Anne Hyun-Sun is a Korean culinary student who is taking her education abroad. In August, she landed a job at a popular smokehouse in Dallas, Texas called Frank’s Smokehouse. It’s been over 4 months and she feels very homesick. She misses her home, family, and friends. But the thing she misses the most is her father’s japchae. It was her comfort dish that her father makes it every Sunday lunch after church. She has a copy of his recipe so she can make it abroad. But somehow it never tastes the same.  She hopes that after she gathers enough knowledge, she can come back to Korea and open up her own American smokehouse joint in the heart of Seoul.

It’s December 23 in Dallas, Texas. It was slightly chilly, but it was manageable for Anne. It’s supposed to be the last shift before Christmas. Anne starts her shift at 6 in the morning. She came into the back of the smokehouse and saw the overnight team taking turns checking on the whole pig that was cut in half and slow roasting for 12 hours. One of the six crew members waved at her with a droopy tone. “Morning.” Anne lightly bows. “Morning,” she replied quietly so she doesn’t wake up the rest of the team. Her English isn’t the greatest, but it’s enough to have basic conversations with anyone. She continues walking to the locker room to start changing. 

She got suited up and went to the main kitchen. She turned on the lights and the ovens and started getting ready to prep all the side dishes and salads that pair nicely with the meat. All of a sudden, she heard a knock at the kitchen door. The door opened and it was Frank, a tall, charming, 40-year-old black man. “Anne, I want to see you in my office please.” Anne replied, “Yes, chef.” She went to his office. His office is pretty messy filled with outdated recipes, old family photos with his family, and stained invoices. “Have a seat,” said Frank. Anne quietly sat down. She seems uneasy about what’s going on. “Is there something wrong Chef?” She asked. Frank chuckled. “Of course not kiddo. I just want to talk to you.” Anne nodded. “First off, please don’t call me Chef. Just call me Frank. We’re not at Noma. Second, your probation has ended and I’m happy that you met my expectations. You’ve been a big help to the team and we love to have to stay here as long as you like. It’s not every day that we get someone overseas to work with us.” Anne was relieved. “Thank you so much, Chef. I mean, Frank. It means a lot”. Frank smiles. “In this great celebratory moment, I want you to make family this time,” She looks confused. “Fam-il-y. What’s that?” Frank explains to her “Family is a meal cooked by someone in the team before service. I’m sure that our team is tired of my cooking and we don’t want Tim cooking family again. He nearly food-poisoned half of my team. I want you to do this one before the holidays.” “I’m honoured Frank,” said Anne. “But I have no idea what to make for all you guys.” Frank stood up from his chair and lay his hand on her shoulder. “Make something that you always love eating. If you love it, chances are we will like it too.” He begins leaving his office and Anne follows. “You got two hours to make. Work your magic kiddo. And don’t worry about the prep list. Paola and Tim can take of it”

Anne went back to the kitchen. “Oh man,” she thought. “What should I even make for a team of 15 people?” She went to the fridge to get some ideas. She looked around. There’s some cabbage, carrots, parsley, and leftover beef. She has an idea. Most of the ingredients that are here are what she needs to make japchae. She grabbed a bin and began putting all her ingredients before making her way back into the kitchen. As she put her stuff on her station, she looked around the kitchen to find any sesame oil, soy sauce, and glass noodles. She found some sesame oil that had probably been unused ever since she got here. However, there are no glass noddles. There’s sapagegghi pasta. She sighs. “Good enough,” she said. She begins cutting all the vegetables.

30 minutes in and Anne finished cutting all the vegetables needed for her japchae. She even prepped a little more to help Paola and Tim. While she’s waiting for her pot of water to boil, she begins cooking the veggies in a giant saucepan. Paola and Tim enter the kitchen. Tims is slightly hungover. “Oh, man. Something smells good,” Tim said. Anne glanced at the two lovers. “Party? Again?” She asked. “Not me. Him,” Paola said with shame. “Tim was at a bar with his friends last night and didn’t come back until 3 am. He also vomited before coming here.” “Thanks, for rubbing that in babe,” said Tim. “Now if you excuse me, I need to use the toilet. Trying to get this thing out of my system before we open.” Paola looked at Anne’s station. “Did you help our stuff earlier?” Anne nodded. “A little.” Paola smiled. “You don’t have to. You’re making family.” “The stuff I needed is what we’re using. There’s still much to do.” Anne’s pot of water starts to boil, and she begins cooking her pasta. Paola sets up her stating beside Anne’s so she can watch her cook while she prepares the salads and sides for today. Tim arrives back to the kitchen and slowly starts setting up without losing his balance.

