Dinner Tonight
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[Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]

About the author: Nick Kindelsperger is the editor of Serious Eats: Chicago. He loves tacos and spicy food. You can follow him as @nickdk on Twitter.

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

About This Recipe

Yield: serves 4
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 medium cucumber, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch wide and 3-inch long matchsticks
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch wide and 3-inch long matchsticks
  • 1-inch piece ginger, peeled, julienned
  • 12 frozen Chinese folded steamed buns (let come to room temperature)
  • 6 slices thick-cut bacon
  • 1 1/2 cups kimchi, roughly chopped

Procedures

  1. Combine rice vinegar, brown sugar, and salt in a medium-sized bowl, and whisk until sugar and salt dissolve. Add the cucumber, carrot, and ginger, and stir well. Transfer the bowl to the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

  2. Cook the steamed buns according to the directions on the packaging. (I cooked them for 10 minutes in a steamer basket set over a large pot of gently simmering water. Microwaving also works.)

  3. While the buns steam, cook bacon in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. When done, set bacon aside on paper towels, and remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat. Add chopped kimchi and cook until any liquid with the kimchi evaporates, 1 to 2 minutes.

  4. For each bun, add a layer of kimchi, 1/2 slice of bacon, and layer of the carrot and cucumber salad. Serve immediately.