Stinky Meets Stinky

I jumped on the Korean fusion bandwagon a couple years ago when I tasted Kimchi Fries at Del Seoul in Chicago.  Prior to that encounter, I couldn't get my head wrapped around the idea of cheese and kimchi together in one dish. As a girl with kimchi in her blood, I had only known to eat kimchi with rice and other Korean food. But then the fries convinced me that maybe the two weren't such a bad idea, almost a brilliant idea.

After finding a legit jar, as in a glass jar, of kimchi here in Buffalo (in the Chinese market of all places), I felt like eating it in a more unconventional way. I don't know what is it but lately, I just haven't been in the mood for Korean food. Sorry! I feel like I have betrayed the motherland. Anyway I thought I would give Korean fusion a go in my own lil kitchen.

The dish: Kimchi Grilled Cheese. 

After some discussion with Big Sista before cooking, she thought the kimchi would pair nicely with a sharp or even spicy cheese, like pepper jack. I decided on some extra sharp white cheddar. Then I cut up some kimchi and placed it between the shredded cheese (which was placed on both slices of toasty buttery bread).

The verdict: The nutty, stinkiness from the cheese combined with the fermented stinkiness from the kimchi created a muted sense of stinkiness. Stinky + stinky = not stinky? It was spicy, tangy, cheesy and tasty. It was a nice way to amp up grilled cheese.

Paired it with this tomato soup recipe. Didn't know exactly how to asianify the soup. Any recommendations?