Korean Quiche

Directions

1. Mix kimchi brine and water. Dissolve gochujang in the brine by mixing with a fork. This might take a few minutes since it takes longer to dissolve in cold liquid. Add ice. Alternatively, you can omit the ice and just put the brine mix in the freezer for about 15min. (I often put all of my pie crust ingredients: flour, butter cubes, and liquid, in the freezer for about 15min before I start).
2. Toss the butter in flour to coat. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter until most of the butter is mashed into pea-sized pieces. Drizzle in the briney water 2 tbsp at a time, and mix the liquid into the flour with a pastry cutter. Continue drizzling in and mixing the briney water, 1-2 tbsp at a time until the dough just comes together. It should hold if you squeeze a handful together.
3. Bring the dough together into a ball and turn onto a lightly floured work surface. Shape into a flat disc, about 8in across. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 2 days.
4. Roll out the dough. If the dough is too stiff from chilling, let rest at room temp for 10 min before rolling to prevent cracking. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface, dusting with flour as needed, until it is 2-3in larger than your pie pan.
5. Transfer dough to pan and fit it flush into the pan. It should be larger than the pan, so don’t stretch it to fit. Trim the overhang to allow about 1.5 inches of excess from the inner rim of the pan (since this doesn’t leave a lot of trimmed rust for me, I just press any extra dough into the bottom of my pie crust, no one has noticed occasional patches of thicker crust so far). Cover crust and chill in the fridge for one hour.
6. Preheat oven to 375 F. Crimp or shape pie crust edges as desired. Dock bottom of pie crust, and chill in freezer for 10min. Line crust with foil and fill with pie weights (sugar or rice are my go-to pie weights). Bake for 20min. Remove crust from oven, and carefully remove the foil with weights. Return crust to oven and bake for another 10min. Remove crust from oven and let cool for about 30min before adding filling.
7. While the crust cools, make quiche filling. Whisk together eggs and crème fraiche. Add soy sauce, garlic, grated ginger, and gochujaru. Whisk in milk gradually until evenly combined. Set aside. Toss together the chopped kimchi, scallions, cilantro, and ¾ of the grated cheddar. Scatter into the cooled pie crust. Pour custard into pie crust. Top with the remaining cheese.
8. I find this crust browns faster than plain butter crust, so I suggest covering the edge of the crust with foil during the bake. Bake quiche at 425 F for 15 min, then turn down heat to 375 F and bake until the custard is just set, and has a little jiggle in the middle, about another 20min
9. Let cool at least 30min before slicing. Serve warm with crunchy jicama, carrot, and napa cabbage salad (https://food52.com/recipes/82246-jicama-carrot-and-napa-cabbage-salad-with-soy-citrus-dressing).
10. Covered and refrigerated, leftovers should keep 3-4 days. Reheat before serving again.