Bulgogi Smash Burger with Butter Kimchi and Gochujang Mayo

Method

1. Put the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, sesame oil and water in a 14 cm saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 2 min, until the bubbles turn large and it coats the back of a spoon like a thin syrup. Take it off the heat; it thickens as it cools.

   Add in this stepSoy sauce (for the glaze) 1½ tbspBrown sugar (for the glaze) 2½ tspMinced garlic (for the glaze) 1 tspToasted sesame oil (for the glaze) 1 tspWater (for the glaze) 1 tbsp

   medium heat

2. Stir the mayonnaise, gochujang and honey together. Shred the cabbage very finely (2 mm), slice the scallions thinly and toss both with the rice vinegar and sesame oil to make the slaw.

   Add in this stepMayonnaise 2 tbspGochujang (Korean chili paste) 2 tspHoney 1 tspGreen cabbage 60 gScallions 1Rice vinegar 2 tspToasted sesame oil (for the slaw) 1 tsp

3. Lightly squeeze the kimchi and chop it into 1 cm pieces. Melt the butter in a 28 cm cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and fry the kimchi for 3 min, until the edges caramelize a little and it smells nutty. Set aside and wipe the pan.

   Add in this stepWell-fermented cabbage kimchi 100 gButter (for the kimchi) 10 g

   medium-high heat

4. Butter the cut sides of the buns and toast them cut side down in the same pan over medium heat for 1 min, until golden (in rounds if they don't all fit).

   Add in this stepButter (for the buns) 10 gBurger buns 2

   medium heat

5. Roll the beef into 60 g balls (2 per burger). Turn the pan to high and heat until a drop of water skitters away instantly, then wipe in a thin film of oil. Place 2 balls well apart, cover with paper and smash hard with a metal spatula to 5 mm thick. Peel off the paper and season lightly with salt (the glaze is salty) and pepper. Cook on high heat without moving for 2 min, until the edges are dark brown. Cook in 2 batch(es) of 2.

   Add in this stepGround beef (about 20% fat) 240 gNeutral oil 1 tspSalt 2 pinchGround black pepper 2 pinch

   high heat

6. Scrape-flip the patties and brush the bulgogi glaze over the crisp top side. Put cheese on one patty only, cook 30 sec more, then stack them with the cheese patty on top.

   Add in this stepSliced American cheese (or thin cheddar slices) 2

7. Spread gochujang mayo on the bottom bun and pile on slaw, the patty stack, butter kimchi and sesame seeds. Spread a little more mayo on the top bun, close and eat at once.

   Add in this stepToasted sesame seeds 1 tsp