For the Love of Kimchi!

When was the last time you ate kimchi? That’s what I thought – likely never! Well, that’s a mistake and I’m here to show you the error of your ways! You’ll fall in love with this fermented cabbage treat after you try my Korean-inspired kimchi pork burgers. Let’s talk kimchi!

Korean Kimchi Pork Burger – photo by Laurie Geis

Way back in the early 1990’s I lived in Hawaii, and it was there that I was introduced to kimchi, a Korean-inspired dish made with fermented cabbage and other vegetables, garlic, ginger, and sometimes fish sauce as well. It has sour, spicy, and somewhat salty flavors and is often considered an acquired taste for many. While I didn’t dislike it, I never really took a liking to kimchi and actually forgot about it until Laurie and I recently discovered it again as we were looking for more healthy foods to eat. Turns out, we love it and have started incorporating it into our regular rotation at home.

It's an incredibly versatile food and can be eaten by itself, as a condiment to other foods, or incorporated into meat and vegetable dishes. It’s also really healthy for you – besides being low in calories and fat, it is known to reduce cholesterol and improve gut health. And, it has anti-aging properties as well. It is also widely available now, so you don’t have to go to a specialty food store or market to find it.

Our favorites are Sunja’s Medium Spicy Kimchi and Mother in Law’s House Napa Cabbage Kimchi, both widely available at places like Whole Foods and Fresh Market. Sunja’s is the most flavorful with nice heat and spice on the finish. Mother in Law’s is cut into larger chunks and less spicy but still really flavorful with the classic sour/salty/sweet flavor profile that makes kimchi so popular.

As we were sampling these kimchi’s one afternoon, Laurie mentioned how great it would be to have an Asian-inspired pork burger that incorporated kimchi into the mix. I agreed and got to work creating such a recipe. The result is my Korean Kimchi Pork Burgers – give them a try and let me know what you think!

Korean Kimchi Pork Burgers (Serves 4)

These burgers are a nice alternative to your traditional hamburger on the grill. In addition to being leaner with less fat, they are loaded with the salty, sour, spicy, and sweet flavors of kimchi as well as additional Asian-inspired flavors such as ginger and garlic. Serve with a tossed salad with creamy ginger dressing.

Ingredients

1-½ lb. ground pork

½ cup red bell pepper, diced

½ cup red onion, diced

1 ½ tbsp. fresh minced ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 cup prepared kimchi (either Sunja’s or Mother-in-Law’s if you can find them)

Bib lettuce leaves

4 slices pepper jack cheese

4 pretzel or potato rolls

2 tbsp. salted butter

1 cup Spicy Kimchi Mayonnaise (see recipe below)

Directions

Place the first eight ingredients above into a medium bowl and combine with your hands until fully blended. Divide the ground pork mixture into 4 equal servings of 6 oz. each and form into patties. Press you thumb into middle of the top of each patty (this will keep the flat while grilling). Place in a rimmed baking sheet lined with wax paper and cover and refrigerate until ready to grill (you can make these a few hours ahead of grilling if you’d like).

Heat the grill by turning all the burners on high for 15 minutes with the grill cover closed. Meanwhile, rub both sides of each pork patty with the vegetable oil and butter each side of the rolls.

Once the grill is ready, turn the burners down to medium-high and place the pork patties on one side of the grill and the rolls, buttered side down, on the other side of the grill. Close the grill cover and let cook for 5 minutes, checking the rolls every so often to make sure they don’t burn. Flip the pork patties and place a slice of cheese on top of each. Remove the toasted buns, set aside, and close the grill cover to finish cooking the pork patties and melt the cheese – cook for another 4 minutes.

Remove the pork burgers from the grill. Spread the kimchi mayonnaise on the buns, and top each with a pork patty, bib lettuce leaves, and ¼ cup of the prepared kimchi.

Spicy Kimchi Mayonnaise (Serves 4)

This quick and easy mayonnaise comes together in a few minutes and is versatile enough to be used on any burger or sandwich but is a particularly good match for the Korean Kimchi Pork Burgers. It can also be used as a dipping sauce for vegetables, onion rings, or chicken fingers!

Ingredients

2 tbsp. red onion, minced

6 tbsp. prepared kimchi, minced

2 tbsp. kimchi liquid from prepared kimchi

½ tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 cup good mayonnaise (such as Helman’s or Duke’s)

Combine all the ingredients above into a small bowl and cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving to give the flavors time to meld.