Kimchi in grilled cheese? | News, Sports, Jobs
By CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL
Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street
The original pull-from-the-pantry meal could be grilled cheese. But consider upping the ante with one potent ingredient — kimchi. The odd-sounding pairing of cheese with kimchi comes from a stew that originated on army bases during the Korean War. It’s made with American surplus foods, such as hot dogs, baked beans and instant noodles, along with kimchi and American cheese. It loosely inspired the cooks from Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. They put the spicy-crunchy fermented cabbage into the sandwich and mix its flavorful brine with mayonnaise to spread on the bread. Mayonnaise instead of butter allows you to cook the sandwich over slightly higher heat for more flavorful browning without burning. Sliced deli ham or cooked bacon turn the sandwich into a fuller meal.
We’ve upped the ante on the original pull-from-the-pantry meal — the grilled cheese — with one potent ingredient: kimchi. And we use it two ways for a double dose of flavor.
Cheese with kimchi may sound odd, but the pairing is hardly new. Budae jjigae, otherwise known as army base stew, originates with the Korean War. It’s a hot pot made with American surplus foods, such as hot dogs, baked beans and instant noodles, along with kimchi and American cheese.
It loosely inspired this recipe from our book “Cook What You Have,” which draws on pantry staples to assemble easy, weeknight meals. The fermented cabbage and its flavorful brine combine for a spicy, crunchy, umami-rich sandwich that’s far more interesting than what you had as a kid.
Besides putting the kimchi between the bread, we also mix its brine with mayonnaise to spread on the outside. Using mayonnaise instead of butter allows you to cook the sandwich over (slightly) higher heat. That heat helps melt the cheese inside but also increases flavorful browning on the bread with less risk of burning.
Sliced deli ham or cooked bacon turn the sandwich into a fuller meal,…
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