We all have long memory of dishes we had long time ago. One of my memories is kimchi fried rice I had a few years ago in New York City’s Korean town. They might cook it on a flat iron so that the rice grains were lightly toasted, and the dryness was to my liking. Besides that, the level of spiciness and ratio of rice vs kimchi and other ingredients were all good. I might be so hungry or due to whatever reason, after all the years, I just remember the dish was delicious.
Rice is a staple food for a lot of areas around the world. Each region/culture has some unique way of cooking their rice. I grew up in a region where residents eat rice almost three times a day. I always like to try rice recipes from other cultures. Due to the good memories of the kimchi fried rice, I decided to give it a try. Fortunately, the ingredients are simple and very readily available in my local grocers.
I always make tweaks to recipes from other cultures to my liking. As usual, I made changes to the kimchi fried rice. Unlike typical Korean recipes, I added pork to the dish so that I could have carbs, protein, both plant and animal fat and fibers in one dish. That makes it a better option for lunch box.
Sesame oil is the soul of a lot of Korean dishes. You can choose to adjust the amount in your dish to your preference. Overall, this is an easy and flavorful dish.
Kimchi fried rice 韩国泡菜炒饭
Equipment
- 12“ frying pan
- 8" frying pan
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 cup kimchi
- 4 cups cooked and chilled short grain rice
- 6 oz pork belly (optional)
- 2 tbsp veggie oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5-1 tbsp sesame oil (optional)
- 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli bean paste) (optional)
- 2 green onions (optional)
- 1 egg (optional)
- 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Cook 3 cups of short grain rice, and place it in the refrigerator overnight
- Take the kimchi with a bare hand, and squeeze to remove the juice. Save it in a separate bowl. Finely slice the kimchi
- Finely slice the pork belly pieces
- Finely slice the green onion
- Put the 12" pan on stove top. Turn heat to high. Add the veggie and sesame oils.
- Once the oil becomes hot, add the sliced pork belly. Stir at high heat.
- Once no more moisture comes out, and the pork turns brown, add the sliced kimchi and gochujang. Stir at medium heat for 2-3 mins until frangrance comes out.
- Add the chilled rice. Keep heat at medium. Pressing rice chunks onto the bottom of the pan to separate the grains. Stir/mix at medium to high heat for 2 mins.
- Add the reserved kimchi juice. Continue to mix for 2-3 mins, allowing the rice to very lightly toast against the bottom of the pan at low to medium heat.
- Add the sliced green onions and salt, if necessary. Mix everything well.
- In the 8" pan, fry the egg in a little oil to the style you like.
- Serve the egg on top of the rice, and decorate with sesame seeds or other seasonings.
Video
Notes
- Sesame oil and gochujang are key seasonings in Korean dishes. However, if you want to keep it simple, just use kimchi.
- A lot of kimchi fried rice recipes don't have protein. Addition of pork or other meat is totally optionally.
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