Gochujang Grilled Cheese

Gochujang Grilled Cheese sandwich. Grilled cheese with a kick. If you’re a fan of gochujang, you are going to love this!

I don’t know about you but I love a spicy kick with my grilled cheese. The heat, mixed with the salty cheese goodness and the toasty, crunchy exterior of the sandwich, ah it’s so good! 

Mayo or Butter?

There’s an on-going debate about what is better to use for a grilled cheese sandwich: mayonnaise or butter. I think they both give you a nicely, browned exterior but personally, I am a fan of using butter. I think it tastes better and maybe I’m biased but I think the exterior browning looks better when you use butter. What do you use?

Gochujang: Korean Hot Pepper Paste

A staple in Korean food cooking, Gochujang is “a thick and spicy-sweet crimson paste made from red chile pepper flakes, glutinous rice (also known as sticky rice), fermented soybeans, and salt. Traditionally, it’s fermented over years in an earthenware pot kept outdoors, during which time the starches in the glutinous rice are converted to sugars, giving the condiment its underlying sweetness. The chile peppers provide a healthy amount of lingering heat, while the fermented soybeans act as the miso-like ingredient that anchors gochujang’s “umami” flavor.” 

You can now find gochujang in the Asian food aisle at most major grocery stores, at Hmart and all Korean food and Asian food markets, online from Amazon (this is my favorite Korean brand), and other specialty online stores like Weeee! and Umamicart. 

Gochujang Grilled Cheese

Why this works: In my opinion, any time you combine salty and savory with spicy heat, it’s a winning combination. You can control how spicy the grilled cheese is by how much gochujang you add, so add a little or a lot. Up to you! I like to mix in just a touch of sesame oil, for flavor and to make it easier to spread on the bread. Not needed but you can mix in a touch of honey as well. We hope you try this!

Print Recipe

Gochujang Grilled Cheese

Want to throw this into the air fryer? You absolutely can. Click here for that recipe.

Prep Time2 minutes mins

Cook Time8 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Lunch or snack

Cuisine: Korean American

Keyword: gochujang, gochujang grilled cheese, grilled cheese

Servings: 1

Author: hipfoodiemom

1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 slices bread any kind*
• butter can be unsalted or salted
• 2 teaspoons gochujang + more if desired
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 to 4 slices cheddar cheese**

Instructions

• Heat a large cast-iron or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. While your pan is heating up, spread the butter on each slice of bread, one side only. Mix the gochujang with the sesame oil and spread that on one slice of bread (on the opposite side of the butter).
• Place the first slice of bread, butter side down, into the hot pan, top with the cheese, and then place the other slice of bread on top, gochujang mixture touching the cheese, butter side out. Cover the pan with a lid and let cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until nicely browned.
• Remove the lid and flip the sandwich to brown the other side. You don't need to place the lid back on; at this point, the cheese should already be nice and melty. Remove from the heat and enjoy while hot.

Notes

*I love using a good, artisan sourdough (Miche Sourdough), or good-quality crusty Italian bread. You can also absolutely use white sandwich bread. 

**You can use freshly grated, shredded or slices. I used a combination of cheddar + colby jack but you can really use any cheese you like: sharp cheddar, mozzarella, fontina cheese, Gruyère, white cheddar, whatever you like in a grilled cheese! I really think the gochujang goes with anything!