Food: Kim-chi Risotto
February 11th, 2008 | Foxes
Chili peppers being dried for kimchi, image from Wikipedia.org
I learned this recipe through a mom of a family I met at a church I go to here in Japan. I am often invited to dinners that consist of amazing food from all around Asia, all of which is made by this mom, who I will call N-san. N-san is a fantastic cook, and after I got to know the family better, had the pleasure of staying over their house and learning how to cook various Asian staples.
One night when there were a lot of people over, N-san made a hot pot consisting of various vegetables, meats, and noodles. Once we had eaten our fill, N-san took out the remains in the pot and left the pot to simmer. She added rice, a kim-chi sauce, and some slices of cheese. The result was an amazingly filling kim-chi risotto.
The other day my boyfriend and I attempted to recreate the kim-chi risotto, and I think we successfully came up with an easy way to recreate this dish without having to make a big hot pot of food before hand.
Ingredients
- vegetables–we used scallions, spinach, and small mushrooms
- cooked white rice
- kim-chi sauce–this comes in a bottle and can probably be found in Asian/Korean markets
- slices of American cheese
- parmesan cheese
- meat/fish stock OR soy sauce
Steps
1.) Fill a pot with water–we just eyeballed this, but we probably used about 3 cups of water. Make a fish stock using bonito (boil a handful of fish flakes for several minutes, then strain the flakes out) or use a boullion cube to make a meat stock. If you have neither on hand, add 2-3 cap-fulls of soy sauce in the water. (Note that the risotto will taste differently according to what stock you use.) Simmer the water.
2.) Wash and cut vegetables. Use as much as you like–since they will be in water, they will shrink so be generous. Add to the broth.
3.) Pour kim-chi sauce into simmering broth–use as much as you’d like, but remember to taste it once in a while since the stuff is very spicy 
4.) Add in cooked rice and stir. Let simmer until the risotto thickens and isn’t watery.
5.) Throw in a couple slices of cheese–as much as you’d like. We used two slices for two people. Stir until risotto thickens.
6.) Serve while hot and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
If you couldn’t tell, the measurements were definitely not exact. Adjust the proportions to your liking, basically all you need is broth, kim-chi sauce, and rice. The cheese definitely makes this dish but I think it can manage without it. Adding chopped up cooked bacon or onion might add more flavor to the risotto, but I try to stick with the vegetarian style if I can help it. Know of this dish or any variation of it? Let me know in the comments!
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