I have never actually been to Momofuku Milk Bar, but I do follow their Twitter (and have Christina Tosi’s cookbook on pre-order). One thing they tweet about pretty regularly is a kimchi-blue cheese croissant… very intriguing combination. I happened to have some kimchi and some ricotta in my fridge, so I put it together on a roll and brought it into work for lunch. It was good enough that I did the same thing the next day. And the next.
I think their version works because you have the strong flavors of the kimchi and the blue cheese going up against one another? Subbing in ricotta makes my version less aggressive on the palate, but the creaminess lends some textural contrast and cools it down; basil adds some bite, a slightly different kick than the blazing heat of the kimchi.
(N.B. I used store-bought kimchi in this recipe. I have a homemade batch that has been fermenting for a few months, but I am afraid to eat it; there is a 50/50 shot it is lethal. My ad hoc recipe was the leftovers strained out of homemade sriracha, plus napa cabbage/scallions/rice vinegar/soy sauce/garlic. A picture may be found in the gallery below. You will agree that it looks rather ominous.)
