INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons of juice from the kimchi jar, plus 1 cup drained cabbage kimchi, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
kosher salt
1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and sliced
4 large slices country bread, toasted
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
a small handful of roughly chopped fresh coriander
TO MAKE
In a small bowl, whisk together the kimchi juice and mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt.
Place 1/4 of the avocado slices on top of each slice of toast and mash the avocado into the toasts with a fork. Sprinkle each one with a generous pinch of salt.
Divide the chopped kimchi evenly among the toasts and drizzle each with 1/4 of the mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and coriander evenly over the toasts, and slice each one in half. Serve immediately.
SPIN-OFFS
For a refreshing salad …
… combine cubes of ripe avocado with a diced cucumber (I especially like the slim Israeli ones that aren’t too bitter for this, but use whatever you’ve got) and drizzle with the kimchi juice-mayonnaise dressing. Sprinkle with a few sesame seeds.
For a fancy salad …
… substitute jumbo lump crabmeat for the cucumber and serve with ice-cold glasses of champagne.
The kimchi juice-mayonnaise dressing …
… is so simple and so useful. Serve drizzled on grilled chicken or skirt steak or on roasted or grilled vegetables (whole scallions, cubed sweet potatoes, asparagus, and broccoli florets all come to mind). Or drizzle over tacos, especially breakfast tacos with scrambled eggs and/or bacon and/or cheddar cheese. Or use it as a dip for chicken nuggets, raw vegetables, even potato chips.
This is an edited extract from Small Victories by Julia Turschen, published by Chronicle Books.