Olympia’s Lee family cooks for 100 every Wednesday

Every Wednesday for the past 10 months, Kyung Sook Lee and her husband, Pastor Dong Jin Lee, have gotten out of bed at 4 a.m. to begin cooking lunch for 100 or more — meals they deliver to people living in camps.

Among the meals they’ve served are teriyaki chicken, spaghetti and even California rolls — all made from scratch with “a mother’s love,” said Kyung, a professional chef who made it her mission to feed those in need as the pandemic affected food banks and other resources.

“I’m not looking for big changes,” said Kyung, whose words were translated by her son Haneol “John” Lee, 18. “I’m not setting big goals. I just want to feed someone on a Wednesday morning when they are hungry. It’s necessary, and to give hope to these folks is a joy.”

“My mom knows the comfort of hot food,” said John, a junior at Olympia High School. “She lived in Korea most of her life. She grew up in a very poor family, and there wasn’t a lot of hot food.”

The Lees — including John’s brothers Hangil “Paul” Lee, a 16-year-old sophomore at Olympia High, and Hanbich “Joseph” Lee, 21 and a student at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia — moved from Korea to Olympia in 2011.

The Wednesday lunches are a project of Kurios Church, the 10-member Korean-language church led by Dong Jin Lee.

The Lees, along with friend Griff Masters of Olympia, do the hands-on work, serving the meals with no proselytizing and with an attention to the people they serve. “We listen to the people,” John said. “If someone is craving curry, the next week we’ll do curry.”

The meals are delicious, he added. “Our tradition is that whatever we pass out to the homeless people, we eat, too,” he said. “I must say I enjoy it every time.”

The tiny church, which meets at Hidden Creek Community Church in west Olympia, relies on community donations to keep the program going. (For information on donating, email John at haneoljohn@gmail.com.)

Ed Bassett of Olympia, who taught biology to both Joseph and John at Olympia High, is a regular supporter.

“It’s low overhead,” he told The Olympian. “They’re just using the money to buy groceries, and they’ll continue to do it as long as they can afford to.

“These are immigrants feeding people who are mostly white Americans,” he added. “Something about that resonated with me. There is so much hatred out there.”

The Lees have encountered some of that hatred when they take the lunches to encampments near Wheeler Avenue Southeast, along Deschutes Parkway and near Sleater-Kinney Road in Lacey. People driving by sometimes yell at the family, telling them to stop feeding the people living in the camps.

“People are thinking that these are lazy folks,” Kyung said. “I understand why they would think that. But that is just their thought. What we think is that they are hungry people, and the Lord tells us to help people in any way we can.”

And many of those they help are in desperate need of support, John said.

“I hadn’t realized this, but there are a lot of people who can’t leave their camps,” he said. “One time I took food into a tent where a guy had both of his legs broken. He said, ‘I can’t go to the food bank or anywhere, and I’ve never seen anyone come into my tent and give food.’

“People are just so thankful we’re there,’” he said. “Those moments of joy are why I do this.”

Teriyaki Chicken

Kyung Sook Lee doesn’t use a recipe with detailed measurements, but she shared her method with The Olympian.

• Rice, cooked
• Chicken thighs
• Sugar
• Soy sauce
• Lemon-lime soda, such as Sprite
• Onion
• Ginger powder
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Teriyaki sauce (store bought or homemade)
• Sriracha (optional)

Butterfly cut the chicken thighs. Put in a plastic bag with a mix of equal parts sugar, soy sauce and soda.

After 10 minutes, add sliced onion, ginger, pepper and garlic to the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Remove thighs from bag and cook on a grill.

Serve meat and rice with teriyaki sauce and sriracha if desired.

Teriyaki Sauce

• Soy sauce
• Sugar
• Water
• Apple
• Orange
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Onion
• Pineapple juice
• Cornstarch

Combine equal parts soy sauce, sugar and water.

Add chopped apple, orange, peeled garlic cloves, ginger and chopped onion, and cook until the solid ingredients lose volume.

Strain out solids and add a little bit of pineapple juice.

Add cornstarch to thicken.