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.
Maangchi, You are my Julia Childs! I am making my way through your recipes and every one has turned out delicious. I’m a korean adoptee and don’t speak Korean but learning to cook with your fun and instructive videos has made a real Korean out of me!
Thank you- you’re the best teacher.
maangchi…. is the honey crucial in this recipe? What do I do if I have no honey, do I really have to have it? :(
no, you could replace honey with sugar.
Sunday’s dinner was this kimchi fried rice dish. Just got done making it, smells and tastes fantastic! 5/8/11 Sunday. :)
umm, I can almost smell your kimchi fried rice!
Hi Maangchi,
I made your kimchi fried rice today, and it was delicious!!! I used my mom’s homemade gochujang and added some spam with that. Ate it with gim wrapped around each bite. :) Made me think of home. Thanks for the recipes.
hi maangchi,
i recently found this recipe of bulgogi that was very simple and amazing via http://topchefkorea.com/2011/01/27/bulgogi/ my husband loved it and he doesn’t even like bulgogi much.
question is, do you think i can use this recipe for garbi too or would it be something completely different? can you share a classic la garbi recipe?
thank you!
Hi
Here is my la galbi recipe. You can use the marinade for bulgogi marinade, too. It’s very delicious!
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/la-galbi
Thank you!!!
Your recipes are AMAZING! I’m half Korean, my mom is from Seoul, and I moved to Finland about a year ago. I’ve been so homesick for authentic Korean food, and these recipes taste just like my moms! Thanks soo much :)
yay, welcome to my website! Happy cooking!
I made your bulgogi for a BBQ this weekend and it was such a hit! Thank you so much! Everyone raved about it and wanted the recipe. I think you’re going to get a few new fans of your site. :-)
Great news! I’m very happy to hear that your bulgogi BBQ turned out delicious! Cheers!
My grandmother had told me to put slices of kiwi over the meat while it’s marinating – she told me that tenderizes the meat. I’ve heard conflicting advice on that, though. Do you recommend the kiwi or is it better without?
Yes, some people use kiwi to tenderize meat, but I prefer not to use it because the texture of meat becomes too mushy.
oh, your kimchi must be too sour. Kimchi will continue to ferment even in the refrigerator. Use less kimchi: 1/2 cup chopped kimchi instead of 1 cup in the recipe.
Hi maangchi,
I made kimchi fried rice but it was too sour. How do i neutralise the sourness of the kmichi?
Shuling, you could try adding more sweetness, little by little, tasting each time till it is right to you. Try sugar as it won’t change the flavor of the rice like honey would.
Hello. Sorry to ask you so many questions but my husband likes the bulgogi to be sweeter, which ingredient do I add to make it sweeter?
Hi, bulgogi is delicious when it’s sweet. If you want your bulgogi to be sweeter, add more sugar or honey.
I had this with clear noodles at a korean restaurant so if I want to add it, I would just have to boil it and put it over it right?
Yes, you could do that. Check out my bulgogi stew recipe, too. You can add the starch noodles to the stew, too. Delicious.
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/bulgogi-and-bulgogi-stew
Starch noodles:
https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/starch-noodles
what type of beef is this?sirloin?D:
yes, sirloin or tenderloin!
Maangchi,
I want to make bulgogi, and is it ok if I marinate the meat overnight? Is it going to be really salty?
yes, of course! Your bulgogi will be more tender and delicious! Check my LA galbi recipe, too. You could use the marinade for your bulgogi. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/la-galbi
If I were to make this with pork, will the marinate sauce be the same? Thank you!