Kimchi Burgers

As seems to be a common occurrence on Saturdays we didn't eat lunch since we'd had a large breakfast then mid afternoon we're wondering about supper.  I'd been gifted some kimchi made by the mother-in-law of one of the Soldiers at the office so we were looking for someway to use it.  We settled on kimchi burgers since we hadn't fixed those in a long time.  That necessitated making hamburger buns and cutting french fries.  Oh the sacrifices for good eating.

The kimchi I was given is not as hot as the kimchi I make but it is very flavorful and has a bit more of the fermented sour bite than mine does.  This was done old school as the Nappa cabbage was quartered and the seasoning mix was applied between the leaves then allowed to ferment.  I tend to chop mine first since I'd need to cut it anyway.  The reason most Koreans don't chop it until serving is that unchopped kimchi shows that it is fresh from the jar rather than serving leftovers.

The buns are made from the recipe I got here, http://www.shemakesandbakes.com/home/homemade-hamburger-buns.  I use this recipe for both hamburger and hot dog/sub buns.  I've done it  mixing everything manually but this time I used her instructions for the KitchenAid mixer.

The first rise is an hour which I did in the oven with the light on.  Doing it that way gets it to rise very well.   After shaping they got another 40 minute rise.  Two of them got sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds to add to the Asian influence after the egg wash was put on.

Fresh from the oven and on the cooling rack.  Yes, I need to work on my portioning to get these the same size.














The fries were cut using one of the julienne settings on our new mandoline.  When making fries, it seems to make them turn out better if they get rinsed well to get rid of the starch and then dried.  I really like this mandoline and will doing a review of it during a kitchen gadget post.  If you want to look into it your self it is a PL8 Professional Mandoline.

The hamburgers were my standard 5 oz patties that I pulled out of the freezer.  They got cooked in the cast iron skillet because it was raining and I didn't feel like fighting the rain to grill them.  The burgers were seasoned with Uncle T's seasoning salt, Worcestershire sauce, and a splash of whiskey and allowed to sit and absorb the flavors while the oil was heating for the fries.

Here is the fully assembled meal.  A kimchi cheese burger on a fresh made bun and home made french fries.  The french fries also had Uncle T's seasoning salt on them.





 













So, no recipes this time other than the one on the other blog.  Give them a try.  After all, yeast is nothing to be scared of.  Try the kimchi burger for a burst of flavor and a new adventure in eating.

Uncle T