Fried rice

Bokkeumbap, or Korean-style fried rice, is a simple dish that almost everyone loves. This recipe is the one I’ve been making for my family for years and years. It’s great for cleaning out all the leftover vegetables in your fridge. I skip the cheese sometimes, but children really love it, especially when it’s half-melted by the heat of the freshly made fried rice.

You can wrap this bokkeumbap for dosirak or serve it at a main dish at a potluck party. It’s very versatile and I guarantee you will get some compliments on it.

If you are a kimchi lover, I also have a recipe for kimchi fried rice (Kimchi bokkeumbap)– it has fewer ingredients than this bokkeumbap and is mostly kimchi-based.

Ingredients

• 2 bowls of cooked rice (about 3 cups)
• 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup onion, chopped
• 5 ounces beef (about 3/4 cup), cut into small pieces: replace with chicken, pork, or ham
• ⅓ cup kimchi, chopped
• 3 cups colorful vegetables, cut into small pieces (¼ inch cubes): carrot, zucchini, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, white mushrooms
• 1 or 2 green chili pepper (optional), chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 egg, cooked sunny side up
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ cup Oaxacan cheese, split it into threads: replace with mozzarella or cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan over high heat. Add the vegetable oil, garlic, and onion. Stir-fry them for about a minute until they’re light brown.
2. Add the beef and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the beef is no longer pink.
3. Add kimchi and stir-fry about 2 minutes.
4. Add the vegetables and stir-fry about 3 minutes.
5. Add the rice. Keep stirring and mixing for 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Add oyster sauce. Keep stirring and mixing for 2 minutes.
7. Remove from the heat.
8. Add sesame oil, ground black pepper, chopped green onion. Mix well.
9. Transfer it to a serving plate and place the sunny side up egg on top. Serve right away unless you’re preparing this dish for a party, in which case you can make it a few hours in advance.