NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, the first Korean American to serve on a long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station, is drawing attention for adding a personal and cultural twist to space food — by making a burger with Korean gochujang.
Kim posted photos on social media this week showing a floating burger made from standard NASA rations: beef steak, wheat snack bread, cheese spread and potatoes au gratin. The key ingredient was a generous squeeze of gochujang, a spicy Korean red pepper paste sent to him in a care package delivered aboard the SpaceX CRS-32 Cargo Dragon.
“If you’ve lived on MREs, you’ve probably tried some creative field recipes,” Kim wrote, referring to Meals Ready-to-Eat used in the military. “I miss cooking for my family, but this hits the spot in its own way.”
Known as a “ranger burger” in military circles, the improvised meal is a familiar staple among US service members. By adding gochujang — specifically Sunchang Taeyangcho gochujang, a traditional Korean paste made from sun-dried red chili peppers, rice and fermented soybean paste — Kim gave the dish a distinctly Korean American identity.
In a separate photo, he held up the tube of gochujang, calling it a reminder of “the taste of home.”
Kim, 41, launched to the ISS on April 8 aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft, alongside Russian crew members. Born in Los Angeles to South Korean immigrants, Kim is a former Navy SEAL with over 100 combat missions, a Harvard-trained physician, and one of NASA’s most accomplished astronaut recruits in recent years.
He joined NASA in 2017 and previously trained for the Artemis lunar program.
mjh@heraldcorp.com
