In this dish, chili crisp and kimchi quickly and easily elevate a simple meal of coleslaw and grilled pork cutlets, layering it with complex flavor. (You can also use chicken cutlets, if that’s what you prefer.) The meat marinates in a mixture of soy sauce, chili crisp and honey while you prepare the slaw.
The slaw is based on one I make by rote all summer long — shredded cabbage, grated carrot and some kind of thinly sliced onion — here, scallions — tossed with a creamy, tangy dressing of yogurt, mayonnaise and vinegar. Only this version gets an addition of chopped kimchi, which infuses the slaw with an extraordinary, savory undertone. (I use a classic cabbage kimchi here, but any type will work.)
Besides the compelling flavor the kimchi brings to the slaw, it also provides gut-friendly bacteria, making for a double-dose of probiotics along with the cultures in the yogurt.
Once the slaw is ready, the marinated cutlets are grilled for just a couple of minutes on each side. The meat, which is cut thinly so it cooks quickly and develops an appealing char without burning, is then served on top or alongside the slaw, and garnished with scallion greens. Each bite brims with layered flavor — the soy-lacquered meat tingling with chili crisp, cooled by the creamy, kimchi-accented slaw.
In just about 30 minutes and thanks two bold ingredients, you have an everyday meal that feels anything but ordinary.
