The Dave Chang Show Potato Jeon, or Which Foods Hold Value to Us
Jan 29, 2026
A maker recreates a two-ingredient childhood potato dish and a sweet baked potato ritual tied to family memories. Stories jump from a Milan white truffle dinner to cultural takes on unusual ingredients. Techniques for grating, extracting starch, and pan-frying small jeon are shown. A simple scallion-garlic soy dip is made, and reflections explore how scarcity and culture shape what we value in food.
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Truffle, Potato, And A Milan Memory
- Dave Chang recounts a Milan trattoria where an owner shaved an enormous white truffle over gorgonzola, creating a shocking but brilliant dish.
- The owner said a truffle was once as valuable as a potato to her because of wartime scarcity, reframing ingredient value.
Value Of Food Is Contextual
- Value assigned to food is relative and shaped by culture, scarcity, and personal history.
- What seems precious in one era or place can be ordinary in another, altering culinary choices and taste hierarchies.
Ants Tasting Like Lemongrass
- Dave Chang shares Alex Atala's Amazon story where ants tasted like lemongrass to a chef unfamiliar with them.
- The village cook insisted it tasted like ants, highlighting how cultural context shapes flavor perception.