For most food fans, the nostalgic peanut butter and jelly sandwich represents an initial foray into combining sweet and salty flavors together. From there, the peanut butter sandwich has evolved into a blank canvas for culinary experimentation. Though the peanut butter sandwich has lent itself to dozens of creative riffs over the years, adding an ingredient with a little bit of heat has become quite the trend as of late. For example, adding a bit of spicy Sriracha to a classic peanut butter sandwich has sparked a few tasty variations, including adding pickles to the mix.
While the Sriracha and pickle is a tasty and complex riff on a peanut butter sandwich, think of the possibilities that kimchi could bring to the party. Recently, Emi Boscamp posted a recipe on Today.com that adds this spicy Korean condiment to a peanut butter sandwich. It’s a combination that evokes the spicy, peanutty flavors of Thai satay sauce or Indonesian sambal sauce. The crunch of fresh kimchi also adds an excellent textural component, which makes this classic fermented cabbage a must try for your next peanut butter sandwich.
What makes this combo a success?
There are two main reasons the peanut butter and kimchi sandwich is a win: complex balance of flavors and textural contrast. The reason creative minds started adding things to peanut butter sandwiches to begin with was to chase the high of discovering complementary flavors. Sure, the combination of sweet and salty is a great place to start, but once you throw some acid and heat into the mix, your tongue has more to play with. Kimchi is a versatile addition to any dish because it has some strong acidic notes from the fermentation and plenty of chili-pepper heat.
Kimchi also adds an important textural aspect to the creamy peanut butter, and that crunch does a lot to improve things. Especially when using soft white bread and creamy peanut butter, the crunchy, toothsome kimchi is the crescendo of an excellent textural composition.
Much like our enjoyment of the way food tastes, our appreciation for texture is also tied to human evolution. In an Epicurious article, Oxford University professor Dr. Charles Spence posits that our enjoyment of certain textures comes from an ancestral instinct for self-preservation. When we combine pleasant textures together, it tells our brains that we’re eating something good for us. Of course, it helps that a crunchy snack is a lot of fun to eat.
