Sunday, May 8, 2011

Kimchi Fried Rice (Kimchi Bokkumbap)

This is one of our favorite ways to use old kimchi that's been sitting in the fridge for a while. It's so easy and comforting.

The key is to use kimchi that is a little old because it is more tangy and tastes better when fried. Also important is using rice that is a day old because it has less moisture and gets crispy at the bottom of the pan. If you don't have rice that's a day old, just make rice as usual but use a little less water and stick it in the freezer for 5 minutes to cool.


Also Our favorite brand of Kimchi is "Chongga". We've tried all kinds of brands but this one is by far the best.  The one on the right is regular fresh kimchi which needs at least 10 days to be ready for Kimchi Fried Rice. The one on the left is old fermented Kimchi so it's already ready. This is about $7.99 at a Korean Market.

Ingredients for 4 servings:
4 cups old kimchi, cut into bite size pieces
4 bowls of one day old rice (cold)
2 T cooking oil
1 T butter
1 T red pepper paste (gochujang, sold in Korean markets) - if you don't have it, you can skip it.
1 T sesame oil
Pepper to taste

Garnish:
4 eggs
Sesame seasoned seaweed, crushed (sold in the Asian section of most supermarkets)
Chopped green onions

1.Heat a frying pan on medium and add cooking oil. Then add the kimchi and fry for a few minutes until it is heated through.

2. Add butter and red pepper paste

3. Add the rice. Use a spatula to break it up and mix it around so all the rice is evenly coated in the kimchi and paste.

4. Add sesame oil.

5. Spread the rice evenly on the pan and let it sit for a couple minutes so the bottom turns a little crispy and brown.

6. While the rice is browning, fry up the eggs in a separate pan. We like sunny side up because it looks the nicest. But remember to cover the pan with a lid so the top side cooks and is not too runny.

7. Mix the rice again using the spatula and then put in serving bowls. Top each bowl with a fried egg, crushed seaweed, and a sprinkling of the green onion.

*Variations with more protein: Fry some chopped ham in the pan before adding the kimchi. Or add canned tuna(drained) with the kimchi.

30 comments:

thetwicebitten said...

guys, you always get it just right. I love all your recipes, so yummy, interesting and accessible.

Jen @sitesnbites said...

Great step by step instructions! I love adding smoked bacon to my kimchi fried rice!

opportunityknits said...

Thanks for your recipes. I love that they are simple, do-able and yummy! I have tried the tofu one and it was a hit with my family :)
I love kimchi, thanks for explaining the difference between fresh and fermented kimchi.

lu said...

i just wrote a post on my blog about how much i loved kimchi fried rice as a kid and how excited i am about your blog! i'll definitely be making this soon (:

Eunice Yooni Kim said...

i love how you included butter - it's so clutch for the kimchi bokkum.

oh man, this post has made me very, very hungry.

Amelia Morris said...

this is one of my favorite dinners!!!!
and the photos are beautiful.

Katherine said...

Yum, I adore kimchi fried rice! This looks so good and easy to make :) Thank you for sharing the recipe and photographs. Just bookmarked and followed your blog :)

Cait said...

My mouth is watering from your amazing photos! I have to admit, my fave meat to add is spam! Oh, and sprinkle some sesame seeds. Great recipe! Awesome blog!

SinoSoul said...

Despite what Eunice commented, the addition of butter is classless and putrid.

An excellent sesame oil (doesn't matter which Asian origin) will transform a kimchi bokkeum bap every, single, time. Junk butter, commonly utilized in home kitchens, contributes nothing but fat and cholesterol.

To stir fry, peanut oil should be used for hot wok and added savoriness. No peanut oil, use some suet.

Because the basic kimchi bokkeumbap borders barbaric, uh-mook (instead of spam -- why would one eat garbage beat bestowed upon Koreans by dog palate Americans during WW2???) can be chopped in and stir fried in order to provide actual protein to this dish.

Effortful photography, but if served at a restaurant, my table wouldn't eat this.

