Kimchi Grilled Cheese

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
1

Saw this online and this intrigues me greatly.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 slices sandwich bread
1.8 ounces (50 grams) comté cheese, sliced with a vegetable peeler
2.1 ounces (60 grams) kimchi, squeezed well
1 scallion, thinly sliced

Directions

  1. Use a pastry brush to evenly brush the olive oil onto one side of both slices of bread, making sure to get the edges around the crust as well.
  2. Flip one slice of bread over (to expose the un-oiled side) and then spread half the cheese on the bread.
  3. Top with the squeezed kimchi and scallion, and then cover with the remaining cheese.
  4. Place the other piece of bread on top to make a sandwich, with the oiled side facing outwards.
  5. Put the sandwich in a heavy bottomed frying pan and then stick another very heavy frying pan (like a cast iron skillet) on top to press the sandwich down.
  6. Turn on the stove to medium, and let the sandwich fry until the bottom is golden brown and crisp.
  7. Remove the weight, flip the sandwich over and then put the weight back on. Fry until the second side is golden brown.
  8. Slice in half and serve immediately.


    Kimchi Grilled Cheese Recipe | Fresh Tastes Blog | PBS Food
2

If it’s a grilled cheese, just use butter.

3

Or use mayonnaise on the outside of the bread. Easier to apply than oil, and way better than butter for even browning.

Let us know how it turns out

4

I would fry up the kimchi with some pork or beef first and then throw it on, but that’s just me.

5

this is a pretty common Korean Taco Truck item, as are kimcheese quesadilla, Kimcheese 'steaks, kimcheese dogs and kimcheese reubens.

Cheese and Kim Chi are an umami explosion and not untraditional either as many Koreans will add processed cheese to their Kim chi Jjigae. luxurious mouthfeel!

6

I’ve never heard of Koreans adding cheese to their kim chee jigae and I’be known/dated quite a few Koreans and also dined at a couple dozen Korean restaurants. Maybe it’s a west coast thing?

7

What I wonder about is that raw Kimchi is full of probiotics. Don’t you lose all of that when you heat it up?

8

Ummmm, please watch your language Mr. Novick. You will NOT be warned again!

9

At least I’m not trying to reignite the Civil War like they’re doing on that OTHER thread.

10

big can o worms, but basically don’t heat it over 130F and you won’t kill anything. Even if you do pasteurize it, you still get the benefit of (most of) the funky flavors even if you don’t get the bacteria.

c.f. the chart on page 5 http://www.cookingissues.com/uploads/Low_Temp_Charts.pdf

11

Sorry, Corey. Your friends/SOs didn’t give you your Hangook card yet if you never experienced this:

I’ve known more than a few Koreans who preferred to “jazz up” their instant noodles with cheese and butter.

12

I’ve been vindicated! Thanks Park!

13

I’ve experienced but it’s not something that I eat because it’s often prepared with Spam. That said, I’ve never really seen dairy used in Korean cooking except at a Korean bar in Chicago that is known for spicy chicken with cheese.

14

Traditional Korean cuisine doesn’t incorporate dairy. Younger demographic are the types more inclined to want the “fusion” of Western ingredients in what they eat. Budae jjigae is particularly popular with students and young adults.

And the Korean bar food thread that you posted is the perfect example of where you’ll commonly find dairy as a component, especially if you include the yogurt flavoring that they’ll add to soju.

15

Actually, I had forgotten that I’ve sometimes been served small bottles of a sweet yogurt drink at the close of a meal.