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Meet 24-year-old Content Creator, Recipe Developer & Food Scientist: Doobydobap

By Shreya Jha
Published on February 23, 2023
Meet 24-year-old Food Scientist Doobydobap

Food is the medium through which Dooby tells stories and connects with people who share her passion. 

Tina Choi, aka Doobydobap, born on 13th December 1997, 24, is a lifestyle Content Creator on YouTube and TikTok. She’s ethnically Korean, OG kimchi.

Tina moved to Canada at a young age and grew up there, which is why she doesn’t possess that solid Korean accent. She went to Cornell University, studied Food Science, and minored in business.

She started creating content in February 2021 amid the pandemic when she struggled to find a job. During that time, YouTube was just a way to build her portfolio, but she didn’t expect to succeed.

Her income comes from several sources, including ad revenue, sponsorships, clients, blogs, and merchandise.

How did her love for cooking begin? 

Doobydobap, aka Tina Choi, went to America for boarding school when she was 14. She was a transfer student going through homesickness in her dorm room in rural Connecticut, which was 11,000 kilometers away from her home. 

Her cravings grew stronger as time went by, especially for kimchi jjigae. But the nearest Korean restaurant was an hour away.
To satisfy her increasing cravings, she had to start cooking independently. She would call her halmoni (grandmother) to ask for Korean recipes. 

Getting groceries was another stumbling block, as there were no Asian flavors in the surrounding supermarket. Dooby would experiment every day in her dorm’s common kitchen and make her dishes with what was available. This caused the entire house to smell different.

For instance, she substituted ggaetnip (Perilla leaf herb) with flat Italian parsley, exchanged gochugaru (sun-dried Korean red chilli) with Pepperoncino, and substituted myulchi-aekjut (Korean fermented anchovy fish sauce) with anchovies packed in olive oil.

Meet 24-year-old Content Creator, Recipe Developer & Food Scientist: Doobydobap
Source: Doobydobap

As she started to cook more, her confidence started to grow. She would invite her friends to introduce her experiments on foods. More than cooking, Dooby loved what cooking meant to her, as her dishes were adapted from her halmoni’s recipes. 

She said that the food she makes on Doobydobap is the most authentic representation of her experiences.

Her Dishes 

Although Dooby experimented with tons of ingredients, these are some of the most authentic dishes she has posted on her website and YouTube channel.

Miso Mashed Potato

The white miso yields sweet and creamy mashed potatoes. Get the recipe here. 

Meet 24-year-old Content Creator, Recipe Developer & Food Scientist: Doobydobap
Image Source: Doobydobap

Korean Corn Cheese Balls

Corn cheese-yaki is a union of Korean-style cheese corn and Japanese takoyaki. This is the crispy cheese crust with kernels of sweet corn inside. Get the recipe here.

Source: Doobydobap

Pumpkin Spice Churro

Pumpkin spiced lattes combined with pumpkin pie turned into a crispy churro. Get the recipe here. 

Source: Doobydobap

Korean Don-ggasu

The Korean style don-ggasu is a Korean version of the Japanese fried pork, tonkatsu which is a carrier for the beautifully sweet and velvety sauce smothered on top. Get the recipe here.

Dooby’s plan for the next few months is to keep doing what she loves. Nothing too exciting, but finding more beauty in routine and regime is her goal. 

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