A Recipe for Kimchi Risotto (Part 1/2: A Weeknight Meal)

+ a love letter to the pojangmacha

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The recipe box is a collection of recipes and techniques from my favorite cookbooks—everything from up-and-coming titles to tried-and-true favorites from my collection. (Though you may see some original recipes here from time to time, too 😉) You can check out TOD’s archive of past recipes here if you’re looking for some meal inspiration.

At the heart of Korea’s street food scene is pocha—short for pojangmacha—a term referring to an outdoor food stall in Korea, dishing out a variety of beloved street foods and snacks in an open-air setting. In crowded alleyways lined with tarp-covered stalls under the warm glow of orange lights overhead, people line up to tuck into Korean-style corn dogs filled with gooey cheese, sticky brown sugar syrup-filled hotteok fresh off the griddle, trays of fried chicken still glistening with a thin layer of oil clinging to its craggly crust, and bowls of perilla oil noodles prime for slurping, all washed down with an ice-cold bottle of soju. 

Pocha’s cultural significance, however, extends beyond the food; it’s a third place that embodies a spirit of camaraderie and togetherness, where friends and family get together for celebrations and late-night gatherings. While pocha fare isn’t particularly fancy, its dishes nourish souls and evoke nostalgia. At its core is Korea’s rich culinary heritage and an ability to bring people together over comforting, flavorful food. Childhood memories of frequenting the streets and markets have shaped Su Scott as a person and food writer, not to mention influenced her latest cookbook on the beating heart and warm soul of pocha culture. 

Illustrations by Shayne Chammavanijakul

Below is a first for “That One Dish,” a two-parter recipe—the first of which is this kimchi risotto. Here, rice is cooked down in chicken stock with plenty of freshly-grated parmesan cheese and kimchi to create what Su mentions is reminiscent of the kimchi rice porridge (juk) pots in the 24/7 convenience stores and supermarkets she visited in Korea. This recipe below makes enough for two (plus leftovers) and is a perfect dinner to tuck into for a cozy night in. Fast forward a day or two to part deux, when the leftover risotto gets magically transformed into a batch of arancini scotch eggs—a fun weekend project to do while you’re leisurely padding around the kitchen. 

“The combination of kimchi and rice in a risotto was, for me, a completely obvious crossover between two cuisines I love,” Su writes. “Traditionalists on both continents may say this isn’t either Korean or Italian, but I would say it is a joyful union of both.” 

Grab the recipe for risotto below. Later this weekend—Friday evening, perhaps?—you’ll hear from me again more details on magically transforming its leftovers. Have a great rest of the week, everyone!

Serves 2 + enough to make the recipe for kimchi arancini scotch eggs OR 4 as one meal

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1½ onions, finely diced

• Sea salt flakes, to taste

• 10 ½ ounces kimchi, chopped

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

• 1 ⅔ cups risotto (carnaroli) rice

• ¾ cup dry white wine (optional)

• 4 cups light chicken or vegetable stock, kept warm

• 1 ⅓ tablespoons doenjang (fermented bean paste)

• 3 ½ ounces parmesan, grated

• Freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste

• 3 tablespoons snipped chives

• 2 tablespoons gim jaban (crumbled toasted seasoned seaweed), optional

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over low heat. Add the onions and a big pinch of salt. Sauté, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes. You’ll notice the onion’s fragrant onion as it cooks down to release its natural sweetness. 

2. Stir in the kimchi and continue sautéing until everything is gently caramelized, about 8 minutes. You may want to increase the heat a touch toward the end if the kimchi still appears too wet. 

3. Increase the heat to medium-low, and add 20 grams of butter to the pan, along with the rice. Stir to evenly coat the rice in the melted butter. Sauté for a couple minutes until the parts of the rice grains appear almost translucent. Add the wine, if using, and let it bubble rapidly for 1-2 minutes so that the alcohol evaporates and the liquid is absorbed into the rice. 

4. Gradually add the warm stock a ladleful at a time, waiting for the rice to absorb the stock before adding any more, and stirring continuously. Stir in the deonjang. You may or may not need all the stock. Cook gently until the rice is cooked through with a little bite, about 15-20 minutes. You should notice very gentle bubbles erupting through the grains of rice as you cook. 

5. When the rice is cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan and the remaining butter. The rice should be creamy and loose enough to fall off a spoon easily; add a touch more stock or water if it needs to be loosened. Check the seasoning, and adjust it with a pinch more salt and black pepper to taste. Stir in the chives. Cover the pan and leave to rest for a couple minutes to relax the grains. 

6. Serve warm, with some grated parmesan. If you eventually want to make the arancini, set aside about 750 grams of risotto. Stir the gim jaban into the remaining rice and transfer into a lidded container. Keep refrigerated for up to two days to make the arancini scotch eggs.

Recipe adapted from “Pocha: Simple Korean Food From the Streets of Seoul” by Su Scott. Copyright © 2024. Used with permission of Hardie Grant Publishing. All rights reserved.