Rice Table: Korean Recipes and Stories to Feed the Soul

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The whole house would smell of bones. It's not a nasty smell, but it's not overly pleasant either. It's the dish I absolutely hated as a child, but it's also the one I felt so loved with." A rice table is a typical meal within an ordinary Korean home, and typically consists of rice, soup, a selection o three to five banchan dishes, kimchi, and a main dish of meat or fish. It’s for this simple meal that Scott has named the book, though more elaborate versions are made for special occasions and celebrations. The many recipes throughout the book lend themselves perfectly to rice table meals.

Scott was initially too scared to make it herself – in case it tainted her memories – but now she says “it has got another story to it”, and she makes it every winter for her daughter. And no, it doesn’t taste like her mother’s – but she says that’s “a good thing in a way”. Continuing with the sauce, melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and add the flour. Cook the flour over a low–medium heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture turns toffee brown in colour, making sure you don’t let it burn.I didn’t know that… in Italy, during the Second World War, shortages of bean coffee meant that caffe d’orzo (barley coffee) became popular. TRY IT NEXT: Kimchi Stew with Pork Belly How did you decide what recipes you were going to include - and which to exclude? Remove the pork from the fridge. Scrape off as much of the marinade as possible and pat the meat dry with kitchen paper. Have three shallow, rimmed plates or trays ready: one filled with the flour, one with the egg and one with the panko breadcrumbs. Spray the breadcrumbs with a little water to moisten.

The other dish that "really connected me to the Korean food of my childhood was kimchi stew", Scott says. She started cobbling together the ingredients for this dish without really thinking about what she was doing, and felt a "moment of euphoria" when it all came together. I didn’t know that… Early in his career, Andy Warhol illustrated etiquette expert Amy Vanderbilt’s cookbook (Claire named her book after a set of Warhol’s prints). Photography by Maren Caruso

I didn’t know that… The Vietnamese way of asking ‘how are you’ is to say, ‘have you eaten rice yet?’ Photographs by Uyen Luu. Combine the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl or a rimmed roasting pan. Have another plate or dish ready lined with some kitchen paper. I make rolled omelette (gyeranmari) from Rice Table frequently, albeit with different choice of filling. It is such a versatile recipe that works as breakfast, lunch or dinner. Great served on its own or with rice, but always with tomato ketchup!