By Leigh O’Connor.
‘Pocha’ – short for pojangmacha which literally translates to ‘covered wagon’ – is a tented or tarpaulin-covered stall, van or market vendor serving cheap and unfussy Korean comfort food, snacks and drinks.
In her latest cookbook – the first ever on Korean 'pocha' culture – London-based food writer Su Scott returns home to the streets where she grew up and the food that shaped her.
From daybreak to sundown, 80 delicious recipes take you on a journey through the narrow lanes of Seoul and sheltered halls of tarpaulin-roofed markets where dust motes and steam glitter in the glow of orange tungsten lights.
In October 2019, Su won the Best Reader’s Recipe category at the prestigious Observer Food Monthly Awards with her recipe for kimchi jjigae. Since then, she has pursued a freelance career as a food writer and recipe developer, in between being a Mum.
In January 2021, she was featured in Waitrose Food magazine as a rising star of the food world and contributed her family recipes under the title ‘Home Comfort’.
Her domestic, kitchen-friendly recipes based on food from her childhood have been well-received by editors, food teams and readers for their purposefully simple approach and impactful flavour.
This is unfussy, easy, comforting food from a country that has perfected a late-night eating and drinking culture. From corn dogs and fried chicken to kimchi pancakes and perilla oil noodles for slurping (and perhaps ice-cold soju to wash it down), ‘Pocha’ invites you to bring the beating heart of Korea’s food scene into your kitchen.
We have three recipes for AGFG home cooks to recreate at home:
"Often sighted in streets and snack kiosks in cinemas, I find it really hard to walk past the buttery smell of this moreish squid snack without wanting to have some,” Su recalls. "The delicately resistant texture of squid makes each mouthful more intensely savoury as you chew; it fills the mouth with the scent of salty-sweet ocean flavours, rich and heavy on the umami and I strongly agree with the Korean maxim that says grilled squid (of all kinds) calls for cold beer.”
This is a recipe of two parts - the first stage is enjoying this kimchi risotto which makes enough for two for a cosy night in on a Friday evening. Use the leftovers to make kimchi arancini Scotch eggs some time during the weekend while you leisurely potter around the kitchen.
"I came across various kimchi rice porridge pots and pouches in convenience stores and supermarkets in Korea, which immediately reminded me of silky Italian risotto,” Su explains. "The combination of kimchi and rice in a risotto was, for me, a completely obvious crossover between two cuisines I love.”
The inspiration for this comes from the spicy seasoned rice balls sold in convenience stores, which reveal a soft-set boiled egg in the middle. The fudgy egg in the cross-section initially reminded Su of a Scotch egg, but then it led her onto thinking about arancini.
"Is it arancini or is it a Scotch egg? Is it Korean? Does it matter? I don’t think so! Because it is all those things fused together to form the flavours that represent everything I love about food, which is that we share more things in common than not.
"Deliciously seasoned carbs, studded with a soft sunshine-golden egg and deep-fried – what’s not to like? I like to serve this with a Japanese Worcestershire-style sauce such as okonomiyaki sauce.”
Filled with vibrant location photography from Seoul that weaves a tale of Su’s touching return to her home country, ‘Pocha’ is an electric and heart-warming cookbook.
