I love fried pickles! When I’m out to eat and if I see it on the menu, I HAVE to order it. I’ve never actually made fried pickles, but I thought, how about fried kimchi?! Of course! I made an attempt at this dish years ago, but the batter turned out way too heavy and sat in my gut for what felt like forever. This time around, the batter resulted in enveloping the pieces of kimchi in a golden pillow.
A few tips to keep in mind…
1 – Make sure the kimchi you use is really aged. You want the tangy flavor of the kimchi to sing.
2 – To ensure a light crispy crust, maintain the temperature of the cooking oil at around 350-375 degrees F, or else you’ll get a dense oil-laden crust.
3 – You can eat these on their own or you can make this easy-breezy dip I spotted in a past issue of Lucky Peach – 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, and 1 packet of the flavored soup base from your favorite instant ramen. Mix the sour cream and mayo, then mix in the contents of the soup base packet. You can use it right away or refrigerate it for about 30 minutes to let the flavors meld together.
Beer Batter Fried Kimchi
Ingredients
- 2 cups aged cabbage kimchi cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large egg
- 12 ounces beer a pale ale or lager is perfect
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
- Vegetable oil
Instructions
- Drain kimchi in a strainer. Line a plate or platter with paper towels and pat the kimchi dry with paper towels.
- Whisk together egg, beer, baking powder, salt, and flour.
- Pour enough oil into a medium-sized shallow pan to a depth of 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Heat the oil to 350-375 degrees F.
- Dip each piece of kimchi into the batter. Let excess drip off. Fry the kimchi for about 3 minutes or until golden. Fry in batches. Drain on a sheet pan lined with paper towels.
