KIMCHI PIZZA people. It may sound strange, but I love it.
Honestly, I can’t believe I love this. Or that I love it enough to want to blog about it. You see, I am typically a plain pizza kind of gal. It doesn’t really matter where I am, I’ll always order a plain or margherita pizza. Some may call it boring, but as long as you have good dough, good sauce, and good cheese, I really don’t think there’s anything better. It’s not that I don’t think toppings taste good, I just think an unadulterated pizza is better. BUT. I love this kimchi pizza. So.gosh.darn.much.
It doesn’t seem like it should work, and I would never think that a plain pizza gal like me would venture off the ‘plain cheese please’ path, but somehow the flavors all combine to create a delicious pizza. This of course assumes that you love kimchi- because if you don’t love the slight funk on other dishes you also won’t like it on a pizza. But if you do- you’re in for a real treat!
Just whip up your favorite pizza dough, top with a little sauce, a good amount of cheese, some kimchi, and some cooked korean style pork. Bake at a really high temperature, top with some scallions, and voila! Magic. Don’t eat pork? You could definitely use chicken or leave off the meat altogether and top with some julienned zucchini instead or maybe even an egg. We’ve had this twice in the last couple of weeks and I’m already craving it again. Let me know if you try it!
Kimchi pizza
Makes: 1 pizza
Ingredients
- your favorite pizza dough (I use this one), prepared and ready to go
- your favorite pizza sauce
- 8 oz grated mozzarella* (I prefer freshly grated over the bagged variety)
- ½ cup kimchi, roughly chopped*
- 8 oz pork shoulder or pork loin*
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger – minced
- 1 clove garlic – minced
- ½ tbsp Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
- ½ tbsp sesame oil
- ½ tbsp rice vinegar
- ½ tbsp granulated sugar
- canola oil
- olive oil
- scallions, chopped
Directions
To cook the pork
Slice pork into ¼ inch slices. Add the soy sauce, minced ginger, minced garlic, gochujang, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and sugar in a medium bowl and mix until well blended. Add the pork and marinade for at least an hour.
Heat a frying pan or stovetop grill to medium high heat. Lightly oil with the canola oil. Sear the meat on both sides to develop color, about 3-4 minutes. The meat should be cooked about ¾ of the way through, it will finish cooking in the oven. Remove the pork from the stovetop and set aside.
To assemble and cook pizza
When your dough is ready, place an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 500 F. If you have a pizza stone, set the stone on the upper rack.
Stretch or roll your pizza into a 14 inch round and place on a lightly floured piece of parchment. Add a light layer of pizza sauce, leaving a small border around the edge of the dough. Top with the shredded cheese, followed by the kimchi and then the pork. Brush some olive oil onto the crust and then transfer the parchment to the pizza stone if using, else place on a baking sheet and place on the top rack in the oven.
Cook pizza for about 7 minutes and then check on the pizza. You may need a few additional minutes. You want to cook until the crust is browned and cripsy and the cheese has started to brown. Remove the pizza from the oven, top with some sliced scallions and enjoy!
Notes
*You can use as much or as little cheese and kimchi as you’d like. Feel free to buy the pre-sliced pork stir fry meat instead.