This simple, simple dish is super, super tasty. It’s just a few ingredients, but it’s a dish much loved by Koreans and a staple of our everyday lives.
This version is simple, but you can dress it up with a bit of beef, chicken, pork, ham, or even spam. If you like, serve the kimchi fried rice in individual bowls and top each bowl with a fried egg. My family prefers this simple version that I’m showing you here. When my son lived in the school dorm, visits with him were rare. I talked to him on the phone before he came and I asked:
“What food do you miss the most? I’ll make it for you when you come.”
I figured I would need some time to prepare and shop ahead of time, but he answered: “I miss kimchi-bokkeumbap.”
“What? That’s it? Is there anything else?”
“Just kimchi-bokkeumbap, Mom.”
As you see in this video, you don’t need to prepare much in advance for kimchi-bokkeumbap if you have kimchi and rice on hand. So of course I made it for him, along with grilled beef and lots of high protein food. As soon as he came home, I was ready to stir fry. He loved it!
A lot of people say making fried rice is best with leftover rice straight from the fridge, or just day-old rice, but I’ve never really tasted the difference in flavor, taste, or texture. I use fresh rice all the time. I just let it cool down a bit before I stir fry, and my kimchi bokkeumbap is always delicious. It’s the best fried rice I have ever tasted, much better than the kimchi-bokkeumbap at a Korean restaurant. If you are using cold rice, it will be firm and clumpy, so break up the clumps and separate the grains before adding it to the pan.
Some people are surprised that I add a little water to fried rice. But it helps keep the rice from burning as you stir fry and helps the gochujang and kimchi mix evenly with the rice.
At the end, I love to scrape up the lightly crisped rice from the bottom of the pan with a stainless steel spoon and enjoy every last bite. It’s so delicious!
Ingredients
Serves 2 to 3
Total time: about 10 minutes, with cooked rice ready.
- 3 bowls steamed rice (3 cups)
- 1 cup chopped kimchi (should be aged, well-fermented and sour)
- ¼ cup kimchi juice (spicy red juice from a jar of kimchi)
- ¼ cup water
- 2-3 tablespoons gochujang
- 3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
- 1 sheet of gim, roasted and shredded into seaweed strips
Directions
- Heat up a wide, flat pan or skillet. Add the vegetable oil.
- Add the kimchi and stir fry for 1 minute over medium-high heat.
- Add rice, kimchi juice, water, and gochujang. Stir all the ingredients together for about 7 minutes with a wooden spoon.
- Add sesame oil and remove from the heat.
- Garnish with sprinkled chopped green onion, roasted gim, and sesame seeds. Serve right away. If you are serving it in individual bowls, you can top each bowl with a fried egg.
Leftovers
We usually finish all the kimchi fried rice right away. If you have any left over, refrigerate it and reheat it in the microwave.
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