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Prep time
10 minutes
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Cook time
30 minutes
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Serves
2
Author Notes
Everytime I finish my kimchi, whether homemade or store-bought, I’m left with a puddle of kimchi juice at the bottom of the kimchi container. There’s plenty of tangy, complex flavor from it thanks to the fermentation process, so I always save it for stir-fries, soup, or even toss it into fried rice or stews. This time round though, I experimented with it by working it into a risotto. Enter, my cheesy Asian kimchi risotto!
Risottos are traditionally made by ladling stock into arborio rice, then stirring it slowly over a low flame, letting the rice absorb all that savory flavor of the stock as it cooks. So I used that base principle, and made some Asian adjustments.
First off, instead of stock, I used kimchi juice. The juice itself is pretty potent though, so I did dilute it with water — I found a 1:2 ratio of kimchi juice to water to work nicely — before feeding it to the rice.
Speaking of rice, instead of the classic carnaroli or arborio rice that’s used in risotto, I used a rice that’s more affordable and available (to me in Asia at least) — short-grain sushi or calrose rice!
And the third Asian adjustment I made is instead of using white wine to deglaze the pan post-sauteing the alliums and rice, I used soju, which again is the more affordable, thematic option!
The rest of the process follows the slow-stirring, stock-ladling process of a classic risotto, finished off with a knob of butter, plenty of shaved parmesan, and a flurry of cracked black pepper. Stir everything together, and you’ll get a bombastic dish made from the humblest ingredients, that’s definitely one of the best risottos I’ve ever eaten. Don’t believe me? Give it a try! —Jun
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Ingredients
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1 cup
(240ml) kimchi juice
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2 cups
(480ml) water
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2 tablespoons
(30g) unsalted butter, divided
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3
garlic cloves, minced
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½
white onion, finely diced
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1 cup
(180g) short-grain sushi rice, washed once
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¼ cups
(60ml) soju
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½ cups
(100g) grated parmesan cheese
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½ teaspoons
(2g) freshly ground black pepper
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1
stalk parsley leaves, finely chopped to garnish (optional)
Directions
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Pour the kimchi juice and water into a medium pot or saucepan, bring it to a boil, and leave it on a low simmer.
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Add 1 tablespoon of butter into a large frying pan, and place over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add in the minced garlic and diced onion, and saute for 5 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the short-grain sushi rice into the pan, and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the soju to deglaze the pan. Then, add in 2 ladles (approximately 4 oz.) of the diluted kimchi juice into the pan, and let the rice cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
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When the rice is looking dry, add another ladle of kimchi juice into the pan and let it cook and simmer. Continue cooking the rice this way for 20 minutes, periodically adding more kimchi juice into the pan to cook the rice, until the rice is completely cooked. (You can try tasting the rice for doneness; it should be tender but still remain as distinct grains and not mush.)
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Add in the grated parmesan cheese and remaining tablespoon of butter into the pan, and stir it into the rice to melt the cheese.
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To serve, portion the kimchi risotto into 1 or 2 plates, top with black pepper, parsley, and more cheese if you wish. The kimchi risotto is best enjoyed immediately.
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