Recipe: Kimchi "Arancini"

That's ah-rahn-chee-nee, My friend Daniel would correct me. So I'm cooking for my coworkers tonight at a housewarming party for my friend Richard, who lives in the cubicle next to mine and recently moved from Huntington Beach to West Hollywood. You talk about commute-of-death, just think about Huntington to Beverly Hills. Death.

Everyone at the office knows I'm a ridiculous foodie, which I'm quite proud of. I quickly volunteered to cook tonight, making some Korean-inflected small plates for this Westside crowd. One of them is a kimchi arancini that's inspired by the arancini I had at enoteca san marco at the Venetian in Vegas. I made the balls of rice last night and I'll fry them up later at Richard's apartment.

This recipe uses very simple kimchi fried rice or "bokeumbap", lacking any meat or onions. I prefer to have less of those ingredients since it prevents the ball from falling apart afterwards. More rice, more stickiness, better balls. This is also a great way to use leftover kimchi fried rice, though I would use caution if you used spam (my favorite) or other meat.

I tried a few test arancini last night and they are really delicious. I don't think I could eat more than two though, they're a bit heavy. It's a good appetizer if consumed sparingly. I think my coworkers, who've never really tried Korean food, will like them.

Kimchi Arancini

Makes 15 balls

2 cups Asian/Japanese style rice
1 cup Japanese style "panko" bread crumbs
1 egg
2 cups good, ripe kimchi (preferably from Korean market), small diced
1/2 cup kimchi "juice" (that liquid that holds the kimchi)
2 ounces seaweed laver, roasted (from any Asian market)
sesame oil
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 cups canola oil (for frying)


Cook 2 cups rice in pot or rice maker. For rice maker, use 1.1 times the amount of rice. Let cool slightly after rice cooks completely.

Heat 2 tablepoons canola oil in large saute pan. Saute lightly about half of the diced kimchi (1 cup) until it clears slightly, like sweating onions. Once you smell a slight nuttiness, add in a heaping tablespoon of smooth peanut butter. This is unconventional, but you won't taste the peanut after and it lends a great richness without the fat or taste of regular butter. Let the peanut butter melt and stir into the kimchi.

Add in about half the rice (which should have expanded to about 2-3 cups). Stir with kimchi and add soy sauce, sesame oil, kimchi "juice", and seaweed. You shouldn't need to salt it at this point since the kimchi, juice, seaweed, and soy sauce have salt in it. Add a bit of fresh ground pepper.

Take off heat and spread out the fried rice onto a large platter so it can cool. After about thirty minutes (it can still be slightly warm), mold a small handful of rice into a ball. Make sure you pack it in so it doesn't fall apart. Use some water to bind it together. Make all the balls before proceeding. At this point, you could put the balls into the refridgerator for a couple hours to let them set. It's optional though.

Heat the four cups of oil in a large sauce pan and set aside. Take the egg and beat it, adding in about 1/4 cup of water to thin it out. Dip the balls into the egg, then cover liberally with panko bread crumbs. After the oil is about 350 degrees F (enough to sizzle a small bit of kimchi), put in two or three balls and fry until golden brown. Remove and put on a paper towel to soak extra oil.

Serve after letting them cool for a minute or two. Enjoy!