tomato “kimchi” (korean-inspired tomato salad)
not going to lie, i’ve recently started to get a hint of tomato fatigue after eating endless capreses and tomato-basil salads. but i’ve also been amassing a giant stash of tomatoes every week because i’ll go to the farmer’s market near closing time, and they’ll be discounted (like i can get a bag of 5 heirlooms for $2 sometimes!!), and it would be crazy to give up such a good deal yaknow.
so i decided to make an asian tomato salad similar to the ones i’ve made before, but just using tomatoes this time, and i loved it! i initially thought the gochugaru was a little too strong but after it’s had a chance to sit overnight, the flavors come together even more. in creating this recipe, i did some googling on whether this would be considered kimchi. some say yes, and others say no. some say that there are versions of fresh kimchis that get made at home (i’ve seen made a fresh bok choy kimchi before, for example) but others say that those are classified as a muchim (fresh side dish), not a kimchi. i’m calling it a kimchi for now because the flavor combination and ingredients remind me of a kimchi, but i am also open to suggestions on a better-suited name!
regardless of what you call it, i hope you love this one!
i used:
- 1 pint mini tomatoes, de-stemmed, and halved
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp gochugaru powder
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tbsp mirin
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- garlic chives
to make:
- combine all ingredients and adjust seasoning to taste! ideally, let marinate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld.