Rice Table: Korean Recipes and Stories to Feed the Soul

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Philip Khoury – head pastry chef at Harrods – has created a book that will be a game-changer for the many who follow a plant-based diet. Its subtitle, Re-imagined Recipes For Plant-Based Cakes, Bakes And Desserts, says it all. There are fresh, plant-based takes on classics including tiramisu, chocolate hazelnut babka, crème brûlée and carrot cake, as well as a few side roads such as nut gelato, all using alternatives to the animal fats, eggs and dairy that are traditionally used.

I didn’t know that… Scraps left from cutting pasta are known as maltagliati, meaning ‘poorly cut’. Photography by Dave Brown It didn’t take me long to realise that my world was collapsing in front of me. I didn’t know how to put it together. I knew I’d have to dig deep.” The process has taught me that what appears to be seemingly ordinary and mundane days or our lives and the memories that surrounds the taste, are in fact what sustains and shapes us the way we are. I’ve leant to appreciate the everydayness. What are the components of a fantastic meal for you?

Sweet rice doughnuts

Individually they are delicious, they each have a place in their own right. It's a bit sad to call them side dishes, isn't it?"

Writing my book, Rice Table was an incredibly emotional experience, mainly because I had to rely on the memories of taste to recreate the dishes and to arrive at final recipes. It really pushed me dig deep to recall the small details, right from the very beginning of my childhood. Reduce the heat. Combine the water and potato flour to make a slurry, then gradually add to the sauce (about two thirds of it to start with) until it is shiny and the consistency of clear honey. You may not need all the slurry.

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The fatty layers of pork are rendered gently to keep the meat juicy and gorgeously tender. It is then wrapped in pliable seasonal leaves and eaten with a dollop of salty sweet and spicy ssam sauce to bolster everything together. It is a real explosion of flavours in one mouthful. What will surprise people in your book? Scott's food career began after moving to London in 2000 when she was 19, but it really took off after winning an Observer Food Monthly Award in 2019 for a recipe based on her mother's kimchi jjigae. The rustic, spicy stew, typically made with pork belly, tofu and kimchi, was voted Best Readers' Recipe by The Observer's food magazine. When I think about my childhood, there’s this powerful moment of smell,” says Scott. “There’s this one specific memory of my father sourcing the good meat bones, and my mother preparing the broth for days on end.

A Korean living in the UK, Su Scott was thrown into a crisis of identity when motherhood dawned, one which she only found her way out of by cooking the dishes of her Korean childhood, seeking out the flavours and textures of memories that she hopes to pass on to her daughter.Born in Kenya to Indian parents, Ravinder Bhogal – food writer and chef/owner of restaurant Jikoni – developed an early love of vegetables from her grandfather’s “Edenic” allotment and marveling at the produce of local women growers. This lively and engaging vegetarian book shares that love and revels in Bhogal’s belief that “vegetables are the soul of the kitchen… [offering] endless opportunities for play.” The recipes deliver on that: hot and sour sweetcorn risotto with lime leaf butter and mango and ‘golden coin’ curry are among the many that insist on being made. Bhogal moved to multicultural London at an early age, and everything about Comfort and Joy reflects the richness of her heritage and experience (turn to pxx for my interview with her to learn more). You won’t find much that you can easily categorise, but if you like the idea of modern, inventive and cross-cultural recipes, written with warmth and love, there’s no-one doing it quite like Bhogal.