A tale of two tuna melts

With the DoorDash robot “Dot” roaming Fremont streets, I wondered how many people just don’t like cooking. (I don’t know how they have money for DoorDash either, but that’s a different matter.)

The Boomer complaint is that all these Millennials and Gen Zs are spending way too much money and time making elaborate fusion dishes that look good on social media but all need 15 different spices, take two hours and leave the kitchen a disaster zone.

There’s something to be said for keeping basic ingredients on hand and being satisfied with something simple after work. On the other hand, I think there are some upsides to the weird fusion social media dishes for people who want to eat at home more and improve their cooking skills.

Inspiration is motivation. When you see a cute Instagram video of an influencer making, say, “creamy kimchi udon,” your interest is piqued. It looks so yummy! Maybe you can do that too!

Now, to maximize the utility of recipes, you need to think like an engineer. Everything can be broken down into processes and parts. Pay attention to the techniques involved, and think about how you can apply the skills you’ve mastered to other dishes.

Here are two tuna melt recipes that are a big hit with my husband on weeknights: one simple, one fusion. They’ve both increased my sandwich acumen.

Classic tuna melt

1 can of tuna
½ cup diced red onion
½ cup diced celery
¼ cup mayo
Whole wheat bread
Sliced cheddar cheese
Pickle to garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine mayo, celery, red onion and tuna in a bowl, with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat butter in a pan over medium. Drop two slices of bread into the pan and let one side get crispy. The butter will form a protective barrier that prevents the mayo from absorbing too quickly and making the bread soggy.

Flip the bread over and add the spread to one slice and cheese slices to the other. Assemble the sandwich and cook until it’s nicely toasty, flipping when needed.

I think pickles make a nice side for this tuna melt. Overall it’s very light and healthy.

Spicy kimchi tuna melt

By Moribyan
2 cans of double hot pepper Dong Won Tuna
½ cup chopped kimchi
½ cup chopped green onions
¼ cup kewpie mayo
1 tsp sesame oil
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sourdough bread

For garlic butter spread
¼ cup butter
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp powdered parmesan cheese

Obviously, this sandwich has a lot more going on. You will also need to go to a Korean market like Mega Mart or H Mart to buy the tuna.

Combine kimchi, scallions, kewpie mayo and spicy tuna in a bowl. Melt your butter garlic spread, and brush the outsides of two slices of bread.

Place slices butter-side down on the cutting board. Top one slice with cheese, followed by a layer of the spread, then by another layer of cheese. Finally, place the empty slice on top, butter-side up. You will notice that unlike with the previous recipe, the butter coating goes on the outsides, allowing the delicious cheddar to soak into the thicker bread.

Heat a pan to medium and cook the sandwich, flipping so the outside toasts evenly. Cover the pan to help the cheese melt faster. I’m still looking for a good side for this sandwich, but some of the vegetable sides you get in Korean restaurants would probably be good.

Conclusion

Before looking at sandwich recipes, I wasn’t very creative. I knew there was bread, deli meat…soggy lettuce? I probably would have just dumped the canned tuna directly onto the bread and called it a day.

Now I know how to combine tuna with mayo and crunchy vegetables to bring out the best flavor, and how to use cheese and toasting to feature the bread. After learning the simple recipe, I was already 75% the way to understanding the Korean fusion recipe.

I wasn’t sure how the spicy tuna and kimchi would taste, but my husband devoured his sandwich and immediately went for seconds, murmuring “I love you so much.” He claims this was directed at me, but he was looking at the sandwich so who knows.