A rainy start to the work week, I wanted to create some new food content as a lot of you have been making several requests as of late. Plus, I've been going through a lot personally, and cooking has always been therapeutic, for me, at least. Eating well never sucks and having others enjoy the food I make results in me being happy, which also never sucks :) So let's talk about this wonderful recipe I tried out - it's nutty, buttery, and tangy with just the right amount of heat, and perfect for a chillier day like today... kimchi risotto! What the heck did I just say?!
Kimchi Risotto
photos by © Suzanne Spiegoski
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1/2c Kimchi juice (squeezed from kimchi)
1/2 Kimchi (minced)
3c Vegetable stock
2Tbsp butter
2 Cloves garlic (minced)
1c Sushi rice
3-4Tbsp Gruyére cheese (grated with a microplane)
Directions:
Squeeze the juice out of the kimchi using your hands to make 1/2 cup of juice and then weigh out 100 grams of squeezed kimchi. Mince the kimchi.
Pour the vegetable stock into a pot and bring to a simmer over high heat. Turn down to low to keep warm.
In another pot, add the lard and garlic and saute until fragrant.
Add the minced kimchi and continue sauteing until the kimchi is translucent.
Add the rice and stir until the rice has evenly absorbed all the oil.
Add the kimchi juice along with a ladleful of hot vegetable stock and stir the rice until most of the water has been absorbed.
Continue adding vegetable stock a ladleful at a time and stirring until the rice is your desired consistency. You may not need all the stock.
When the rice is done, add the grated Gruyère and stir into the risotto. Serve immediately.
I know, initially the idea sounded a bit peculiar. Swiss cheese with kimchi and sushi rice? But the combination of flavors go wonderfully within this dish, and though I've made risottos in the past, I've never tried a fusion recipe of this kind before. And the results were sublime, I'll tell you! One of my favorite dishes is risotto, which would make sense given I'm such a rice girl. But the creamy warm flavors delight my taste buds, as I'm sure they do yours. I love a mean, mushroom risotto, but this kimchi risotto certainly takes the cake! The flavors are really all there, you don't even need to add salt!
I normally use arborio or baldo rice when it comes to making risotto, but I found sushi rice to be an interesting type of rice to use in this fusion recipe. Though this recipe is derived from here, I did a bit of my own tweaking in terms of measurements and the different use in rice. You could also try using a different form of kimchi, such as turnip/radish, which would still bring the acidity into the risotto. I'd love to give a zucchini kimchi a go, what do you guys think about the sounds of that?
Here are a few tips to achieving the ultimate risotto: Number one - the broth you use to mix the risotto should be very heat, it better cooks down the rice giving it that smooth, creamy goodness that should be when making risotto. Number two - you can use lard instead of butter should you want a more rich flavor but I like to eat pretty healthy (not that butter is any healthier lol), should you not want to use butter at all, you can try making it with coconut oil! And lastly, when it comes to making your own risotto, try to live a little on the wild side. Mix up the flavors, try something you haven't tried before. Get creative. After all, that's part of the fun when it comes to cooking, am I right or am I right? :)
LOVE & XX'S,
FOLLOW MAQ + SUZ
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