3.041

15 (Wed) February 2012

Grilled Cheese Sourdough Sandwich with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

3.5

by me

at home

-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

solo

A couple months back, I had created a sandwich that had potential to become a signature dish (see 2.345 Grilled Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomato Sandwich).

With a second go tonight, I’ve come closer to perfecting it.  This time, I used sourdough from Fog City International Café, which may be the best bread that I’ve ever had in Korea. Pan-grilled in a dab of butter, slowly over low heat, with the lid on the pan, the sourdough transcended the ordinary.  On the outside, it morphed magnificently gold and crisp, not brittle and flaky like typical toast, but chewy and firm.  Awesome.  On the inside, it became warm and squishy, as if the heating process had burst open dormant pockets of moisture within. This was especially astonishing as it had been sitting refrigerated in a ziplock bag for a week.  Bob, Fog City’s proprietor, explained to me: “Due to the fact that we use home-grown yeast, the breads have remarkable keeping qualities.”  Indeed.  The tanginess of the sourdough paired nicely with the tart tomatoes while providing balance to the richness of the cheese.  The edam was okay but a bit too cheesy; the previous provolone was better for its mildness.  Definitely a signature dish, though I’m still grappling with an appropriately grandiose and ludicrous name for it.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)