of marriage, I decided to convert to Judaism.
I wanted to bring all parts of our life together—fully, proudly, joyfully.
After six months of study, I immersed in the mikveh, a ritual bath symbolizing renewal. My conversion ceremony, shared with our son’s long-delayed bar mitzvah, was one of the most moving moments of my life.
Mishpacha is where I explore and celebrate Jewish and Asian diasporic food—through recipes, personal stories, and interviews with other mixed families. I noticed most Jewish cookbooks tell Ashkenazi or Sephardic stories, but the diaspora is far more expansive.
From Korea to Cuba, India to Poland, Japan to Miami—we are everywhere.
And we cook with all of it.
What You'll Find in this Section
Recipes: Some traditional, some totally made up. All heartfelt.
Stories: Personal, historical, imagined, and community-shared.
Recommendations: Cookbooks, writers, and creators to explore.
Want to Contribute?
Do you have a Jewish-Asian family story to tell?
A fusion recipe from your kitchen?
A memory of your grandmother’s dumplings or your uncle’s brisket?
I’d love to hear from you. Mishpacha is open to contributors, collaborators, and community.