I've been on an Asian kick lately. It's new to me as far as cooking goes, but I've loved the flavors my whole life. I bought some kimchi the other day and wanted to incorporate it into something I was already familiar with making, so I decided to try kimchi fried rice. I've been making fried rice forever. I love the way you can use leftovers to make a new variety of fried rice every time. Today I added some chicken tenders but use whatever you have on hand like pork or beef or just vegetables. You can also make it as spicy or mild as you like. Here's what you'll need:
- 4 C cold, cooked rice
- 1 C kimchi, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 carrots
- 8-10 mushrooms, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp grated, fresh ginger
- serrano pepper, sliced (to taste, I used about 1/2)
- 2 TBL soy sauce
- 2 TBL rice wine vinegar
- 1 C chopped, cooked meat (I used chicken tenders. You can also use shrimp, beef or pork)
- 2 eggs
- cooking oil
The first thing i learned about Asian cooking is that preparation is key. Start by cutting the carrots into julienne strips. I use my amazing peeler/cutter that makes perfect strips using a vegetable peeling type motion. I love it! Also, slice the mushroom and Serrano, mince the garlic and ginger, and chop the kimchi.
The next thing I learned about most Asian cooking is that it's done with high heat. That's why the prep is so important because once you start cooking you won't have time to stop and chop. With fried rice, you need a big enough cooking surface that you are able to spread out the ingredients to quick cook them rather than pile them up and steam them. I use my built in griddle, but a large wok or skillet or a stove top griddle also work.
Begin by heating the cook surface until it's smoking hot. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil and then the carrots and peppers and stir, cooking for about 2 minutes or until the veggies start to soften.
Add the minced garlic and ginger and stir. Add more oil if needed.
Add the sliced mushrooms and stir, cooking until slightly softened. Add more oil if needed.
Add the kimchi and cook several more minutes. Add more oil iff needed.
Now it's time to add the rice. Today I had leftover brown rice so that's what I used. It's very important to add the rice while it's still cold. If you don't, it will have more of a gummy texture.
Break up the rice and stir it to get all the veggies incorporated.
Stir in the rice wine vinegar.
Add the soy sauce.
Add the chopped chicken tenders or any other meat of your choice.
It's now time for the egg. The traditional way to add the egg is to scramble the egg an chop the cooked egg and add it to the rice. If that's your choice, do that now.
Lately, I'm addicted to the runny yolk of a sunny side up egg, so that's what I did here. First, I removed the cooked fried rice to a serving platter.
Cook the eggs to the desired doneness.
Top the fried rice with the cooked eggs.
Doesn't that look amazing? If I had hd some green onions, I would have sprinkled them on top...
Enjoy!
Lynn
Kimchi Fried Rice
- 4 C cold, cooked rice
- 1 C kimchi, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 carrots
- 8-10 mushrooms, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp grated, fresh ginger
- serrano pepper, sliced (to taste, I used about 1/2)
- 2 TBL soy sauce
- 2 TBL rice wine vinegar
- 1 C chopped cooked meat (chicken, beef, shrimp, pork)
- 2 eggs
- cooking oil
Prep all the ingredients.
Heat griddle/wok to high heat and add the carrots and pepper, cooking about 2 minutes or until the carrots begin to soften. Add the garlic and ginger and stir to incorporate. Add the mushrooms and cook, adding more oil as needed. Add the kimchi and cook until warmed through.
Add the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar and incorporate.
Add the cooked meat.
Scramble the eggs and chop then add to rice, or fry the eggs and add to the top of the cooked rice.
