Kalbi Steak Kimchi Grilled Cheese

Before I get into this week’s amazing #SundaySupper installment celebrating family heritage, I want to take a moment to share an amazing Shakespeare project created for children, called Kinderbard, that has been put together by Jason’s sister’s family including his insanely cute five year old niece, Sherman.

Now with this project, the world of Shakespeare is introduced through these songs that are sung by children, including Sherman herself. And you should know that this five year old can sing. Like really sing. She has a voice better than Justin Bieber. No joke. (Okay, well, I may be a bit biased since I can’t stand that kid. Did you see his chihuahua version on Conan? Freaking hilarious.)

Anyway, I digress. That’s what happens when Bieber gets involved.

So what I was saying was how great this project is because it helps children identify with many of these themes embedded in Shakespeare, such as not being able to express yourself, not feeling brave enough, or missing someone who is far away. But there’s also some silly/funny songs like smelly farts. Now in all honestly, I think I would actually benefit from this project too because I still don’t know what the hell Shakespeare is saying. Speak common English, man!

In summary, it’s an incredible passion-project put together by such wonderful people, and I honestly can’t believe they’ve created such an innovative educational project.

Now let’s move on to this week’s #SundaySupper where I made a Korean fusion type dish that was out. of. this. world.

I absolutely love making Korean food at home but honestly, I’m not very good at it, which is why I don’t post about it. See, my mom didn’t really get a chance to teach me how to make Korean food since she was more focused on getting me to study, play the violin, and go to swim practice six times a week, so in her eyes, there was absolutely “no time” to waste with cooking (yeah, she was a bit of a tiger mom).

But now that I’ve become a home cook, I always try to make Korean food a couple times a month. It gets hard though because some of the things that I make never compare to my mom’s food, which becomes incredibly discouraging. But as I powered through the #epicfails, I’m happy to say that I’ve finally conquered a dish that hits close to home.

I made a grilled cheese sandwich but amped it up with staple ingredients of Korean cuisine, such as steak marinated in homemade kalbi marinade and homemade kimchi thanks to Jason’s mom. I packed it all into two pieces of bread and pressed it in a panini maker, which made such an ooey goeey cheesilicious concoction. The ample amount of kalbi steak goes hand in and with the kimchi and the melted gruyere cheese just held it all together, which was absolutely heavenly. I made the same sandwich using sharp cheddar in place of the gruyere and it was just as amazing. If I had to choose the better one though, it would be the gruyere one, although Jason went with the sharp cheddar, so I guess it’s a tie!

So here’s how you make this:

Let’s start with the kalbi marinade by whisking together the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, green onions, sesame seeds and red pepper.

Place the steak into a large Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Give it a good shake and let it marinate in the fridge overnight.

Now let’s cook the steak. You can definitely grill it, which I’m sure would be better taste-wise, but I just threw it in a cast iron skillet for about 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare.

Once the steak is cool enough to handle, slice them up real nice for your sandwiches. Be sure to sample a couple but definitely not half of it like I did.

It’s time to put together the sandwiches. Let’s first butter one side of each of the 4 bread slices.

You can also add some sandwich spread on the other side of the bread. I used some leftover Sriracha cream sauce.

Pack it with a good amount of the kalbi steak. Skimping would be a crime.

Then goes the kimchi.

And then pack it with your favorite kind of cheese. We used sharp cheddar and gruyere.

Close the sandwich with the other slice of bread.

When your panini maker is ready to go, it’s time to grill!

You want to let the cheese get all gooey, which takes about 4-5 minutes. It seems like forever when you’re just standing there, watching and waiting.

Yes! Grill marks make me happy.

Slice, serve and eat with Dr. Pepper. Or beer. Or both.

One year ago: Tuna Noodle Casserole

Kalbi Steak Kimchi Grilled Cheese (adapted from Savory Sweet Life):

Yields 2 servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 pound beef chuck steak
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 slices bread
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup chopped kimchi
• 1/2 cup shredded gruyere and/or sharp cheddar

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, green onions, sesame seeds and red pepper.

In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine the Kalbi marinade and steak; marinate overnight, turning the bag occasionally.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the steak and cook, flipping once, until medium rare, about 3-4 minutes per side. Let the meat rest for 5-7 minutes before carving into thin slices.

Heat the panini maker to medium high heat.

To assemble the sandwich, generously spread the butter on 4 slices of bread. On the non-buttered side, top with the steak, kimchi and cheese. Place the remaining bread on top and spread with butter.

Grill each sandwich until the cheese is thoroughly melted and the sandwich is golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.

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