Korean style curry fried rice with chicken

I’m going to introduce you to an easy, fast, and delicious lunchbox item today. It’s a one-bowl meal: stir-fried rice with chicken, seasoned with Korean curry powder. This is a dish I used to make for my children’s lunchboxes all the time, and they loved it. It’s perfect for lunchboxes because it still tastes good 5 to 6 hours after it’s made.

The last time I used Korean curry powder in a recipe my Indian viewers were surprised that I didn’t mix it myself. But that’s the package that Koreans use in many recipes such as curry rice, curry coated chicken, or today’s recipe curry fried rice. It’s convenient because it has all the spices and salt we need, a unique, savory taste, and an appetizing yellow color. You can find it in a Korean grocery store or online. But ever since I starting living outside of Korea, I’ve come and know and enjoy real Indian curry, too.

A tip for this recipe is to use fermented kimchi because it gives a sour flavor and crispy texture. And I also rinse it off because I want to get rid of the red kimchi seasoning so my curry fried rice remains a nice yellow.

Enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 1 pound chicken breast, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• about 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• a pinch of ground black pepper

For the curry stir-fry:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ of medium size onion (½ cup), chopped
• 8 ounces fermented kimchi, rinsed, squeezed, and chopped.
• ¼ cup peeled and chopped carrot
• 1 green bell pepper, cored and chopped
• ¼ cup Korean curry powder
• 2 bowls of cooked rice (about 3 cups)
• 2 over-easy eggs (optional)

Directions

Marinate chicken:

1. Combine the chicken, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix it well with a wooden spoon.

Make stir fry:

1. Heat up a large frying pan over medium hight heat.
2. Add the vegetable oil and onion and stir for about 1 to 2 minutes until the onion turns light brown.
3. Stir in the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink.
4. Add kimchi, carrot, and green bell pepper. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.
5. Add 2 bowls of rice (3 cups’ worth), stir it in and mix all together with the wooden spoon. Stir in the curry powder until everything is a well mixed, even yellow color with no rice lumps.

Serve:

1. Remove from the heat. Transfer to 2 plates and top with an over-easy eggs on each (if you use). Or pack it in a lunchbox. It will still be delicious even hours later.

Print recipe