I cannot believe I haven’t posted on this as this has been my go-to easy, quick comfort meal when I’m not feeling good or it’s crummy out, for at least the last 3 years. Maybe it was because I kept messing around with the tomato soup b/c I didn’t feel like I had it dialed yet. But now I do, so here we go!

I don’t remember when or where I first heard about kimchi grilled cheese sandwiches, but when Steph and I got our hands on our first loaf of whole-wheat milk bread on Oahu a couple years ago, I was like, Oh, I know what we’re doing with this. And those sandwiches were fan-freaking-tastic. The tomato soup part of the equation took longer to work out b/c I kept making mistakes with it: making it spicy (which is too much with the spicy kimchi); making it too sweet; making it too rich with cream (the grilled cheese brings all the fat you need); going the wrong direction with the flavor profile (curry, which is great but isn’t Korean). And if you make the tomato soup part too fussy, it kind of defeats the whole purpose of grilled cheese and tomato soup—which is maximum comfort in minimum time. But I finally hit the jackpot with doenjang, Korean miso basically, which adds salt, umami, and body all in one go without fighting the flavors in the kimchi.

While I was isolating with Covid this weekend, I made a new loaf of Hokkaido Whole Wheat Milk Bread from this recipe (I make it 1/2 wheat), and before I sliced it and put it in the freezer, I eyed the last little bit of my last batch of kimchi in the frig and thought, Oh, I know what I’m doing with this. So here’s the drill:

Kimchi Grilled Cheese and Doenjang Tomato Soup

Makes 2 servings

Notes: You can sub any kind of miso for the doenjang, but I don’t recommend gochujang b/c of the aforementioned too-much-spice problem with the kimchi. I mean, maybe you could use a tiny bit—I almost never say no to gochujang. Also, feel free to sub any kind of milk for the coconut milk, but coconut and tomato just play so nicely together. Do yourself a favor, though, and use a full-fat coconut milk—either your own, which is so easy to make and 100 times better than canned, or canned, which is perfectly fine for soup. Finally, you can certainly fancy this up by using sautéed fresh garlic, onion, and ginger instead of the dried versions (3x the amount BTW), but then (a) I question your commitment to laziness, and (b) you’re not really getting that much ROI as the kimchi has the fresh stuff anyway.

Ingredients

• 4 slices of milk bread, either regular or whole-wheat
• 1 cup shredded cheddar-jack cheese (or 4 slices American cheese or however you like your grilled cheese)
• 1 cup chopped kimchi (I use scissors in a small bowl to chop; don’t chop on your cutting board unless you want it to look like you killed someone there)
• 1 t toasted sesame oil
• 3 T vegetable oil, mayonnaise, or butter depending on preference
• 1 14-oz. can whole or diced tomatoes (fire-roasted is fine, but no Italian herbs or anything)
• 3 T doenjang or miso (if you want to include some gochujang, take it easy—maybe 1-2 tsp max)
• 1/2 C full-fat coconut milk, stirred (or more if you like a thinner soup)
• 1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 t onion powder
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/4 t ground ginger
• 1/8 t white pepper

Get the soup started: pour the can of tomatoes and the spices into a pan and bring to a boil; stir and lower to a low simmer while you prepare the sandwiches.

Stir fry your kimchi in the sesame oil in a nonstick skillet big enough to hold both your sandwiches (make sure it has a cover, though, or get out a a plate or small cookie sheet to use as a cover) until the moisture is mostly evaporated. Scrape the kimchi back into its bowl, wipe the pan out and pour in your vegetable oil. When it’s hot, lower the heat to medium. Alternatively, while the dry pan is reheating to medium, spread one side of each of the 4 slices of bread with butter or mayo.

Place two slices of bread (fat side down if using solid fat) in the pan, top with half the cheese, then the kimchi, then the rest of the cheese, then the last 2 slices of bread (fat side up if using solid fat). Cover the pan and cook on medium heat until the bottom piece of bread is as toasty as you like it—mine usually takes a good 2-3 minutes. If you spilled some cheese in the pan while you were composing your sandwiches, which I highly recommend doing as it makes a really lovely frico that you can dip in the soup later, it will be a good indicator of when it’s time to flip. Carefully flip sandwiches, with two spatulas if needed, and squish them like you mean it. Cover again and cook until the second side is toasty and your cheese is melty; it will take less time than the first side, so 1-2 minutes.

While the sandwiches are toasting, finish the soup. Stir in the coconut milk. Then, turn off the heat, get your stick blender, and blend the soup in the pan until it’s as smooth as you like. Scoop your doenjang up in a big, flat spoon, and lower it into the soup just enough so the doenjang and soup mix but you can still see what’s happening in there. Get a whisk and whisk the soup and doenjang in the spoon until there are no lumps left, then pull the spoon out and whisk everything together. Taste and add salt or more coconut milk as desired. Serve hot with your sliced kimchi grilled cheese and marvel at the sheer bang for your buck.