Between all the holiday roasts and New Years toasts, I dunno about you, but I’m ready for some spicy simple dishes.Kimchi bokkeumbap (볶음밥), or kimchi fried rice fits the bill and is a perfect example of the the kind of high-flavor, low-effort dishes that I like to make around this time of year.
Like with a good kimchi jjigae the secret to a good kimchi fried rice is to use mature kimchi along with its juices. Kimchi matures as lactic acid fermentation converts the sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid. This not only makes the kimchi taste sour, it increases both the amount of glutamic acids (the compounds that create the taste of umami) and the depth of flavor in the kimchi.
While it may seem superfluous to squeeze out the juices of the kimchi only to add them back in later, I have two good reasons for doing this. The first is that we want to further deepen the flavor of the kimchi by caramelizing it. When the kimchi is sopping wet, it’s going to take much longer to caramelize. The second reason is that the amount of liquid in kimchi is a bit unpredictable and by measuring it out we get just enough juice to flavor the rice without making it soggy.
Although I’m one of those guys that believes a sunnyside up egg will make just about anything taste better, if you’re not a fan of having a molten flow of golden yolk percolating through your rice, you can just scramble the egg before you fry the rice, and then add it back in at the very end. Check out my post on making the perfect sunnyside up eggs for a fool-proof method.
Ingredients
-
170
grams
kimchi (3/4 cup packed, chopped)
- 1/3 cup
-
1
tablespoon
gochujang
-
1/2
tablespoon
soy sauce
-
2
teaspoons
toasted sesame oil
-
560
grams
cooked short-grain rice (about 3 cups)
-
1
tablespoon
vegetable oil
-
1
scallion (finely chopped)
- 2
Steps
-
Before you measure out the kimchi, squeeze out as much juice from the kimchi as you can, into a liquid measuring cup, this liquid is the "kimchi juice"
-
Whisk the kimchi juice, gochujang and soy sauce together until the gochujang is completely dissolved.
-
Drizzle the sesame oil on the rice and stir to break up any big clumps.
-
Put the vegetable oil in a frying pan and heat over medium high heat until hot. Add the chopped kimchi and stir fry until the kimchi is starting to brown and is very fragrant.
-
Add the rice and and stir-fry with a silicon spatula, pressing down on any clumps until the rice is uniform in color.
-
Pour the kimchi juice mixture over the rice, and turn up the heat to high. Stir-fry, tossing the rice occasionally until the rice starts to brown, and doesn't stick together quite as much.
-
Since kimchi varies in saltiness, taste the kimchi bokkeumbap and add more soy sauce if needed.
-
When the fried rice is done, add the scallions and then plate. Top each serving with a sunny-side up egg.
I would have it no other way than having a molten flow of golden yolk percolating through my rice. Just sayin’. This sounds amazing, and I’d give just about anything to have a plate in front of my right now!
Kimchi bokkeumbap is my absolute fave Korean dish!!! I love this and love the tip to squeeze out the kimchi juices!! I’ve never done this! and always YES to the fried egg.
I’m so drooling over this right now, Marc. Thanks for reminding me of this delicious comfort food. I have a huge jar of kimchi sitting in the back of the fridge for a while now. It sure is mature one, perfect for this.
Sounds delicious. We have a local purveyor of kimchi at the Portland Farmers Market and this is just the incentive I need to make the leap.
Sounds amazing! Love your tip to squeeze out the juice first – makes so much sense (I hadn’t thought about)! Thanks!
Can you clarify what would “mature” Kimchee would be? Sitting 2 weeks or more in your refrigerator if you bought it from the local Korean grocery store?
Hi Ava, it really depends on how far along the kimchi was when you bought it and how it was stored (the colder you keep it, the slower it ferments. It’s better to go by taste than time. It should be sour, like sauerkraut when it’s fully mature. You can of course use younger kimchi, but you won’t get the same depth of flavor and the tangy taste in your soup.
hi me javed not yet tried but looks amazing
i will try it later
Made this tonight with my homeade kimchi and fresh eggs
Going to make this tonight.
Just made this and is was frikkin amazing! It ,however, does take a little more time than the recipe indicates, but that might be because I’m not a fast cook haha
I just made this for dinner, and it was absolutely delicious! I’ll definitely use this recipe again, but with a little more chopped kimchi, and a little less oil, since it was a bit oily for my taste.
Hi Shika, glad to hear you enjoyed it. As long as you use a non-stick pan you shouldn’t have too much trouble (although the kimchi won’t brown as nicely), but I wouldn’t recommend reducing the oil if you pan is non-stick as the rice will stick to the pan.
Thanks for the advice, Marc. I have non-stick pans that handle other sorts of fried rice well, so I think it will be alright if I use very slightly less oil when making this again. Thank you for sharing this recipe with the world! I’m glad to have found it.
Delicious! Be sure to taste for seasoning as advised because i always end up having to add more soy sauce. It’s really delicious as written, but i typically add some vegetables and a protein so that it feels like a complete meal. I don’t change any part of the actual recipe. The leftovers almost taste better than the fresh dish! Definitely don’t skip the fried egg!
Hi Cam, glad to hear you enjoyed!
Excellent! Many people who don’t know what they’re talking post fried rice recipes, but this one is on point!
Thanks James!
Just made this and it was a hit! As a kimchi lover myself you can say I was very delighted 🙂 Thanks for sharing! Adding the sesame oil to the rice was such a good tip and I never thought to do that first! Will be making this again soon!
Hi Noora, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it!