In today's digital age, following a recipe from a book may seem pretty archaic. So if you're not in the mood to read the ingredients and measurements, then a playlist might be for you.
Noah Conk, a San Francisco-based designer, went to the effort of creating a curated playlist of his recipe for kimchi fried rice. The recipe is explained by a three-hour, 51-song playlist, with each song title describing a specific ingredient, measurement or instruction.
Some of the songs included are pretty general, like the first in the playlist: "Ingredients" by YNW Melly.
Others are more specific, like "Unsalted Butter" by The Long Winters.
And of course, some have key details to the cooking process, and veer on the ambient, like "Medium Heat" by Rain & Chocolate.
"I basically went through the search function of searching for the word that I needed," Conk explained. Currently, the playlist boasts more than 4,000 likes on Spotify.
Some songs are addendums to the playlist, due to audience demand, like "Butter" by BTS.
Conk had originally made the playlist without the smash hit by the widely beloved K-Pop group. He soon realized his grave error: "I was like, how could I forget the 'Butter' song, in a kimchi fried rice recipe playlist?"
Conk picked kimchi fried rice because it's a favorite comfort food of his.
"Growing up," he said, "I never really ate too much Korean food because I'm an adoptee," he said. Reconnecting with his Korean roots in college, especially through food, allowed him to gain confidence in making his own recipe, inspired by YouTuber chef Chris Cho.
But his own preferences for the recipe also caused listeners to ask questions.
"They're like, why unsalted butter?" Conk said. "It allows you to salt to taste. And the goal of butter is to bring out the subtle nuances of kimchi."
After the instructions are through, listeners are greeted by Anderson .Paak's "Winners Circle."
"You made it to the end, and you're in the winner's circle," Conk explained. "You're part of this collective of people who can make kimchi fried rice from a playlist. And it's also a subtle nod to Anderson .Paak being Korean."
Regardless of whether they're winners or not, they'll certainly have a delicious bowl of food to groove out with. You can try it out for yourself with the playlist here:
This piece was adapted for the web by Manuela Lopez Restrepo
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