Too Much Kimchi?
May 20, 2022 7:01 PM   Subscribe

I have two very large containers of cabbage kimchi in my fridge. This normally wouldn't be a problem except for the large amount of refrigerator space I'm losing out on. So, I need some ideas on how to use it. Difficulty: two of the three people in my household don't do spicy food or particularly like kimchi.

For myself, the usual means of using up kimchi is simple: eat it as is, eat it on rice, stir fry it, make jeon, make fried rice, maybe make a stew. The usual uses and preparations in other words, along with topping things like burgers, hot dogs, etc. with it. However, I'd like to also incorporate this into what the rest of the family also eats so I don't have to make two separate meals as I work through my jars. So... any thoughts? I'm up for anything really as long as it's 1. an unconventional use as I think I've got the major Korean uses covered and 2. something I could make that my weird family members would enjoy.
posted by daikaisho to Food & Drink (16 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is definitely a major Korean use but a member of my household who dislikes both kimchi and spicy food kind of surprisingly will eat kimchijjigae.
posted by pullayup at 7:13 PM on May 20, 2022 [6 favorites]


I threw about a cup of kimchi into the bottom of a bowl of basic instant ramen today. It was so good! (Maybe too obvious though?)

Kimchi dip has been on my list of things to try.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 7:20 PM on May 20, 2022 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I really like in grilled cheese sandwiches. Or, similarly, on toast with cheese broiled on top of it.

I think I chopped it up and put it in an omelette once with some green onions to good effect.
posted by A Blue Moon at 7:54 PM on May 20, 2022 [5 favorites]


Best answer: Lasagna with kimchi -- haven't tried making it myself. A bit different from just topping random other foods with kimchi because it's layered in with the sauce before baking.
posted by automatic cabinet at 8:00 PM on May 20, 2022 [2 favorites]


It’s really good in mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs! I can also vouch for a kimchi scramble with cubed spam and eggs (fry the first two separately then add egg and scramble).
posted by stellaluna at 8:03 PM on May 20, 2022 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Kimchi quesadillas are awesome. If you sauté the kimchi a bit you can calm down some of the heat and get some extra flavor if you brown it a bit, but just chopped up from the jar is good too, and more crunchy. Easy to put in some and not others when you’re making a few for a meal. The mix of milder melty cheeses is great with kimchi (think of cheesy spicy rice cake, for example) and additional toppings like scallions, mushrooms, grilled meats, or sweet peppers all go too.

If you have a bunch of freezer space but are lacking in fridge space, maybe make a bunch of kimchi mandu or other kind of dumpling to freeze? Then you can have them ready to go whenever. I think kimchi dumplings are extra delicious when the filling is mixed with those itty bitty shrimp and since they are already cooked you don’t have to worry about the filling being raw.
posted by Mizu at 8:24 PM on May 20, 2022 [3 favorites]


Third vouching for the omelette.
posted by joycehealy at 8:42 PM on May 20, 2022


Best answer: Seconding kimchi grilled cheese. SO GOOD. Your normally kimchi/spice avoiding house members will like it too, since the cheese will temper the kimchi.
posted by nemutdero at 9:11 PM on May 20, 2022 [3 favorites]


I have had good luck with slightly frying it and then adding eggs. The most popular has been when I put kind of a kimchi level on the bottom of the pan, then cracked eggs over it and flipped them when the white started to harden. It had kind of a cross between poached eggs and over easy that was really delicious and easy.
posted by corb at 12:29 AM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]


(Alternate option: would you have room to get a used little cube fridge for cheap to store the kimchi, then re-sell the little cube fridge when no longer needed?)
posted by eviemath at 5:57 AM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]


I finely chop it and add it to my salad.
posted by vivzan at 6:51 AM on May 21, 2022


Best answer: Oh actually I haven’t seen this suggested yet, around here poke bowls always include kimchi as an option. If you don’t want to wrangle with raw fish at home you can get cooked shrimp, various high quality canned seafoods, surimi and other fish cake type products, yummy lump crab, and my favorite if you can get it - octopus. Anyway just make a layered bowl with seasoned sushi rice on the bottom, some rehydrated seaweed dressed with sesame oil and rice vinegar, chopped up kimchi, maybe some fruit like mango or pineapple, maybe some avocado, maybe some shiitake or other mushrooms, maybe some tomato or cucumber, scallions, your seafood of preference that you’ve marinated or mixed with whatever kind of seasoning or dressing you like (try octopus with black vinegar and ginger!), crumble some nori on top and go to town. If you like spicy tuna definitely do a kimchi and oil-packed tuna poke bowl, really fast and satisfying. Kimchi gives a great crunch if the bowl is otherwise lacking in that texture. A lot of poke is already spicy but there are plenty of options that aren’t spicy for the fish and you can put kimchi on yours and cucumber and daikon (or whatever) on your family’s.
posted by Mizu at 10:53 AM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I’ve had this tab open for long enough that I forget what originally pointed me there, and I haven’t made it yet (because my husband doesn’t want it). But it looks delicious to this kimchi-ambivalent eater.
posted by daisyace at 1:24 PM on May 21, 2022


Response by poster: Thanks y'all! Everything you mentioned sounds delicious, but I've marked the ones my family and I could potentially eat together. (Alas we can't do omelettes or similar as I can't eat eggs and they don't like things like quiche or scrambled eggs. Heathens!)
posted by daikaisho at 10:52 AM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]


Perhaps Kimchijeon (kimchi savory pancakes). That it's in a dough mutes the spiciness, can be made small and approachable and is a fundamentally different texture/flavor because it's so embedded in the pancake.

Here's an appealing looking bon appétit recipe although I haven't tried.
posted by artificialard at 10:48 AM on May 23, 2022 [1 favorite]


chop it up and mix it into dumplings? either pork or tofu can help mellow out the spiciness. they freeze super easily too.
posted by zsh2v1 at 8:33 AM on June 2, 2022


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