Kimchi quesadilla
Photo: Gary Stevens · CC BY 2.0

History

Roy Choi launched the Kogi BBQ truck in late 2008 with a Korean-Mexican menu built around short rib tacos and a kimchi quesadilla. The truck used Twitter to broadcast its location, and the resulting crowds invented the modern American food truck movement. The kimchi quesadilla, sharp aged kimchi melted into two cheeses inside a seared flour tortilla, became the truck's most-imitated dish and is now a category. The original is still on Kogi's menu, the truck still moves around LA on a published schedule, and the format spawned a generation of Korean-Mexican fusion counters across the city.

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Common allergens: Dairy, Gluten, Soy

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 15 minTotal 15 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 large flour tortillas (25cm)
  • 100g aged napa kimchi, drained and chopped
  • 100g sharp cheddar, grated
  • 100g low-moisture mozzarella, grated
  • 2 spring onions, sliced thin
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • Sour cream, to serve
  • Sriracha or gochujang, to serve

Method

  1. Squeeze excess liquid from the kimchi over a sieve, then chop into 1cm pieces.
  2. Mix the two cheeses, kimchi, spring onions and sesame in a bowl.
  3. Heat a heavy pan over medium. Add a thin film of oil. Lay one tortilla flat, scatter the filling over half, fold the other half over.
  4. Cook 2 minutes per side until the tortilla is deeply golden and the cheese has melted into the kimchi.
  5. Cut into wedges. Serve with sour cream and sriracha. Repeat with the second tortilla.

Tip from the editors. Use kimchi at least three weeks old. Fresh kimchi is too watery and the sharp lactic edge that cuts the cheese is what makes the dish.

Where to eat kimchi quesadilla

Kimchi quesadilla in Los Angeles

Kogi BBQ Truck ★ 4.6

$ Street food

Roy Choi's Kogi BBQ Truck has rolled around Los Angeles since 2008, pairing Korean short rib with Mexican tortillas. Schedule posted online daily.

TryShort rib taco

Directions

Park's BBQ ★ 4.6

$$$ Korean BbqKoreatown

Jenee Kim's Park's BBQ in Los Angeles Koreatown grills USDA Prime short rib over real charcoal in a buttoned-up dining room with reliable banchan.

OrderMarinated boneless short rib (yangnyum galbi) and the seafood pancake to share.

TipBanchan refills are free and generous; ask for the live abalone if it's on the spec sheet by the door.

Directions Book

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