In this blog post, I will be sharing two grilled cheese recipes that have a Korean twist: Kimchi grilled cheese for a sweet, tangy, and spicy sandwich; and bulgogi grilled cheese for a nutty, savory, and meaty sandwich. This is an all-time favorite, elevated 100 times!
As a Korean food rep, I rarely make fusion food. However, when I have some leftover bread that I need to finish, grilled cheese is one of the easiest foods you can make. Many people love it, but I know I have to put a twist on it before it can sell me out.
Kimchi Grilled Cheese uses fermented kimchi that has been caramelized to balance out the slightly salty, creamy mozzarella. Bulgogi Grilled Cheese, on the other hand, uses sweet and salty beef to make a meaty and cheesy experience in every bite.
Grilled Cheese Secret Ingredients
In making these two grilled cheese, there are general ingredients that I like to use: Bread, butter, and mozzarella cheese.
For the bread, you can use white, wheat, milk, or sourdough bread. Everyone has a preference especially because of the taste, softness, and crunch yielded by each bread. Personally, a simple white bread is okay since it gets toasty with just the right crunch on the outside while remaining pillowy and soft on the inside.
As for “toasting agent”, many people have been saying mayo is the way to go. It makes sense because mayo has a high smoke point which can help keep the bread from burning as you wait for the cheese to melt. But in my opinion, butter alone is the way to go! One small knob can add a hint of sweet, creamy, and rich taste to the grilled cheese.
Lastly, mozzarella cheese. There are several cheeses and a combination of them that you can use in making the sandwich. However, I used mozzarella cheese only because it has mild saltiness to almost neutral taste. With that, it makes space for savory ingredients like kimchi and bulgogi for balance. Use freshly shredded mozzarella for a creamy and gooey cheese that will complement the main ingredients.
Kimchi Grilled Cheese
First, place a cup of kimchi in a bowl and use scissors to cut it into bite-sized pieces. This will keep the kimchi juice from making a mess and staining your cutting board or countertop.
NOTE: Fermented kimchi is a must in this recipe because it has matured enough to have the spice, sourness, and all the complex flavors a kimchi has. This type of kimchi is perfect to be sauteed and caramelized.
Now, with a little bit of oil, saute the kimchi until it has reduced some of the juice to prevent a soggy sandwich. This process will also help deepen the flavor to intensely umami-filled, sour, and spicy. Sprinkle a bit of sugar to caramelize and balance the sourness and drizzle some sesame oil to help it develop a smoky, nutty flavor!
Once done, in your grilling pan, melt some butter and swirl a pair of bread around so one side of each gets coated evenly. On the unbuttered side of the bread, put mozzarella cheese on both slices and kimchi on one.
NOTE: You can actually put some bacon or pork belly to make the sandwich more filling, but I personally think that adding those will make it too salty. The kimchi has enough flavor from the aromatics and seasonings used in the kimchi paste. That alone brings the sandwich to a whole new level!
Put the bread together sandwiching the kimchi with mozzarella cheese on top and bottom. Keep the heat on low, and slowly toast both sides, turning as needed, until the cheese is melted nicely.
Bulgogi Grilled Cheese
Now for this, use the marinated bulgogi recipe I have on the website or any leftover bulgogi you may have. Saute the beef, then drizzle some sesame oil and sesame seeds once cooked. Using scissors, cut them into bite-sized pieces.
In the same way as the kimchi sandwich, melt butter on your grilling pan and swirl two slices of bread over the butter. Make sure that one side of each bread is evenly coated with it.
Once the bread is buttered, put mozzarella cheese on both breads and then bulgogi pieces in one. Put the bread together sandwiching the beef with mozzarella on the top and bottom.
Keep the heat on low and slowly toast both sides. Turn it as needed until the cheese has melted nicely.
What Makes the Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich
#1 Chop your ingredients small
The main reason for this is that you want to have a clean bite of the sandwich. I recommend chopping the kimchi and bulgogi into small bitesize pieces because you don’t want any cabbage or beef hanging on your lip as you eat them. Clean bite all the way!
#2 Ensure your ingredients are room temp
Making a perfectly toasted grilled cheese is about balancing. When your bread, cheese, and kimchi are at room temperature, they will cook simultaneously into a perfectly toasted and perfectly melted cheesy sandwich. If one ingredient is colder than the other, it might take longer to cook which may cause burning of the bread or undercooking of the cheese.
#3 Keep your heat on low
As long as your pan is already heated up, you can turn it to low as you continue to toast the grilled cheese. Butter easily burns so that can also cause your sandwich to burn. Simply flip it as needed to prevent it from burning.
Serving Korean-style Grilled Cheese
This is a great snack that can be enjoyed both by kids and adults! It takes about 5 minutes to make and it’s best enjoyed when hot, crispy, and fresh!
Other delicious snacks you might like:
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Korean-style Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup Kimchi
- Canola or Vegetable Oil For sauteing
- Drizzle Sesame Oil
- Sprinkle of Sugar
- 1 cup Bulgogi
- Splash of Sesame Oil
- Sesame Seeds
- 4 slices Bread
- 2-4 tbsp Butter
- Mozzarella Cheese As much as you like
Instructions
Prepare the Kimchi
- In a bowl, cut up the kimchi into small bite size pieces using scissors.
- In high heat with a little bit of oil, saute the kimchi until the juice has reduced.
- Put sugar and drizzle some sesame oil and continue sauteing until nicely caramelized. Set aside.
Prepare the Bulgogi
- Using your marinated beef bulgogi or any leftover bulgogi you have, saute it in a pan with a little bit of oil then sprinkle in some sesame seeds.
- Cut up the bulgogi into small bitesize pieces and set aside.
Make the Grilled Cheese
- In your grilling pan, melt some butter and place slices of bread on top of it. Swirl the bread around until it has soaked up all the butter and the facing down side of the bread is well coated.
- On the unbuttered side, put mozzarella cheese on both slices then put kimchi or bulgogi on top of one slice.
- Put the breads together to make a sandwich and in low heat, slowly toast its two sides. Flip as needed to prevent the sandwich from burning. Toast until the cheese is melty.
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