Photo by Farideh Sadeghin.
Kimchi is amazing on its own, but it's also one of the few things that makes nearly everything better—like MSG or bacon. This spicy, funky, fermented cabbage can be the secret ingredient that takes your (fill-in-the-blank) to the next level.Deuki Hong, co-author of Koreatown: A Cookbook filled in the blank with cheese toasties. Hong doesn't just throw a handful of kimchi between two slices of white bread and Kraft singles and call it a day (though we're sure that would also be delicious).His version more closely resembles something you'd find at a fancy-pants LA food truck and were too lazy to make at home—but this little guy is way easier to make than it looks. The hardest part is trying to eat just one.
Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam cheese, nori seaweed, Granny Smith apple, and kimchi are piled high between two halves of a Hawaiian roll brushed in gochujang mayo. Now, we won't say this is the best grilled cheese you'll ever taste, because that honour will always and forever belong to the one Grandma used to make you while you were home sick from school. But it's not far behind.RECIPE: Kimchi Grilled Cheese