Top Your Burger With Kimchi For An Unbeatable Burst Of Tangy Flavor

Fan of spice or umami? Are you bored of the usual toppings your burger gets left with? Kimchi is the long-awaited burger garnish that's sure to give your burger a flavorful boost it's been missing. Traditionally made from fermented vegetables and seasoning, kimchi is a Korean pantry staple used as both a side dish and a condiment. Its salty, spicy, and tangy flavor is sure to make any patty sing. Adapting and elevating the flavors it's layered on top of, you can see why this is one of the best ways to use kimchi.

Whether you prefer crispy chicken pieces, meaty beef, or beanie plant-based patties, kimchi is the chameleon topping for any burger. Not only does it add a kick of flavor, but it'll also give your burger a crunchy layer that's so much more satisfying and moreish than ordinary lettuce or salad. To experience this playful burst of flavor, merely top your burger patty with kimchi alongside other toppings or condiments, and enjoy. It's convenient, easy, and delicious.

Kimchi is traditionally made with whole-leaf nappa cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, and radishes. It follows a similar fermentation process as sauerkraut or dill pickles, whereby the cabbage is soaked in salty brine before being preserved with the other vegetables in a spice paste. With over 200 types of kimchi available, recipes, ingredients, and length of fermentation differ. Consequently, various kimchis may have subtle flavor differences, but the main nuances are generally sour, umami, salty, and spicy.

What makes kimchi such a winner of a topping on your burgers is that it punches into all these flavor profiles simultaneously. Instead of adding pickles for sour, tomatoes for umami, and hot sauce for spicy, kimchi ticks all these boxes to give you an effortlessly full-throttle taste. Kimchi also complements other toppings, such as cheese, fried eggs, BBQ sauce, and bacon. It's also important to note that storing homemade kimchi correctly is integral to preserving that satisfying crunch. You want what's best for your burger. 

Look, it's understandable if you're apprehensive about spice. It's not everyone's cup of tea and can easily ruin a meal if you're not a fan. Luckily, some recipes and kimchi brands will not blow your head off. White kimchi is a variety of kimchi that foregoes that spicy paste and instead leans further into sweet and salty fermented notes. It's just as refreshing as coleslaw or pickles but still has fantastic hints of umami.

If you've already bought or made kimchi and want to de-spice it, then kimchi mayonnaise is a brilliant alternative. Add sliced kimchi and mayonnaise to a blender and blitz until smooth. You can experiment with how much kimchi or mayonnaise you want to add to play with the spice level. The creamy kimchi mayonnaise retains that tangy, umami aroma with the faintest hint of spice. When you're next grilling burgers, give kimchi a shot as a topping — its flavor will (metaphorically) explode!