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
- Heat up a wide, flat pan or skillet. Add the vegetable oil.
- Add the kimchi and stir fry for 1 minute over medium-high heat.
- Add rice, kimchi juice, water, and gochujang. Stir all the ingredients together for about 7 minutes with a wooden spoon.
- Add sesame oil and remove from the heat.
- Garnish with sprinkled chopped green onion, roasted gim, and sesame seeds. Serve right away.
Buy this recipe's ingredients online
I really like Weee! they deliver quality packaged and fresh Korean ingredients to the continental USA. Cheaper and better than Amazon! Check them out!
I cooked rice last night but didn’t use it then. So today, I thought perhaps I should make a fried rice with it. This was perfect! I just happened to have some old kimchi and chopped green onion in the fridge, plus everything else in the pantry. I left out the gim because my spouse wouldn’t have eaten it. It turned out very nice, and it was simple to do.
It sounds great! Yes, making kimchi bokkeumbap is so easy and fast!
Nĭ hăo Maangchi! This is my go-to comfort food. Tastes like home, even though home is in the middle of the US! Grew up in a very culturally rich family and Korean has always been my love. I like to slice 4 cloves are garlic thinly and fry them in the oil first. Flavors the oil nicely and getting a slice of roasted garlic with spicy goodness is wonderful. My husband is on a business trip right now and is missing out on one of his favorites tonight!
With Love From Penghu
Adding some fried garlic to kimchi-bokkeumbap sounds great!
I made this twice, once with freshly made rice and once with leftover rice. And I have to say, the leftover rice was better – the freshly made rice one was good too but the rice grains stuck together and it was more like kimchi risotto. The leftover rice grains separate more easily for a more traditional fried rice texture. When I made it with leftover rice I also added garlic and sliced hot dog but skipped the kimchi juice – it was so good with a fried egg on top too!
Thanks so much foe this quick and easy, yet delicious recipe. I like how simple everything is. I didn’t have green onion or seaweed but I made it work. I used 2 cups of rice because that’s what’s available but still used 3tbps of gochujang. I love how spicy it is! I added fried eggs on top.
I make this spicy kimchi bokkeumbap all the time! Yours looks so good, too!
Thanks so much for this simpler version of kimchi fried rice! I don’t like eggs as much so this simple version is just perfect for me! I made it today for the first time and loved it❤ Very comforting
Mouthwatering!
Hi maangchi!
Recently I made the kimchi fried rice recipe and it turned out very light in color and not a lot of taste and I really feel I did something wrong. Because it was light in color but really spicy I think I added too much chili paste but not sure if I let my kimchi ferment long enough. The kimchi was fresher, maybe one week. Should I let it ferment longer next time?
Thank you for your recipes and any help!!❤️
Kimchi fried rice usually tastes more flavorful when it is heavily fermented!
Hi Maangchi
Have been following your recipes regularly to make Korean dishes.
Today I made kimchi fried rice with homemade kimchi following your recipes for making the kimchi earlier and the fried rice today.
Tasted delicious.Ate it with pickled beetroot and a friend egg.
Thanks Maangchi.
It looks colorful, healthful, and delicious!
My mom always liked to have a batch of fresh kimchi to eat with rice, and a batch of older fermented kimchi that we saved for kimchijjigae, kimchi pancakes, fried rice, etc – when it’s fermented it gives so much more flavor!
Made this with my homemade kimchi today. It was wonderful. Very satisfying lunch on a cold day.
Delicious and nutritious!
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
I’m happy to hear that you like my family’s favorite kimchi bokkeumbap recipe! I feel so connected with you!
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!
Soooo gooooooood, Maangchi!
Made it with my husband! We included Spam and it was amazing. :)
I just stumbled over your website and this is the first receipt I’ve tried. I spent my holidays a few weeks ago in Korea and felt deeply in love with the food.
I just headed to my local korean shop to get some stuff for doing my own tteokbokki, but ended up with some of their homemade kimchi (never dared to try myself.. yet!)
So with the main ingredient at home I searched for a a nice recipe and ended up here. The bokkeumbap turned out great and brought instantly back the holiday feeling. I just ate it before taking a picture 🙄
Thank you for the recipe and all the other inspiration over here – I might finally really start to try my own kimchi with your description!
How many people does this serve please?
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
Hi Matt,
Your kimchi bokkeumbap looks fantastic even though you made this for the first time! Good luck with Korean cooking!
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 !!
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.
I used Basmati rice (because that is what I have right now) cooked last night in an Instant Pot (because that is my current go-to rice cooker), and it turned out just fine. Once upon a time, I would have used Cal-Rose or maybe Jasmine rice, but any every day rice should work. I probably wouldn’t use a super-sticky sushi rice or glutenous rice for this.
What is kimchi juice?
When you open up a packet or jar of Kimchi there should be juice in the bottom of the packet or jar.
I saw your kimchi hot dog video today and thought, why not? Turned out good!
Tried it today, followed step by step & came out fantastic ! Boyfriend loved it. :) Thank you !!!
Amazing recipe. Thank you maanchi ♥️
Wonderful recipe I always make this after my Kimchi has fermented
Delicious! Thank you :)
I just made it for lunch and its sooo delicious!
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?
Made the Kimchi 1 month ago from your recipe and today made the fried rice with poached egg. Perfection! Thank you Maangchi!!!
Thank you
It looks amazing especially the egg! Congratulations!
Kamsahamnida.
아주 맛있어요~! So simple yet so heavenly! Thank you for your delicious recipe, Maangchi! 갑사합니다! :)
What a colorful, gorgeous kimchi-bokkeumbap you made!
Thank you, Maangchi, your recipe is awesome! :)
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?
I’m Korean American and I usually just make mine without gochujang so you should be fine. Just put a bit more kimchi in it for added flavor.
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!
Mouthwatering!
hi, can you recommend me what brand to buy for the kimchi and gochujang? i love spicy one.
Check out my Korean grocery shopping guide video, it will help you:
https://www.maangchi.com/blog/korean-grocery-store-walkthrough#pastes
Good luck!
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.
Yes! Wow wow! I said “wow” 2 times! : )
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 :).
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
Wow, it looks colorful and gorgeous! Egg on top is such a great idea!
Anneyeong Maangchi,
Can I know how much ingredients I have to put if I want to cook for like 10 people?
Thank You
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.
Wow, it looks wonderful! Gorgeous presentation, too!
Ooppss..wrong photo. I was about to upload the kimchi-bakkeumbap instead of japchae. But..your japchae recipe also amazing. Thanks..