A chef from Busan records 5,000 tonkatsu recipes in New York

A chef from Busan started at a small tonkatsu shop in Bundang and, after settling in New York, completed a collection of up to 5,000 tonkatsu recipes through years of records and research. He began running a Japanese restaurant in 1995 by opening a shop of just over 7 pyeong, and after immigrating to New York in 2015, he opened a restaurant near New York University. He served sushi, sashimi, tonkatsu, udon, ramen, and more, welcoming customers of many nationalities. He recalled that he especially saw many visits from Chinese international students and Japanese customers. He regarded the supermarket not merely as a place to shop for groceries, but as a research space where new menu ideas could be born. Whenever he saw an ingredient, he would immediately write it down and sketch it out, and at night he would use those notes to plan recipes, sauces, and even the colors and shapes. This habit came from the notetaking method he developed while teaching himself Japanese after his military service, and later carried over into his overall cooking development. By organizing dozens of notebooks, he expanded his tonkatsu ideas from 10 to 1,000 and ultimately to 5,000. In fact, he tested some of the recipes by making them himself for acquaintances, then improved the completeness by adjusting the flavor and proportions. He said this achievement began not from an elaborate kitchen, but from ingredients discovered at the supermarket and the notes he made without letting them go to waste.