Kimchi fried rice might be my favorite fried rice of all fried rice dishes 😀 And like any fried rice dish, there’s no hard and fast “recipe” here; browse through the internet and you will find all kinds of ways to make this so it’s nearly fool proof.
Variations aside, there are some staple ingredients that you’ll want to stick with.
You’ll of course need some kimchi, either store bought or homemade. I buy kimchi in large quantities (Asian grocery stores or even Costco is a good place to get a large jar of kimchi) so I tend to always have some lying around in the refrigerator. Kimchi will continue to ferment over time, so the flavor will change as the days and months go by.
For this recipe, I suggest you taste your kimchi before you start, because the state of your kimchi will affect the overall taste of your fried rice. If the kimchi is relatively “fresh”, you might need to add salt or soy sauce to compensate for the mild saltiness. If it is relatively “old”, it will likely be sour and you may need to add some sugar to balance. Of course, this is all to your own personal taste, so you do you.
Gochugaru, Korean pepper flake, is a key ingredient in this dish. Order it online or find it in any Asian grocery store. Gochugaru is actually relatively mild with a more smoky-sweet taste than spicy. Gochujung, Korean pepper paste, is kind of optional – there are many recipes that do not use it. I use it because it adds a sweetness and helps intensifies the flavor.
Lastly, bacon …. do you really need it? Welllllllllllllll …. no. You can keep it out and make a perfectly good vegetarian dish. I always love to add some kind of meat in there, either some left over Korean BBQ, pork belly slices, or anything else. Bacon is my go-to add because it is easy to find, and it makes everything better (IMHO) 😛 A pound of bacon looks like a a lot, but cooks down to nothing. Plus if you’re like me, by the time I stop “picking” at it, there’s (sadly) not a lot left.
Last thing to be said about kimchi fried rice, is taste and adjust for salt to your liking. Depending on your kimchi and whether you use bacon or not, you may not need to add any salt. So taste it before you start throwing salt in there.
I heard someone once say that kimchi fried rice is so easy, you should be able to make it when you’re drunk. So definitely give it a try it next time you have some kimchi lying around 🙂
Ingredients
- 1 lb bacon
- 1 medium onion (about a cup), diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups cooked rice, preferably day old
- 3 cups kimchi, plus kimchi liquid (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 tbsp gochujang (korean pepper paste), mixed in a little kimchi liquid, soy, or water
- 2 tbsp gochugaru (korean chili flakes)
- 4 green onions (scallions), diced
- salt , to taste
Garnishes (optional)
- 2 eggs, cooked in your prefered style
- sesame seeds
- green onions (scallions)
- shredded nori
How I Make It
- Chop the kimchi into bite size pieces (however big you want your kimchi chunks to be) and squeeze out some of the liquid into a bowl and reserve for later. This step is optional, but squeezing out some liquid will help your kimchi get some char and caramelization, rather than it boiling or steaming in the liquid.I would also recommend you taste your kimchi to get a sense for its flavor profile - how salty it is, how sour it is, etc. as you may need to add / adjust for saltiness later.
- Cut bacon into 1 inch pieces. Starting with a cold pan, cook the bacon slowly to render out the fat. When the bacon is cooked to your liking, remove from heat, drain the bacon, reserving about 2-3 tbsp of bacon fat, and set aside.
- Heat a 2-3 tbsp of bacon fat in a large pan on medium-low heat, and add oinions and garlic. Sautée until they are softenned and aromatic about 2 minutes. Lower the heat if the garlic starts to burn or brown.
- Push the onions aside (or remove from pan for now), increase the heat to high/medium-high and add the kimchi. Cook until it starts to carmelize, about 2-3 minutes. Add the gochugaru (korean pepper flakes) and continue stir-frying. Mix the gochujan (korean pepper paste) with a little kimchi juice (or water) to dissolve a little, and add to the kimchi. Cook another minute or two.
- Toss in the rice and the reserved kimchi liquid. Keep mixing and frying until all the rice is coated in sauce. If it is too dry, add a little more kimchi liquid. Pat the rice down in the pan, and leave it untouched for a couple of minutes. Allowing the rice to sit in contact with the hot pan or a couple minutes will 'toast' the rice and give it a nice crunchy texture. After a couple of minutes toss/flip the rice over, and repeat a few times to get some toasting throughout.
- Add the green onions and cooked bacon back and toss it through. Taste and adjust for salt (which may not be needed, depending on how salty the bacon and kimchi were).
- Serve topped with a couple of fried eggs (I like mine over easy, you can do a poached egg, or even scramble the eggs through the rice, up to you!). Sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top, add green onions and nori (optional) and serve!
