Hot Plate: Salt's Kimchi Mussels

No stranger to the funky ways of kimchi, Salt chef and co-owner Jill Vedaa has used the fermented mixture of carrots and cabbage to add spicy, sour and slightly stinky notes to short ribs. While searching for a new preparation for mussels ($9) at her Lakewood restaurant, she worked the popular ingredient into the shellfish dish as a compound butter. Using traditional kimchi ingredients such as sugar, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and sambal (a paste version of Sriracha), she soaks julienned carrots in the mixture for 24 hours to give the vegetables an intense flavor. “It’s this explosion of heat and sweet,” she says. If that’s not enough of a Korean kick for you, Vedaa also melts the rest of the compound butter over the mussels and serves the small plate with two pieces of grilled Blackbird Baking Co. sourdough bread. Take a cue from Vedaa, who loves what happens once the shellfish start disappearing from the bowl. “My favorite part is that bread,” she says. “I can dip it into that kimchi butter — it’s pretty outstanding.” 17625 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216-221-4866, saltcleveland.com