Gilgeori toast is trending in the kitchen, and we can see why! This popular Korean food cart sandwich is enjoyed as a grab-and-go breakfast on the way to work or a comfort-food lunch to break up a busy day. Our Gluten-Free Korean Street Toast (Vegan Gilgeori) is as flavourful as the original—and it’s plant-based, too!
Korean street toast is usually made with milk bread, egg, ham, cheese, and sugar lightly sprinkled between the layers. We used our culinary creativity to make our gluten-free Gilgeori vegan and allergy-friendly.
Try it With Kimchi—it’s Delicious!
Garden variety green cabbage is the traditional star of this sandwich’s show, but we think savoy cabbage or napa cabbage (sui choy) would work, too. In our Gluten-Free Korean Street Toast, we used kimchi instead of cabbage for an extra punch of flavour. (And to enjoy the goodness of lacto-fermented vegetables!). We’ve included ingredients and instructions for both cabbage and kimchi in our gluten-free Gilgeori recipe.
There are countless kimchi variations available, but most are not vegan or allergy-friendly. If you opt to swap cabbage for kimchi like we did, be sure to read the label thoroughly. Keep a close eye out for fish-based ingredients like fish sauce or shrimp, and allergens like sesame oil. To keep our Gluten-Free Korean Street Toast vegan and allergy-friendly, we used Wildbrine Mild Kimchi—it’s vegan, gluten-free, and skips the sesame without compromising any of the flavour!
Variations are a Gluten-free Foodie’s Best Friend
In our adaptation, we skipped the sugar sprinkling. While we felt ketchup brought enough sweetness to our Gluten-Free Korean Street Toast, you’re the master in your own kitchen! If you’ve got a sweet tooth—or your curiosity can’t resist exploring the sugar-sprinkled savoury sandwich concept—give it a go!
You’ll also notice that one of our ingredients calls for gluten-free vegan ham. We know gluten-free vegan deli slices are still a unicorn in the world of meat alternatives. Vital wheat gluten is the default base for vegan deli slices made by all the big meat alternative brands. While gluten-free vegan deli slices do exist, they’re not widely available yet. If you can’t find this unicorn food where you live, smoked tempeh bacon is a perfect gluten-free alternative.
Instructions:
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together chickpea flour, water, and nutritional yeast.
- Stir in chopped cabbage, carrots, and green onions, and season to taste. (If using kimchi, be sure to give it a good squeeze to get as much liquid out as you can). Mix until cabbage (or kimchi) and carrots are evenly coated with the chickpea batter.
- Melt non-dairy butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Swirl or use a spatula to spread the butter evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place slices of bread into the pan. Move bread around, flipping once so both sides have a light coating of melted non-dairy butter. Pan fry bread until evenly golden and crispy. Remove from pan.
- Pour chickpea and cabbage mixture into the pan. As the chickpea mixture firms up slightly, shape the vegan cabbage omelet into a long rectangle. When the bottom side begins to brown, use the edge of your spatula to cut it into two mini omelets, roughly the shape of your bread. Flip each over and lower the heat to medium or medium-low.
- Top each mini omelet with a slice of gluten-free vegan ham or strips of tempeh bacon. (If using tempeh bacon, we suggest leaving it on the softer side, rather than crisping it first). Fry the mini omelet until the bottom is crispy and golden.
- Spread one slice of toast with ketchup, and the other with vegan mayo. (Or see our saucing tips below!)
- Layer one mini omelet onto your first slice of toast. Add a slice of cheese, and a little more mayo, then stack the other mini omelet on it. Top that layer with the second slice of cheese, and a little more ketchup. Complete your sandwich with the second slice of toast.
- Enjoy!
Serves 1
Tips:
- For an evenly-sauced bite, make mayochup by mixing your ketchup and vegan mayo together, and spread on both halves of your sandwich.
- Our Gluten-Free Korean Street Toast is simply sauced with ketchup and vegan mayo, but some Gilgeori aficionados slather theirs with jam instead of (or in addition to!) ketchup. Experiment to find your perfect sweet and saucy combo.
- Like a little heat? We think sriracha mayo would be wonderful on gluten-free Gilgeori—just mix a teaspoon into your vegan mayo and spread as much or as little as you want alongside your choice of ketchup or jam!
- There’s more than one way to make perfect pan-toasted bread. Try the grilled cheese approach. Apply a thin layer of non-dairy buttery spread to both sides of the bread before frying, instead of melting it in the pan for full control over the grilled bread goodness.
- Want it faster than fast? Bagged coleslaw mix is a quick cabbage and carrot swap that will spare you a few minutes of prep.
Bring more gluten-free world recipes to your kitchen! Subscribe to the Little Northern Bakehouse monthly newsletter by scrolling down to our footer below. Like us on Facebook or follow @LittleNorthernBakehouse on Instagram for more gluten-free goodness!