Kimchi Nachos

I don’t know about you but I hate letting things go to waste. My kids are notorious for opening bags of chips and never finishing them, and I am the type to say (if I catch them in the act) ‘finish whatever is opened before opening a new bag’. I’ll admit sometimes I feel like aisle 7 (the chip aisle) at the grocery store. There’s pretzels, potato chips, Cheetos, and tortilla chips. You get the idea. This whole idea of kimchi nachos came out of the fact that there was a half bag of tortilla chips going stale, as my daughter did not like this particular brand for whatever reason, and I was not about to let them go to waste. Not only that but as I was navigating through my refrigerator, I noticed a jar of kimchi that was being abandoned, and that’s when I thought of adding the two together and coming up with kimchi nachos.

I’m not even going to get started on how amazing these were, and if you have never had kimchi, well then maybe this is your gateway into the awesome Korean fermented cabbage. Regardless, lets get started, and trust me, just trust me, these are a must make. I might not even go back to making my regular nachos, that’s how great these are.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp dark sesame seed oil
• 1/2 tbsp garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 T-bone steak, or your favorite cut of beef, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• Tortilla chips
• 3/4 cup of kimchi, chopped
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 cup of shredded Monterrey jack cheese
• 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 whole egg, fried
• 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp sliced scallions, optional
• 2 tbsp sour cream

Start by marinating your beef. Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic paste, cracked black pepper, and honey in a small bowl. Make sure everything is incorporated. Add the beef to a sealable bag and pour the marinade in the bag. Gently massage the marinade into the beef, seal, and let marinade in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.

When you are ready to cook your beef, you can either grill, or cook in a large skillet and finish it in the oven as I did. Heat a large skillet on high heat for a few minutes. Add in the butter and immediately add the T-bone. Let this cook in the butter for about 3 minutes, untouched, then flip. You should have a nice sear. Cook for about a minute, then place in a preheated 300 degree oven to finish to your desired temperature.

Once cooked, slice into bite sized pieces. Nibble around the bone, well, you don’t have to but that’s my favorite part.

Next it’s time to rearrange the nachos.

Keep your oven preheated  but increase the heat to 325 degrees.

Layer the base of a oven ready skillet or plate with tortilla chips. Top with the monterray jack cheese, then add half of the diced onions. Top with half of the kimchi, some of the beef, then layer with more chips, the mozzarella cheese, more onions, beef, and kimchi.

Pop this into the oven to get everything warmed through and get the cheese nice and melted.

During this time, cook the egg. Melt the 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Crack the egg and add it to the skillet. With a spatula, break up some of the thick egg white so the egg cooks evenly.

Remove the kimchi nachos from the oven and top with the egg. Add the sour cream, and shower the nachos with the sliced scallions.

Now the moment you’ve been waiting for. Dig and. My preference is to take a nacho, break it into the egg yolk, a bit of the sour cream, and go to town.

The end result is probably, and I kid you not, the best nachos I’ve had. There is something about the tanginess and spiciness from the kimchi that really makes these stand out. The perfect Asian marinade of the beef, along with the creaminess from the egg yolk just made these nachos rock.

So remember, if you are like me, don’t let things go to waste, and better yet, go get yourself some kimchi! Did I mention, besides being a big high in sodium, that kimchi also pretty darn good for you?

Kimchi Nachos

Dax Phillips

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Appetizers

Ingredients

  

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp dark sesame seed oil
• 1/2 tbsp garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 T-bone steak or your favorite cut of beef, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• Tortilla chips
• 3/4 cup of kimchi chopped
• 1/2 small onion diced
• 1 cup of shredded Monterrey jack cheese
• 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 whole egg fried
• 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp sliced scallions optional
• 2 tbsp sour cream

Instructions

 

• Start by marinating your beef. Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic paste, cracked black pepper, and honey in a small bowl. Make sure everything is incorporated. Add the beef to a sealable bag and pour the marinade in the bag. Gently massage the marinade into the beef, seal, and let marinade in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.
• When you are ready to cook your beef, you can either grill, or cook in a large skillet and finish it in the oven as I did. Heat a large skillet on high heat for a few minutes. Add in the butter and immediately add the T-bone. Let this cook in the butter for about 3 minutes, untouched, then flip. You should have a nice sear. Cook for about a minute, then place in a preheated 300 degree oven to finish to your desired temperature.
• Once cooked, slice into bite sized pieces. Nibble around the bone, well, you don’t have to but that’s my favorite part.
• Next it’s time to rearrange the nachos.
• Keep your oven preheated but increase the heat to 325 degrees.
• Layer the base of a oven ready skillet or plate with tortilla chips. Top with the monterray jack cheese, then add half of the diced onions. Top with half of the kimchi, some of the beef, then layer with more chips, the mozzarella cheese, more onions, beef, and kimchi.
• Pop this into the oven to get everything warmed through and get the cheese nice and melted.
• During this time, cook the egg. Melt the 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Crack the egg and add it to the skillet. With a spatula, break up some of the thick egg white so the egg cooks evenly.
• Remove the kimchi nachos from the oven and top with the egg. Add the sour cream, and shower the nachos with the sliced scallions.
• Now the moment you’ve been waiting for. Dig and. My preference is to take a nacho, break it into the egg yolk, a bit of the sour cream, and go to town.
• The end result is probably, and I kid you not, the best nachos I’ve had. There is something about the tanginess and spiciness from the kimchi that really makes these stand out. The perfect Asian marinade of the beef, along with the creaminess from the egg yolk just made these nachos rock.