Spicy Bean and Beef Pie

Week two of Banchan Labs as a real company with real customers. I have spent the week in the SoDo kitchen responding to emails, ordering supplies for Box Two, and sleeping eight hours a night for the first time in a month. I had promised myself a rest week. I am taking it.

The first reviews came in. Of the 300 customers, about 220 left feedback through the email I sent requesting it. 212 were positive. 5 were mixed (mostly about shipping times). 3 were negative (one I dealt with directly — a broken kimchi jar; I refunded and sent a replacement; the customer wrote back graciously). Not bad metrics for a first-time launch.

James gave notice at Microsoft on Monday. His last day is February 1. He told his boss first. He told his team Friday. They had a small farewell drink Friday night. I went. His team has become, in some parallel way, my community too over the years, because James has always been a person who brings his work home in the most human form. His lead designer, Maria, hugged me and said, "Take care of him. He's going to be a great founder too." I said, "I know."

Box Two is scheduled to ship February 20. I am expanding the inventory to 600 boxes this round. I am also expanding the recipe cards — three new ones: jjampong (finalized), kongnamul guk (soybean sprout soup, per Grace's suggestion), and Taiwanese beef noodle soup (per Jun-ho's request via Jisoo, because he said it would be "cute to have a Taiwanese dish in the Korean box"). I agreed. It is James's recipe. His name is on the card too. Stephanie Park-Chen and James Park-Chen. The first box with his name.

(We have decided to both use Park-Chen. It is our full married name. It is on our driver's licenses now.)

Karen had a good week. She has started a new physical therapy routine. It is working. She sent me a video of herself doing a squat. She was proud. I was proud.

The recipe this week is doenjang jjigae — my anchor dish — made at the SoDo kitchen for the whole team Tuesday for lunch. I made a big pot. Grace said, "You are feeding us like a grandmother." I said, "Good." She smiled. Grace and I are, I realized this week, starting to develop a grandmother-daughter-adjacent relationship that is quiet and reciprocal. She bosses me about Korean cooking technique. I boss her about workplace ergonomics. We have a good routine.

Doenjang jjigae is my anchor dish — the one I reach for when I need to feed people in a way that says something without saying anything. Tuesday’s pot at the SoDo kitchen felt like that: one big thing, made for everyone, no fuss. If you don’t have access to a Korean pantry right now, this Spicy Bean and Beef Pie channels exactly that same spirit — savory, a little bold, deeply satisfying, built to serve a room. It’s the kind of dish Grace would approve of, and that’s the bar I’m using.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (85/15)
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 package (14 oz) refrigerated pie crusts (2 rounds), or homemade equivalent
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and set aside.
Brown the beef. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart, until browned and no longer pink, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
Build the filling. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion and jalapeño to the skillet and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Cook 1–2 minutes until fragrant.
Add beans and tomatoes. Stir in both cans of beans and the fire-roasted tomatoes. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens. Taste and adjust salt and heat. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.
Assemble the pie. Press one pie crust round into the prepared pie plate. Spoon the beef and bean filling into the crust in an even layer. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar evenly over the filling. Lay the second pie crust round on top, pressing the edges together to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers. Cut 4–5 small slits in the top crust to vent steam. Brush the surface evenly with beaten egg.
Bake. Bake at 400°F for 28–33 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling at the vents. If the edges brown too quickly, tent them loosely with foil after the first 20 minutes.
Rest and serve. Let the pie rest on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing. This helps the filling set so it doesn’t run when you cut it. Serve with sour cream or hot sauce on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Spicy Bean and Beef Pie — The Anchor Dish Mindset, Made for a Crowd