Kimchi Fried Rice

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.

Fried Rice

I always make too much rice. Sometimes I do it on purpose, sometimes I don't. Either way, I keep it because I can use it to make fried rice. This is a great one dish meal that I make when I seem to have an assortment of leftovers. Substitute whatever kind of meat and veggies you have on hand. This recipe is made with the ingredients I had on hand today. Here's what you'll need: 

  • 3 TBL oil (I used olive oil)
  • 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 Cups cooked rice, cold
  • 1 C mushrooms, cooked
  • 1 C brisket, chopped
  • 3 slices bacon
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 C chopped greens (I had a mixture of kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage) 
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 TBL soy sauce
  • 2 TBL chopped green onion

I make my fried rice on my flat top, but I realize that not everyone is lucky enough to have one. No problem! Just use a wok or the biggest skillet you have. The idea is to have a lot of surface to cook on because you want to fry everything rather than saute it.   

Start by getting the surface very hot. Chop the bacon and throw it on the hot surface to start cooking. While it is cooking, crack the 3 eggs into a bowl and scramble them. When the bacon fat starts to render, use some of it to cook the egg, then transfer the cooked egg to a bowl.

Next add the onion and cook until translucent. Mix the bacon in and add the brisket, stirring all together. Then add the greens, the mushrooms, and any other veggies you have (I added some leftover green beans) stirring and cooking after each addition. 

Now it's time to add the rice. If the mixture seems a little dry, go ahead and drizzle a little more oil over it. Stir the rice to mix everything together and sear the rice a little. Now add the soy sauce and sesame oil and mix well. Add the cooked egg and combine. Taste and adjust seasonings. We like things on the spicy side so I added some red pepper flakes. Top with the green onions.

There are a few tips that will make your rice perfect every time. First of all, use cold rice. By that I mean that it has actually been refrigerated before you use it. This helps dry it out just a little so that it doesn't become gummy. The other thing you need to do is to have all your ingredients ready before you start cooking. This is a high heat, fast cooking method so you won't have time to stop and chop things up.   The last thing is to  make sure your skillet, wok, or cook top is really hot before you start. You want to get an instant sear when you start to add the ingredients. 

Enjoy! 

Lynn