Kimchi fried rice

Kimchi-bokkeumbap 김치볶음밥

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.add kimchi
  3. Add rice, kimchi juice, water, and gochujang. Stir all the ingredients together for about 7 minutes with a wooden spoon.add kimchi juice
  4. Add sesame oil and remove from the heat.
  5. Garnish with sprinkled chopped green onion, roasted gim, and sesame seeds. Serve right away.

add sesame seeds

fried-rice

Leave your rating:

So far this is rated 5/5 from 80106 votes

Be the first to rate this.

257 Comments:

  1. MIXUE INDIANA, USA joined 1/18 & has 7 comments

    아주 맛있어요~! So simple yet so heavenly! Thank you for your delicious recipe, Maangchi! 갑사합니다! :)


    See full size image

  2. Jini joined 5/15 & has 3 comments

    Hi! Finally gave it a go on your yummy recipe. BUT, I didn’t have gochujang (I forgot to buy)…. I went to see if there was a substitute. There was with chili flakes, soy sauce and sugar. I ended up trying to figure out a recipe and then added some doenjang; to make it thicker paste. It came out alright. But still, gochujang would have made it better.
    Do you have an emergency substitute for gochujang?

  3. ariannagoh Malaysia joined 9/17 & has 1 comment

    Hi Maangachi! i want to make this recipe but don’t have any kimchi juice as i buy packaged kimchi, can i leave the kimchi juice out while making or is there any substitutes? thanks!

  4. Abigailll New jersey joined 9/17 & has 3 comments
  5. stephstephanie singapore joined 8/17 & has 1 comment

    hi, can you recommend me what brand to buy for the kimchi and gochujang? i love spicy one.

  6. SpicySBUXkitty Florida, U.S joined 8/17 & has 1 comment

    So yesterday was the first time I tried making this…. can you say Wow! Best and most flavorful fried rice recipe ever!! And so easy. My husband asked me to make it at least once a week if not more. Thank you for this easy and flavorful recipe.


    See full size image

  7. tetrisbetris Seoul joined 8/17 & has 1 comment

    Hi Maangchi,
    I just moved to Seoul and have been trying to make some Korean food. I made this last week and it’s so delicious! A fried egg and some gim on top made it a perfect meal. I’m so happy I have your videos to get me cooking with local ingredients while I’m here :).

  8. Casvectra Germany joined 7/17 & has 2 comments

    Hello Maangchi, I did this today and it was really delicious. I also add an egg on top. I’m definitely going to cook this for my friends who love Korean Food <3


    See full size image

  9. Fathima_97 USA joined 7/17 & has 2 comments

    Anneyeong Maangchi,

    Can I know how much ingredients I have to put if I want to cook for like 10 people?

    Thank You

  10. Kitchenexperiments Indonesia joined 6/17 & has 2 comments

    Tried this recipe and love it so much. Tasted just right, not too salty not to sweet, and simple as well. Would cook it again definteley. Thanks maagchi.


    See full size image

  11. Mika_9024 Malaysia joined 6/17 & has 1 comment

    Does it okay to put cheese on it ? By the way , this is my first time cook bokkeumbap and it surprisely so delicous . Thank you for your tutorial and recipe . I appreciate it so much . You’re the best cooking teacher !!

  12. duday76 USA joined 12/16 & has 9 comments

    Yummy! Fried egg made it less spicy And my kids love it!


    See full size image

  13. AranMCockburn Northern Ontario, Canada joined 2/12 & has 1 comment

    I will definitely try this recipe. I know I’ll love it. I do make my own Kimchi now and bought your book at Christmas….

  14. ZainLovesCooking en52dt joined 8/16 & has 6 comments

    Will the recipe be good if I used some beef, chicken, pork, or prawns?

    Will it still taste nice?

  15. ApronStrings Texas joined 10/16 & has 4 comments

    My boyfriend loves when we have some leftover meat and rice so that I will make kimchi bokkeumbap. Every recipe I have tried has been so delicious! You are amazing :)


    See full size image

More comments to read! Jump to page: 1 8 9 10 11 12

Leave a Reply

You must create a profile and be logged in to post a comment.