PS: for first bap post, the Korean affinity for KOREAN rice should be noted. Some families would not stoop to the level of that Nishiki nonsense.

Caroline said...

Wow, I never thought kimchi bokeumbap was tasty until now. I just made it. The butter really adds something.

Angie Park said...

love your bap story :) beautiful photos and so much better than mangchii mom. haha

Heather Taylor said...

this is my all time favorite dinner!

penguin said...

@SinoSoul way to go dood. this is a fun home cooking blog written by two nice Korean girls. is it really necessary to bring your negativity in here and ruin it for everybody?

Bo and Jeana are both born and raised Koreans so they have the right to make kimchi fried rice however they want.

just because you disagree with aspects of these recipes doesn't necessarily mean they won't yield tasty results.

the internet doesn't have to be a shitty place. don't succumb to evil.

Anonymous said...

I googled "Kimchi Fried Rice" and found your blog first! As a result I've bought all the ingredients (except gochujang, they were out of chili) and am looking forward to a yummy dinner!

Thank you for posting, I love Kimchi!
Sarah from Sydney, Australia

Sasha said...

so delicious!

to celebrate my 25th birthday this week i cooked three of your dishes for friends (including this one, plus the spicy cucumber salad and the soy seasoned tofu). your recipes have certainly made up for the fact that there is not a single korean restaurant in gothenburg, sweden. i cannot wait for more recipes!

Elsie Lau said...

thank you @penguin for your comment. i was so stunned by the hater attitude and felt the need to respond but wasn't sure how. so thanks again.

Kassie said...

Question: when you say 4 bowls of rice, do you mean 4 cups? Just want to make sure there's enough to go around. :)

We love Korean food and I can't wait to try some of these recipes!!

Thanks!!

Bo said...

@Kassie
Yes, approximately 4 cups of cooked old rice. If you are all hearty eaters I would add another cup or two. Enjoy!

Megan said...

Is it bad that I add butter to mine instead of oil. My goodness...the taste and smell is heavenly though!

STOP IT RIGHT NOW said...

My mouth is watering...

Also, I'm Korean through and through and I don't do Kimchi Chige without Spam. Which is the case for a lot of my friends in Korea as well. To each his own.

tannaz sassooni said...

I've been craving this since I saw it here, and finally made it last night. So easy, so delicious, totally hit the spot. Thanks!

추영 said...

Just made my first 김치볶음밥 for dinner. Will try 잡채 next ^^
Thank you for sharing!

quyen said...

made this last week and i couldnt stop eating and thinking about it. so good. thanks for all the recipes.

Unknown said...

Thank you for this recipe, my boyfriend and I LOVED it! I had tried to make kimchi fried rice before but didn't have the ratio of ingredients quite right. I absolutely love this blog and want to try every single recipe. The step-by-step instructions, pictures, and generally explanations of ingredients are incredibly helpful. Thanks for your great work!

tastingkorea said...

Koreans don't really use uhmook in kimchi bokkeumbop. It doesn't taste good fried and adds nothing to the dish. Bo and Jeana have it right. Ham tastes the best with kimchi bokkeumbop, so it is the most favored protein. If you don't like spam, you can use regular pork or even bacon. Peanut oil is not really a Korean ingredient and will ruin the dish with its peanut flavor. It's really ignorant to criticize a dish that you do not know about, especially when it is a recipe by people who actually grew up in the culture and know something about the cuisine.

Anonymous said...

Garnish with two eggs!!! I love it!!!

Hannah said...

Man, your recipes are awesome! I tried this one and the one for dooboo jorim and they both came out DELICIOUS. I think you're officially my favorite blog for Korean recipes.

Diana Jane Cervantes said...

I can't remember the first and last time I ate Kimchi rice, but then I'm wondering how making it. Your post is the solution of my long last craving. Thank you for posting this recipe, I'm thinking to use Rico rice for this. Will give you an update about the taste. :)

Ali said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

U should never respond to haters.