--- title: Momofuku's David Chang: How To Create a New Dish description: David Chang is the chef and founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. His cookbook, Momofuku, came out in 2009. canonical: https://time.com/4243213/momofuku-david-chang-signature-dish/ author: David Chang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-15T11:00:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:20.615Z og:title: Momofuku’s David Chang: How to Create a New Dish og:description: Use unexpected ingredients og:url: https://time.com/4243213/momofuku-david-chang-signature-dish/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7e41706f76c3eb5/69888a4da988ca24706b6e83/momfuku-chef-david-chang1-e1457543001169.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4256 og:image:height: 2394 og:image:alt: David Chang's Momofuku and Christina Tosi's Milk Bar open in CityCenter soon og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Momofuku’s David Chang: How to Create a New Dish twitter:description: Use unexpected ingredients twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7e41706f76c3eb5/69888a4da988ca24706b6e83/momfuku-chef-david-chang1-e1457543001169.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Momofuku’s David Chang: How to Create a New Dish > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=b642626a-2ac7-4938-b667-a38218bff3d6&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=b642626a-2ac7-4938-b667-a38218bff3d6&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=b642626a-2ac7-4938-b667-a38218bff3d6&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Master Three Southern Barbecue Sauces [Watch (HLS stream): Master Three Southern Barbecue Sauces](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QXXZCjTh.m3u8) (1:23)  _Published 2016-02-08. No matter how you take your barbecue, any of these three Southern sauces will give your meat just the flavor it needs._ by [David Chang](https://time.com/author/david-chang/) ## David Chang Mar 15, 2016 11:00 AM UTC  David Chang poses at Momofuku in Washington, DC. David Chang poses at Momofuku in Washington, DC.Katherine Frey—The Washington Post/Getty Images by [David Chang](https://time.com/author/david-chang/) ## David Chang Mar 15, 2016 11:00 AM UTC If you see a comedian improvising, they’re good at it because they’ve done it a lot. Even if they’re doing something off the cuff, they’re riffing off of something they’ve done before that they know works. If you do it every day and you’re good at it, you start to know what principles work well to produce good comedy. Food is the same way: It’s about using some method of deduction to figure out what food patterns will overlap and how you might replicate those to create something new. Oftentimes, I think a home cook is going at it aimlessly, based on whatever’s on hand. While that can be fun, a lot of times what you end up making in a situation like that is an experiment—and food shouldn’t be an experiment. Here’s how I recommend going about the process strategically so you end up creating a signature dish people love. **Do your homework**You should do research before you do anything else. I don’t mean to look online. Read cookbooks, and understand the ingredients you’re cooking with beforehand. It’s not fun to do, but that’s the best way to really understand the foods you’re working with from an intellectual point of view so you can make better use of them. **_Read more:_** [_Andrew Zimmern Explains How to Acquire a Taste_](http://motto.time.com/4187760/andrew-zimmern-acquiring-taste/?iid=sr-link1) **Use other cultures as inspiration**You want to use your imagination but have it anchored to culinary tradition and think about how you can evolve that culinary tradition. If you go to Brazil, for example, some of the oldest Koreatowns are in São Paulo. Of course, in Asia you see dumplings. And in Brazil, there’s a dish called a pastel that’s a fried pocket of dough. You can see how it’s not that far-fetched to do some kind of hybrid there. You want to look for those patterns that can help you evolve a dish. _Here are three simple barbecue sauce recipes to use in all types of dishes:_ **Use unexpected ingredients**For Fuku, when we wanted to create our chicken sandwich, we said, “There’s a lot of spicy chicken out there—how can we do ours a little bit different?” One way is with the ingredients you choose. Usually in chicken sandwiches, you see white-meat chicken. Dark meat to me is the most delicious part, so we decided to try to make it work with that. Then we looked at the spice and asked, “Can we do something that’s not cayenne-based?” We ended up using habanero, which has a sweet, fruity aroma. We oftentimes reverse-engineer like that and ask, “How do we get to the same thing by going about the process in a different way?” _David Chang is chef/founder of the Momofuku restaurant group and author of the cookbook_ [Momofuku](http://www.amazon.com/Momofuku-David-Chang/dp/030745195X?tag=timecom-20)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4243213/momofuku-david-chang-signature-dish/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4243213/momofuku-david-chang-signature-dish/"},"headline":"Momofuku’s David Chang: How to Create a New Dish","datePublished":"2016-03-15T11:00:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:02:20.615Z","description":"David Chang is chef/founder of the Momofuku restaurant group and author of the cookbook Momofuku.","url":"https://time.com/4243213/momofuku-david-chang-signature-dish/","keywords":["motto","motto instagram"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7e41706f76c3eb5/69888a4da988ca24706b6e83/momfuku-chef-david-chang1-e1457543001169.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Chang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-chang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7e41706f76c3eb5/69888a4da988ca24706b6e83/momfuku-chef-david-chang1-e1457543001169.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"David Chang's Momofuku and Christina Tosi's Milk Bar open in CityCenter soon","caption":"David Chang poses at Momofuku in Washington, DC.","creditText":"Katherine Frey—The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4243213/momofuku-david-chang-signature-dish/","name":"Momofuku’s David Chang: How to Create a New Dish"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Master Three Southern Barbecue Sauces","description":"No matter how you take your barbecue, any of these three Southern sauces will give your meat just the flavor it needs.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QXXZCjTh/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-02-08T13:14:29.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QXXZCjTh.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4243213/momofuku-david-chang-signature-dish/","duration":"PT1M23S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4243213/momofuku-david-chang-signature-dish/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```