Kimchi fried rice

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. Many Koreans also like to put a fried egg on top, but 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.

Ingredients

• 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

1. Heat up a wide, flat pan or skillet. Add the vegetable oil.
2. Add the kimchi and stir fry for 1 minute over medium-high heat.
3. Add rice, kimchi juice, water, and gochujang. Stir all the ingredients together for about 7 minutes with a wooden spoon.
4. Add sesame oil and remove from the heat.
5. Garnish with sprinkled chopped green onion, roasted gim, and sesame seeds. Serve right away.