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Ganji is Korean slang that roughly translates as “really dope.” For the founders of the Atlanta restaurant called Ganji, the term means being brash, cutting edge, and always delicious when it comes to their creations. The duo – Jess Kim and Jun Park – was born in South Korea and raised in Georgia, so they have an understanding of how both cultures influence who they are and how they create. Kim says, ‘By taking our favorite American fare, and injecting it with Korean essentials and flavors, we showcase how we experienced our Korean-American identity.”
Exhibit A is Ganji’s pimento kimcheese, Spam jam, and scallion salad on honey butter toast – a very intentional creation for the Ganji team. For the “caviar of the South” pimento cheese, Ganji replaces it with kimchi, the national dish of Korea, allowing the cheese to counter the spice (little known fact: South Korea is the 5th largest importer of American cheese). Ganji then folds in their charred kimchi relish.
And why Spam jam (the cousin of bacon jam)? Because Spam is considered a gourmet item across South Korea and Asia and is a popular ingredient in several dishes, including kimchi fried rice, budae jjigae, and kimbap.
The spread needs a vessel and for that Ganji offers up their honey butter toast, inspired by honey butter chips, a massively popular, relatively new snack in South Korea. Such a flavor kinda makes sense for Southerners as we have all eaten plenty of honey butter on cornbread or hot southern biscuits.
Behind the Food is a new column from Punk Foodie’s Sam Flemming that highlights some of the most unique and delicious dishes from the Atlanta underground dining scene. Go deeper via Punk Foodie’s weekly guides and pop-up calendar.
The post Behind the Food: Ganji’s Pimento Kimcheese appeared first on Reporter Newspapers & Atlanta Intown.
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