Great food mash-ups: The kimchi grilled cheese at Seoul Sausage in Little Tokyo

Fans of kimchi look for it on menus like kids used to look for prizes in cereal boxes. The latest kimchi mash-up prize goes to the new Seoul Sausage in Little Tokyo, where they’re making a grilled cheese zapped with kimchi.

If you’re a Kogi truck fan, the kimchi-and-cheddar-cheese phenomenon is nothing new. Crowds of people have stalked the kimchi quesadillas from Roy Choi’s food trucks for years. But now there’s a new sandwich to add to your growing kimchi-and-cheese bucket list, which may or may not include kimchi on top of dak galbi and shredded white cheese at Mapo Galbi, and the K-BBQ burger at Plan Check, which includes a kimchi-cheese hybrid dubbed “kimcheese.”

In the Seoul Sausage grilled cheese, the traditional Korean dish of spiced, fermented cabbage is diced, then caramelized, giving it a hint of sweetness and mellowing the spice. Then the kimchi, and pickled red onions, are piled onto a thick layer of gooey cheddar cheese, and the entire thing is grilled between two pieces of white bread. You can also add bacon (for $2).

The effect is that of an amply stuffed grilled cheese with caramelized onions, dipped in chile sauce -- maybe Sriracha. And it’s about the only thing you’ll want to eat while downing half bottles of soju during happy hour.

Yes, the sandwich is only available during happy hour, Monday through Friday, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. And it’s priced at $6 -- just inexpensive enough that you don’t have to share.

Also available during happy hour are half orders of “da KFC” Korean fried chicken wings ($6), $6 bottles of soju, $6 sliders and a $6 sausage sampler.

236 S. Los Angeles St., Los Angeles, www.seoulsausage.com.

The first round is on me. Follow me on Twitter @Jenn_Harris_

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