Kimchi Balls
Serves 5-8 / Makes about 30 balls
I have rarely met a person who didn’t like a deep-fried risotto ball stuffed with pureed kimchi and mozzarella cheese. Kimchi balls make a great appetizer and finger food that everyone can enjoy eating, while walking around and mingling at a cocktail party, reception, or any other event, for that matter. They are so easy to just pop in your mouth, and the “fusion” element makes the kimchi approachable. Serve them on a bamboo skewer.
For the Kimchi Arborio Rice Mixture
5 cups chicken broth
1 ¾ tablespoons butter
¼ small yellow onion, diced
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons Kimchi, pureed
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons Sriracha
To Make The Kimchi Arborio Rice Mixture
In a medium-sized pot, warm the chicken broth over medium heat. Keep it warm over very, very low heat.
Add the butter to a wide, round pot and stir it over medium-low heat, until it starts to melt.
After the butter has melted, add the diced onion to the pot and sauté it in the butter until it becomes translucent. Season the sautéed onion with salt and pepper.
Add the Arborio rice to the pot and sauté it until it has browned.
Ladle or spoon the warm chicken broth into the rice mixture over the medium-low heat. Start by adding ½ cup of the chicken broth at a time, stirring the rice until it absorbs the broth. This is a similar process to making risotto.
Once the broth is absorbed, add more broth to the rice. Continue to cook the rice and add the broth until you have used all the broth. The entire process should take about 45 minutes. At the end of the process, the Arborio rice should be cooked al dente.
Place half of the kimchi, Parmesan, mozzarella, and sriracha in the bottom of a large baking sheet. Add the cooked Arborio rice to the baking sheet, then cover the rice with the remaining kimchi, mozzarella, and sriracha. Stir the mixture together with a heatproof spatula. The cheese should melt from the heat of the rice.
Refrigerate the mixture, uncovered, for 3-4 hours or preferably overnight.
Assembly
1 cup, all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups panko
2 quarts vegetable oil
½ cup Wasabi Mayo (recipe included below)
½ cup Sriracha Mayo (recipe included below)
Aonori for garnish
Place the flour, eggs, and panko into separate mixing bowls or shallow vessels. Line them up to create an assembly line.
Moving from left to right, dredge the rice balls in the flour, then the egg mixture, and then roll them into the panko. By the end of the process, the balls should have a nice panko coating.
Heat the 2 quarts of oil in a Dutch oven or deep cast iron skillet. Once the oil reaches 350⁰F, drop the kimchi balls into the hot oil. The balls should turn golden brown after about 1 ½ - 2 minutes. If the balls start to get a little bit dark, remove them from the oil. If the internal temperature is hovering around 100⁰F, place them back in the oil for another 25-30 seconds or until they reach an internal temperature of 140⁰F.
When the rice balls are done, transfer them to a plate covered with a paper towel.
To plate the dish, top the Kimchi Balls with a little Wasabi Mayo, Sriracha Mayo, and aonori.
WASABI MAYO
Makes 1 ½ cups
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons prepared wasabi paste (see Note)
¾ tablespoon lime juice
½ teaspoon sesame oil
Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk them together. Store the mayo in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Note: if you are using wasabi powder, mix it with cold water to create a paste. The strength of the wasabi paste is the biggest variable in this recipe. The stronger the paste, the stronger the mayo. After you’ve made the paste, taste it to make sure it’s not overpowering. I recommend using a ratio of 1 teaspoon of wasabi powder to 1 teaspoon of cold water.
Sriracha Mayo
Makes 1 ¼ cups
1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Sriracha Sauce
½ teaspoon Rice Wine Vinegar
Heavy pinch of salt
Place all the ingredients in a bowl, and whisk them together until they are well incorporated. Pour the mayo into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to a month.
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