Esther Choi shares recipe for seafood pot that wins over her mother

A new seafood recipe from cookbook author Esther Choi is drawing praise from her own family.

Choi, a chef and TV personality based in New York City, introduced the dish in her book Hand Taste: Cook Like a Korean Grandmother. The recipe is a kimchi seafood pot that blends Korean flavors with Italian cooking techniques. Choi describes the meal as a Korean version of cioppino, featuring seafood in a tomato sauce enhanced with kimchi and fish sauce.

The author has a history of creating hybrid dishes that merge her Korean and Italian American heritage. Previous recipes in the collection include Kimchi Bolognese and Kimchi Mac and Beef. Choi states that the seafood pot is the only dish from the book that her mother actively requests. Choi noted that she initially prepared the meal as a novelty, but her mother now asks for it frequently.

The recipe calls for specific ingredients to achieve the right texture. Choi recommends using a 24-ounce jar of tomato passata, which is tomato puree, rather than chunky canned tomatoes. She explains that the smooth texture coats the seafood better. If only canned tomatoes are available, she advises pureeing them in a blender first. The seafood component requires 2 pounds of mussels, 1 pound of cockles or clams, 8 ounces of jumbo shrimp, and 8 ounces of bay or sea scallops.

Choi emphasizes quality over specific variety when selecting seafood. She suggests using clams and shrimp if scallops are too expensive, adding more of those items to balance the pot. Calamari or white fish fillets can also replace scallops if they are added at the end of the cooking process to prevent overcooking. The sauce base includes vegetable oil, carrot, shallots, celery, garlic, scallions, parsley, salt, kimchi, gochujang, white wine, tomato passata, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes.

The preparation involves cleaning the mussels and cockles by scrubbing them and discarding any that do not close firmly. The cockles are soaked in cold water with flour and salt for 10 to 15 minutes to remove sand. Shrimp are deveined but left in their shells, and large scallops are halved for even cooking. The sauce is made by sautéing vegetables and aromatics, then adding kimchi and gochujang. The wine is reduced by half before the tomato passata and other sauce ingredients are stirred in.

The seafood is added to the pot in stages. Mussels and cockles are cooked covered until they open, taking about 5 minutes. Shrimp and scallops are added next and cooked uncovered for another 2 to 3 minutes. The dish is finished with lemon zest and juice from half a lemon, garnished with scallion greens and parsley. Choi serves the pot immediately with torn pieces of crusty bread for dipping. The recipe is noted to be best when eaten as soon as it is made.

Choi is the owner of Mokbar and Ms. Yoo, a Korean-style gastropub in Manhattan. She co-hosts the Food Network show 24 in 24 and hosts Heat Eaters. She was a finalist on Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. The excerpt from Hand Taste was published with permission from Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company.