Kimchi Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Kimchi. Cheese. On bread. In a pan. Grilled till toasty till the cheese melts and oozes out the sides, sliding down your fingers with the kimchi juice, staining your hands red with gochugaru. Sounds savage, yes, but so intoxicatingly good.
Kimchi grilled cheese is the ultimate quick meal. It’s for the days when you’re bogged down with work but committed to yourself — and perhaps, to a partner too — that you’d make lunch. It’s for the afternoons when you’re watching your favourite football team play, and only have halftime to make yourself a meal. It’s for the days when you want to cook, but not too much. It’s for those particular inspired late night hunger pangs. It’s for the days you popped your fridge door open, saw that jar of kimchi, and just needed a vehicle to put it in and call it a dish, so your lunch is more than just banchan.
Whatever it is. It’s a dang good snack, meal, and everything in between. Slather some butter onto two slices of bread (or one for a tartine) and grill them in a pan or skillet. Place some kimchi on one, melt some cheese on another — I use a combination of mozzarella for meltiness and strong cheddar for a more body and funk — smoosh the two breads together, then proceed to smash it into your mouth.
Kimchi. Cheese. Bread. Glorious.
Kimchi Grilled Cheese Sandwich
For one
Ingredients
2 slices of sourdough (or any other robust bread), sliced ½-inch thick
1 tablespoon (15g) unsalted butter or kewpie mayo
½ tablespoon (7g) oil
80g kimchi, squeezed dry, juice reserved
25g mozzarella cheese, sliced or grated
25g cheddar cheese, or red Leicester
¼ teaspoon (2g) salt (optional)
a few ground of black pepper (optional)
Directions
First off, some ingredient prep. Give the kimchi a rough chop, then saute it in a pan together with the kimchi juice for 5 minutes, until dry. As for the cheese, slice them into thin pieces (if using a cheese block) and set them aside.
Spread one side of each sourdough slice with butter or kewpie mayo. Then, place the oil in a pan or skillet, and heat it over medium heat. (We’re using oil here to prevent the butter from getting too brown too quickly.) Place the two sourdough slices in the pan, buttered side down. Let it fry and brown for 1-2 minutes, then butter the top side of the bread and flip it. Spread the chopped kimchi on one slice of sourdough, and put the grated cheese on top of the other slice. Sprinkle some salt and grind some black pepper onto the side with the kimchi, and let it cook for about 3 minutes, until the bottom of both slices are golden brown. Your cheese should be melted and bubbly at this point, and the kimchi is warm to touch. Flip the cheesy slice of sourdough onto the side with kimchi, press it down, and take the sandwich out of the pan.
Eat it hot straight out of the pan. (Watch the lava-like melted cheese though, careful it doesn’t burn your tongue!)
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