Paola Velez

Paola Velez Instagram – Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting @deukihong & @mattrodbard for their DC leg of their book tour for KoreaWorld, their newest cookbook! When chef @erikbruneryang reached out to me for this event, he also mentioned that it was the 9th anniversary of @maketto1351 and I knew I was down to participate.

There was no menu guideline except Chef Erik’s instruction to have fun. Haha, so I did! I decided that I wanted to melt together the flavors of the Dominican Republics most beloved sweet treat habichuelas con dulce (sweet red bean porridge) and reduce it down as one would for red bean paste.
Spiced red bean paste, rum soaked raisins and an extra fluffy coconut and vanilla infused empanada (pastelito) shell fried until golden brown and later iced with a salted coconut icing for vibes.

Needless to say, I think this little empanada was a bridge for Korean, Taiwan and the Dominican Republic to all meet in celebration of these two amazing accomplishments.

Thank you for having me! And for letting me do what I do best PLAY! 😃

Plus I got to spend the best time with the @magpieandthetigerdc dynamic duo last night as they fed me all the treats! Thank you @not_loren @calebyjang for such fun convos and for all the doggo pictures 😍.

With gratitude,
Paola | Posted on 27/Apr/2024 18:06:28