Our 14 Best Kimchi Recipes

Quick Cucumber Kimchi

Traditional Korean kimchi usually involves tossing vegetables with garlic, salt, chiles and other flavorings and letting them ferment for days. Bill Kim marinates these cucumbers for just two hours, so they're still crisp.

• Cucumber Recipes

Kimchi Fried Rice

Andrew Zimmern got addicted to this rice dish on a recent trip to Hawaii. It's an awesome side for any Asian-inspired meal, or on its own for lunch with a crisp salad.

• One-Bowl Rice Dishes

Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi

"Fermented cabbage is the most common kind, but kimchi is actually a pickling technique, so you can make it with any vegetable," explains Marja Vongerichten. "Every Korean household has a different recipe: Some use pears, others, raw shrimp or oysters." This classic recipe includes napa cabbage, ginger and garlic.

• Bulgar Recipes

Butter-Poached Lobster with Kimchi Butter Sauce

"My fiancée, Jori Jayne Emde, makes a lot of kimchi, and she brings it down to St. John every time we go," says Zak Pelaccio. On St. John, he tops local spiny lobster with a beurre blanc (butter sauce) flavored with rhubarb kimchi. Maine lobsters and classic cabbage kimchi are equally delicious in this recipe.

• Lobster Recipes

Bacon-and-Kimchi Burgers

Chef Wesley Genovart makes this over-the-top, Shake Shack–inspired burger with two thin stacked patties, thick-cut bacon, kimchi and a spicy homemade sauce.

• More Burger Recipes

Stir-Fried Pork Belly with Kimchi

Izakaya Ten in New York adds kimchi, the pungent Korean condiment, to a pork stir-fry. Fresh pork belly, available at Japanese markets, has the ideal fat-to-lean-meat ratio to temper the kimchi's intensity.

• Pork Recipes

Short Rib Stew with Caramelized Kimchi

This beef stew is hearty, soothing and packed with flavor. Adding caramelized kimchi as a condiment makes it even more delicious.

• More Hearty Stews

Kimchi Thousand Island Dressing

At Wares in Portland, Oregon, chef Johanna Ware tosses her salmon salad with this creamy, spicy-sweet dressing, which is also irresistible as a dip for crudités, drizzled over crisp Little Gem lettuce or even smeared on a sandwich. Trust us, you'll be putting it on everything.

Lobster, Clam and Kimchi Stew

"Kimchi stew is a fast and easy way to use up kimchi that's become too sour for people to eat straight," says Marja Vongerichten. Traditional Korean recipes are usually packed with a mix of seafood, but in this elegant version, Marja uses just lobster and clams.

• Seafood Recipes

Grilled Hanger Steak with Kimchi-Apple Slaw

Chef and TV personality Judy Joo marinates juicy hanger steak in a potent soy-and-sesame-oil marinade that works in just 15 minutes. The meat needs less than 10 minutes on the grill.

• Steak Recipes

Spicy Beef and Broccoli Salad with Kimchi

Kimchi, added here for heat, is a Korean condiment that is also commonly eaten in Japan. Kimchi is made from many vegetables, but brined napa cabbage with hot red peppers and garlic is the most familiar. Kimchi is sold at many supermarkets and Asian food shops.

• Beef Recipes

Kimchi Corn Dogs

A little spicy and perfectly crisp, these bite-size Kimchi Corn Dogs are an umami-rich twist on a childhood favorite. We like them best dipped in sweet and spicy honey mustard.

Fresh Cabbage Kimchi

Garlicky, spicy and delicious, this quick kimchi combines crunchy bok choy and tender napa cabbage for an interesting mix of textures.

Kimchi Cheese Jeon (Kimchi Cheese Pancake)

The spice and acid of kimchi is balanced out here by mozzarella and cheddar cheese.