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

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257 Comments:

  1. Coni Chile joined 12/21 & has 1 comment

    Maangchi today was my second time making kimchi bokkeumbap and it turned out absolutely delicious!!! This has become one of my favorite easy dishes. Thank you so much.

    Greetings from Chile

  2. hoshana42 Chicago, IL joined 11/20 & has 1 comment

    Hi Maangchi! I made your kimchi-bokkeumbap recipe for the first time and it turned out AMAZING. Spicy, delicious, and beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I look forward to trying out many more of your recipes!


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  3. MaangchiLove Montreal, Toronto joined 8/19 & has 53 comments

    Soooo gooooooood, Maangchi!


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  4. K-foodiefan Edinburgh joined 8/20 & has 1 comment

    How many people does this serve please?

  5. Therapy Jefferson, MD joined 5/20 & has 3 comments

    I’m from Nebraska and have always been intimidated by Asian cooking, but your recipes make it very easy. I first made Kimchi which my American born Korean friend hadn’t even tried and it turned out perfect, then I made Kimchi fried rice with this recipe (added pork belly) and he thought it looked great, tasted great too. I thought it had just the right amount of heat for me and I would only add more eggs-they were so yummy in it!

    I look forward to trying your basic rice recipe because mine needs work.

    Thank you,
    Matt


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    • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments

      Hi Matt,
      Your kimchi bokkeumbap looks fantastic even though you made this for the first time! Good luck with Korean cooking!

      • freldici France joined 6/20 & has 33 comments

        Bonjour. Moi aussi Matt j’ai un problème avec le riz de base. … riz long, riz rond, riz sushi, riz jasmin, etc…ce n’est JAMAIS le bon !!! Si vous faites une découverte prévenez moi !!

        • Bogsunga Florida joined 7/21 & has 1 comment

          Salut. Essayez un riz de marque Nishiski ou avec le mot rose dessus. Pour cette recette, utilisez des grains courts. La plupart des recettes asiatiques utilisent des grains courts. Ajouter un peu moins d’eau au riz que les instructions sur l’emballage. Un cuiseur à riz automatique fait du très bon riz.

  6. Eviolus- South UK :) joined 4/20 & has 1 comment

    What is kimchi juice?

  7. Mayday Montreal joined 3/20 & has 1 comment

    Tried it today, followed step by step & came out fantastic ! Boyfriend loved it. :) Thank you !!!

  8. Laarnih Salt lake utah joined 2/20 & has 1 comment

    Amazing recipe. Thank you maanchi ♥️


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  9. CCK Australia joined 11/19 & has 2 comments

    Wonderful recipe I always make this after my Kimchi has fermented

  10. Pkhoo Michigan joined 7/19 & has 1 comment

    Delicious! Thank you :)


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  11. MelB94 Buenos Aires Argentina joined 4/19 & has 1 comment

    I just made it for lunch and its sooo delicious!


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  12. Hi Maangchi! I saw in your video that you sometimes add meat to your fried rice to make it upgraded. How can I incorporate thin strips of pork belly (for shabu shabu) into my fried rice?

  13. Hmreyna88 USA joined 12/18 & has 1 comment

    Made the Kimchi 1 month ago from your recipe and today made the fried rice with poached egg. Perfection! Thank you Maangchi!!!


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  14. kamodd Russia joined 9/18 & has 3 comments
  15. Sashi Sri Lanka joined 8/18 & has 1 comment

    Kamsahamnida.

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