Kimchi Fried Rice, a delicious spicy, sweet and tangy rice dish which is popular in and around Korea and now getting more popular around the world. Kimchi fried rice is made with leftover cooked cold rice, kimchi, spicy sauce, garlic and green onions. This fried rice is a great way to use and enjoy the taste of the well fermented kimchi. Perfect dish to put together on a weeknight or weekend dinner in less than 30 minutes. Make sure you top the fried rice with some chilli oil fried egg and you are good to go.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Kimchi Fried Rice
This particular dish is very new to me. Ever since I tasted kimchi and fell in love with it. I have started including it in my diet every now and then. I have started experimenting with kimchi and adding into recipes which I love like this kimchi grilled cheese. It is very recently I came across this fried rice recipe and it immediately made me to try. To my surprise, I really enjoyed it.
What is Kimchi?
Kimchi is a Korean fermented pickle, made using napa cabbage tossed in spicy garlic chilli sauce and fermented. I have my instant kimchi recipe which you can check.
Kimchi, a staple in Korean cuisine, is a traditional side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish, made with a widely varying selection of seasonings including gochugaru, spring onions, garlic, ginger. . It is also used in a variety of soups.
Fried Rice with Kimchi can be made many different ways. Some of them uses fermented shrimp, fish sauce and other too. You can make it pure vegetarian as well.
About Kimchi Fried Rice
Kimchi fried rice is one of the most popular rice dish in and around Korea. It is recently getting very popular around the world, thanks to all the Instagram influencers. The fried rice is completely flavoured with kimchi and you can taste the flavour of kimchi and the sour taste in the fried rice.
Traditional kimchi fried rice is made with gochugaru, gochujang and kimchi brine. But I like to make a sweet and spicy sauce to toss the rice in which adds so much more flavour. I used garlic, green onions, gochugaru, a little mayonnaise and soy sauce which added extra taste.
There are two important step to remember when making kimchi fried rice. To get perfect tasting kimchi fried rice, make sure you stir fry the kimchi on high heat in a cast iron pan till it gets char for added flavour. Also use day old cold cooked rice to prevent mushy fried rice.
This fried rice is best when had piping hot straight out of the pan with a fried egg on top. It can be served with nori and sesame seed.
More Korean Inspired Recipes
Watch Kimchi Fried Rice Video
Sauce for Kimchi Fried Rice
Traditional kimchi fried rice is made with gochugaru, gochujang and kimchi brine. But I like to make a sweet and spicy sauce to toss the rice in which adds so much more flavour. I used garlic, green onions, gochugaru, a little mayonnaise and soy sauce which added extra taste.
For my best tasting kimchi fried rice I like to make a flavourful spicy sweet sauce. I mix well fermented kimchi brine, soy sauce, kewpie mayo, sugar and gochugaru. This creates a perfect balanced sauce that coats every grain of the rice.
When kimchi brine when added to cold rice, the rice absorbs the sauce and makes it so flavourful. Soy sauce adds colour and kewpie mayo emulsify the sauce which coats the rice evenly combined with a touch of sugar gives it a beautiful char.
Kimchi Fried Rice Ingredients
Butter – I used butter for making kimchi fried rice which imparts so much flavour to the rice. But you can use toasted sesame oil or regular oil.
Garlic – I like to add lots of chopped garlic, when cooked with butter adds so much aroma.
Green Onions – use the white part of the green onion when cooking the rice. Use the spring onion greens as garnish.
Kimchi – I am using well fermented kimchi for the fried rice which provides a tang taste to the fried rice. Remove kimchi using tongs from the bottle. Reserve some of the kimchi brine in a separate bowl. Chop the kimchi into small pieces and set aside.
Cooked Rice – cooked and cooled rice is used in the kimchi rice. Make sure the rice is completely cold when making fried rice. I like to use jasmine rice, but you can use any rice.
Toppings – As the topping, I like to use chilli oil fried egg, spring onion greens, sesame seeds, nori.
Kimchi Fried Rice in 4 Easy Steps
Sauce – Start by mixing the sauce for fried rice. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl to a smooth mix and set aside.
Making Fried Rice – Heat butter in a cast iron pan. Add garlic and spring onion whites and saute for a minute. In goes chopped kimchi and stir fry on high heat for 5 minutes. Add in cooked rice and toss well with the kimchi. Pour over the sauce and stir fry again for 4 to 5 minutes on high heat till the rice is slightly toasted. Add spring onion green and turn off the heat.
Topping for Fried Rice – Make chilli oil fried egg. Heat chilli oil in a small pan, crack open an egg and fry in the oil till golden and crispy.