The pasta is done and Anne starts adding the beef into the cooked vegetables to warm up the beef. Paola can’t resist the smell of Anne’s cooking. “What’s that you’re making?” she asked. “That smells incredible.” “This?” said Anne. “This is Japchae. Sort of.” “What do you mean sort of?” sparking Paola’s curiosity. “Well, there’s no glass noodles so I’m using spaghetti. There’s also no seaweed and mushroom.” Paola smiles. “I’m sure it will taste just as good. Not as good as the real deal.” Anne joked around to Paola. “I still can’t wrap myself around the last meal you served us. Turkey flavored tofu?” Paola glared at Anne. “That’s To-Furkey. I was in that vegan phase for a month.” “And Frank almost kicked you out of his store for the day. Serving him vegan food at a smokehouse is practically a sin.” Anne laughed. “That’s true,” said Tim across the kitchen. “I got it all on tape.” “Yeah, whatever guys,” said Paola. “Let’s get back to work. Family’s up in 30 and we’re open in 2 hours.”

Anne managed to finish her make-shift japchae with 15 minutes to spare. She distributes the giant bowl of warm japchae into 15 large soup bowls. She sighs in relive. “Family is done. Let’s get the front-of-the-house staff to set up the staff room. Paola told the front-of-house staff to set up. It was already done 30 minutes ago. They were just hungry and wanted to eat alongside the overnight staff. Paola and Tim helped Anne grab the japchae from the staff. Frank walked into the staff room. “Look at this,” said Frank with excitement. “What is it?” “It’s japchae,” said Anne. “Let’s eat.”

Everyone loves Anne’s japchae. The room is filled with laughter, cheer, wonderful memories, and memorable stories. There’s even some Christmas music playing in the background. “Wow Anne,” said one of the overnight crew. “You nailed this. It tastes delicious.” She smiles, “Thanks. It’s not like the original like my dad made. But it’s good enough.” “By the way, how is your dad?” asked Frank. “How’s he and your family holding up back in Korea?” Anne was busy eating. But she heard Frank. “They’re doing good from what I last talked to them. They always go to church on Christmas Eve to celebrate.” “When’s the last time you talked to them?” She sighed. “Last month. It’s hard to have a good call with them because of our time zone differences.” “And you miss them?” said Tim with his mouth full. Anne starts to tear up. “Every day,” she said. Paola puts her arm on Anne’s shoulder. “It’s okay Anne,” she said. “I’m sure they miss you too. But they are so proud of you of how far you come.” Frank stood up. “Alright team. Family will be over in 15 minutes please clean up your mess. And remember tomorrow, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day we’re closed. So make sure this place is spotless.” “3 days off?” said Anne excitingly. “Of course,” said Frank. “As much I love spending family time with you guys, you guys have your own family to get back to.”

Family is over. Everyone starts cleaning up. The front-of-house team gets set up at the front counter, the overnight team leaves for the day, and Anne, Paola, Tim, and Frank clean up the staff room. “So Anne,” said Frank. “I forgot to ask you, you came all this way, away from home, what is your goal from all this?” “Well, I love cooking here and I want to open up my own American smokehouse in Souel,” Anne said. Tim chuckled. “Yeah, good luck with that.” Paola immediately kicked Tim behind his knee. He fell over. “Ouch, Paola!” “That’s enough you two,” said Frank. “I’m sure you will find great success there. I’m proud of you kiddo.” Suddenly Anne’s phone starts to ring. “Sorry guys. I have to take this before we open.” She went to Frank’s office. When she unlocked her phone, the call was no longer there. What’s left is a voicemail. It’s in Korean

“Anne. It’s Dad! Your mom and I are on our way to church for the Christmas service. I just want to say how much we miss you and we’re so proud of you for working so hard to learn everything you want to know at Frank’s. I’m not sure how long you’ll be there for. But when you come back, I’ll make some japchae for you. I’m going to head off now. Call me on Christmas morning. Love you, Anne. Honey, do you want to add something to this?

Hi Anne. Bye, Anne. Talk to you soon. Love you.”

Anne starts sobbing. But it’s happy tears. Frank walks in. “Anne,” said Frank. “Are you okay?” Anne explains to Frank about the voicemail. “Ah I see. I told you they’re proud of you. We’re all proud of you kiddo. And we got you.” Anne hugged Frank. “Woah woah easy there,” he chuckled. “Come on, we got work to do. Let’s bring it home, Chef.” She laughed and walked out of his office.