Gochujang Cheese Fondue with Rice Cakes, Sausages and Sweet Potato (Korean x Swiss)

Method

1. Cut the sweet potato into 2.5 cm chunks, skin on, and put them in a 18 cm pot with enough water to cover and the salt. Boil over medium-high heat for 12 min, until a chopstick slides in easily, then drain.

   Add in this stepSweet potato 200 gSalt (for the cooking water) ½ tsp

   medium-high heat

2. If the rice cakes are hard, soak them in lukewarm water for 10 minutes and pat dry. Score each sausage 2–3 times. Heat the oil in a 24 cm pan and fry the rice cakes and sausages over medium heat for 6 min, rolling them around, until the rice cakes are golden and puffed outside and soft inside. Rice cakes can burst and spit, so keep a lid handy.

   Add in this stepKorean rice cake sticks (tteok) 160 gSmall smoked sausages (cocktail or Vienna) 120 gNeutral oil 1½ tsp

   medium heat

3. Trim the rind off the Gruyère and grate it on the coarse side of a box grater. Toss the Gruyère, mozzarella and cornflour together in a bowl. The mozzarella gives the stretch, the Gruyère the depth.

   Add in this stepGruyère 160 gLow-moisture mozzarella, shredded 120 gCornflour (cornstarch) 1½ tsp

4. Halve the garlic and rub it around the inside of a 18 cm fondue pot or heavy-based pan. Add the wine, gochujang and honey and whisk until the gochujang has dissolved completely. Warm over medium heat for 3 min, until steaming with small bubbles at the edge.

   Add in this stepGarlic clove 1Dry white wine 130 mlGochujang (Korean chilli paste) 1 tbspHoney 1 tsp

   medium heat

5. Turn down to medium-low heat and add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring in a figure-of-eight with a wooden spoon. Let each handful melt before adding the next, about 7 min in all. Boiling makes the cheese split, so keep it at the stage where only the odd small bubble rises.

   medium-low heat

6. Scatter the spring onions and sesame seeds over the fondue and set the pot over a fondue burner or a portable stove on low at the table. Spear the rice cakes, sausages and sweet potato on skewers or forks and dip away. Place the burner on a flat, stable surface and never change the gas canister or fuel while it is lit.

   Add in this stepSpring onions, thinly sliced 2 tbspToasted sesame seeds 1 tsp