Cook: Broccoli Grits and Brussels Sprouts With Kimchi

On June 5th of last year Jung Ho Kang, a South Korean baseball player, played third base for the Pittsburgh Pirates as they took on the Atlanta Braves. That night I began having dreams that centered around a fictional South Korean man named Min-jun Choi. Over the next few months Min-jun took me many places. We traveled through remote villages, across mountain tops and underwater. No matter where we went, our evening always ended in the kitchen of a southern style plantation home with the same heavy bottomed pan steaming on the stove. In this scene, Min-jun would toss something into the pan with his left hand, stir it vigorously with his right and then turn towards me mouthing something. I could never make out what he was saying.

A few weeks ago I started playing around with kimchi Brussels sprouts. At first I ate them plain. Then I started playing around with some flavor combinations. It was during this "experimental phase" that I finally realized what Min-jun had been mouthing to me all this time. He had been telling me to fuse a staple of the south, grits, with kimchi.

Well Min-jun, don't mind if I do.



Broccoli Grits and Brussels Sprouts with Kimchi
(printable version)

-5 cups of water
-2 stalks of broccoli, finally chopped
-1 1/3 cups of grits
-1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
-1 Tbs. Olive Oil
-1 tsp. salt
-full recipe of Brussels Sprouts with Kimchi

1. Using a heavy bottomed pan, bring the water to a boil. Add the broccoli and boil for five minutes.

2. Slowly pour in the grits while continuously stirring with a wooden spoon. Return the grits to a bubbling boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover and allow the grits to simmer for about 25 minutes stirring occasionally to keep them from sticking to the pan.

3. Remove the grits from the heat. Pour in the nutritional yeast and stir to combine. Do the same with the olive oil and salt.

4. Spoon one fourth of the grits into a bowl. Top with one fourth of the Brussels Sprouts and Kimchi. Pay homage to Min-jun Choi with a quick game of baduk. Eat it!