Serving – plate some fried rice in a serving dish, top with chilli oil fried egg, sesame seeds, extra chopped green onion. Serve with nori.
Things I Learned for Best Tasting Kimchi Fried Rice
All About Rice (How to Cook Jasmine Rice)
I like to use jasmine rice for making fried rice. Wash rice in multiple changes of water. Take 1.5 cup of water for 1 cup of rice. Bring it to a full boil, simmer the flame, cook covered for 10 minutes. Fluff up the rice, cover again and let it sit for 10 more minutes. Allow the rice to cool completely before storing in fridge. You can store cooked rice for upto 4 days in fridge. Use cold cooked rice for fried rice which provides best results every time.
Balanced Sauce – Taste and adjust sugar, salt, soy sauce in the sauce. This sauce gives the taste to the fried rice.
High Heat for Char – Always cook on high heat. If you have a wok use that for making fried rice. Other wise you can use cast iron pan and cook on high heat. The heat provides the char and smoky flavour to the rice.
Serving Suggestions – It is important to serve fried rice with certain toppings which adds to the taste. I like my fried rice with fried egg, sesame seeds, green onions and nori.
How to Make Kimchi Fried Rice (Stepwise Pictures)
Which Kimchi is Best for Fried Rice
1)I am using well fermented kimchi for the fried rice which provides a tang taste to the fried rice.
Remove kimchi using tongs from the bottle. Reserve some of the kimchi brine in a separate bowl. Chop the kimchi into small pieces and set aside.
Make Kimchi Fried Rice Sauce
2)First let’s make the sauce. Take kimchi brine in a small bowl.
3)Add in some mayo into the kimchi brine.
4)Add in gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes.
5)Add in soy sauce.
6)Add in sugar. Instead of sugar you can add honey or maple syrup.
7)Mix these both really well. This is your fried rice sauce.
Stir Fry Onion & Garlic
8)Heat butter in a cast iron pan or any saute pan.
9)Add in chopped garlic into the frying pan. Stir fry on low heat till aromatic.
10)Add in chopped spring onion white part along and cook for another minute.
11)Cook both garlic and spring onions till fragrant.
Stir Fry Kimchi
12)Add in the chopped kimchi into the butter.
13)Stir fry kimchi in the garlic and onion for 3 minutes on high heat. This will provide a nice char in the cabbage.
14)Now the kimchi is lightly brown in colour. This step is essential because it adds flavours into the fried rice.
15)Pour in the kimchi sauce into the kimchi. Mix well.
16)Cook the kimchi with the sauce, it provides so much depth of flavour to the cooked kimchi.
Making Fried Rice
17)Add in cooked and cooled rice into the kimchi mixture. Make sure the rice is completely cold when making fried rice.
18)Toss the rice in the kimchi sauce. Stir fry the rice in the sauce for 5 minutes which provides toasted char to the rice.
19)Add in spring onion green and mix well. Your fried rice is ready.
Make Chilli Egg Topping
20)Heat chilli oil in a small pan. Crack open an egg into the chilli oil. Cook the egg in the oil till done.
21)Serve kimchi fried rice with fried egg.
Expert Tips
- Use cooked day old cold rice for making fried which results in perfect rice.
- You can taste and adjust your sauce ingredients.
- Make sure you cook the fried rice on high heat.
- Chop kimchi into small pieces which distributes evenly throughout the rice.
More Korean Inspired Recipes
📖 Recipe Card
Kimchi Fried Rice Recipe
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 721kcal
Equipment
-
Wok or Cast Iron Skillet
-
Mixing Bowl
-
Cooking pot
Ingredients
Sauce for Kimchi Fried Rice
For Kimchi Fried Rice
For Chilli Oil Fried Egg
For Garnishing
Instructions
Video
Notes
- Use cooked day old cold rice for making fried which results in perfect rice.
- You can taste and adjust your sauce ingredients.
- Make sure you cook the fried rice on high heat.
- Chop kimchi into small pieces which distributes evenly throughout the rice.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servings | Calories: 721kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 222mg | Sodium: 704mg | Potassium: 377mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1876IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 4mg
If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest ,Youtube and Twitter for more Yummy Tummy inspiration.
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR ANYTHING FROM YUMMY TUMMY, MAKE SURE TO POST IT AND TAG ME SO I CAN SEE ALL OF YOUR CREATIONS!! #YUMMYTUMMYAARTHI AND @YUMMYTUMMYAARTHI ON INSTAGRAM!
More Fried Rice Recipes
Source: Yummy Tummy
