bulgogi breakfast burritos with kimchi salsa
a sweet, salty, spicy breakfast burrito with korean flavors
i love a good breakfast burrito. the melty cheese, soft eggs, crisp potato and bright salsa all wrapped up in a large tortilla, there’s nothing not to like. in the same vein as breakfast (or really all) sandwiches, i think breakfast burritos make a great canvas for playing with different flavors and pulling in unexpected (perhaps even leftover or at the tail end of life) ingredients.
so when molly baz made “a burrito fit for a queen” loaded with eggs, potato, cheese, plenty of pastrami and a dill pickle “salsa,” i decided to pull from my own pantry and make this breakfast burrito with korean flavors. slightly sweet and savory beef bulgogi pairs with the classics (potato, egg, cheese) and is topped off with a spicy kimchi salsa (this seemed to be the best fitting name, however i want to acknowledge that it’s not a mexican salsa, it’s simply inspired by it) with kimchi, cilantro, chilis, garlic, onion, scallion and rice vinegar. watch me make it here.
sweet, salty, spicy, fresh, funky—the burrito is great, but the kimchi salsa is everything. put it on a fried egg, steak tacos, over grilled fish, on a grilled cheese sandwich, serve it with fried or roasted potatoes or use it as a a dip for tortilla chips. it’s delicious, versatile and keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge.
for the kimchi salsa, can be made up to 3 days in advance
40 grams cilantro (both leaves and stems)
100 grams kimchi
2 red chilis
1 clove garlic
1 small yellow onion (about 40 grams)
2 scallions
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
salt
to assemble
200 grams thinly sliced beef (i like to use the frozen beef slices for hot pot here because they’re sliced so thin, super quick to cook and convenient to use here straight from the freezer; substitute: shredded oyster mushrooms or your favorite plant-based pulled chicken)
3 tablespoons bulgogi sauce (i used a prepared one as a shortcut, but you can make your own using this marinade recipe)
3 large eggs
300 grams floury potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for frying
1 tablespoon butter
2 large (30 cm/12 in) flour tortillas
4 slices american cheese (substitute: shredded cheddar or low-moisture mozzarella cheese)
pepper
roughly chop cilantro (including stems), chilis, garlic, onion and scallions. add to a food processor with the kimchi and pulse until finely chopped but not smooth. add rice vinegar and stir to combine. taste and season with salt and more rice vinegar as desired to create a nice punchy salsa; it should be very vibrant, spicy and sharp to serve as the proper foil for the rest of the ingredients in the burrito.
toss the beef with the bulgogi sauce and set aside. crack eggs into a bowl and whisk really well until the egg whites are completely broken up. peel potatoes and grate with the fine holes of a box grater (or a food processor) onto a clean kitchen towel. gather the edges of the towel and squeeze the potatoes over the sink or a bowl to remove excess water.
add olive oil to a cast iron pan over medium heat. once hot, add the potatoes, spreading out on the surface of the pan in an even layer to crisp up. let cook, gently pressing them down with a spatula, until golden on the bottom, about 5 minutes. flip and cook other side until golden, 5 - 8 minutes. remove and season with salt and pepper.
add bulgogi to the hot cast iron and fry until the beef is cooked through, about 3 minutes. remove and set aside, then wipe out the pan.
set a separate, small nonstick (or stainless steel, iykyk) pan over medium heat. add butter. once melted, add the beaten eggs and push them around the pan to scramble. transfer to a plate or leave in the pan and season with salt and pepper.
to build your burritos, lay out a flour tortillas. add half the hash brown to the center (a little closer to you than the absolute middle of the tortilla), then top with half the cheese, half the bulgogi, half the eggs, and a spoonful of kimchi salsa. bring the left and right sides of the tortilla in towards the center, over the fillings, then tuck the bottom edge up and roll the burrito tightly, leaving it seam side-down. repeat so both burritos are filled and folded.
add a little bit more olive oil to the cast iron pan and set back over medium heat. once hot, add the burritos (one at a time if both don’t fit) seam side-down. fry until golden brown, about 1 -2 minutes. flip to the other side and repeat, then repeat twice more with the “edges” of the burrito. remove, slice in half, and serve with the remaining kimchi salsa.