Why this Recipe Works
Fried rice should be fluffy and flaky, not dense and mushy. To achieve this, I use leftover rice that’s been in the fridge for at least a day and then coat the rice with sesame oil. This not only infuses it with flavor, but it also separates the individual grains so you can stir-fry the rice. Good fried rice should also have some Maillard browning on each grain of rice. Since temperatures in the pan need to get above the boiling point of water to start browning the ingredients, it’s essential to minimize the amount of liquid added. Since kimchi is very juicy, I squeeze the juice out of the kimchi before stir-frying it. This allows you to brown the kimchi rice before you add the juice back in at the very end to season everything. Putting an egg on top makes most dishes better, but for kimchi fried rice, it’s a must. I like topping my kimchi rice with a sunny-side up egg with a soft yolk that percolates down into the spicy rice, but a custardy hot spring egg is another great option.
Best Kimchi for Fried Rice
If you’ve ever been to a Korean market, you know there are dozens of different types of Kimchi, but this dish works best with Baechu-kimchi (배추김치), which is the kind made with napa cabbage. You can get my kimchi recipe here. As with Kimchi Jjigae, or Kimchi Stir-Fry, the secret to good Kimchi fried rice is to use a mature jar of Kimchi along with its juices. As it ages, Kimchi undergoes lactic acid fermentation, which converts the sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid. This not only makes the Kimchi taste sour, but it also increases the amount of amino acids (the compounds that create the taste of umami) as well as the depth of flavor in the Kimchi.
Kimchi Fried Rice Ingredients
Kimchi - It’s best to use ripe kimchi, which has had a chance to mature and turn sour thanks to lacto-fermentation. This is going to give your fried rice the most flavor and umami. Gochujang - Gochujang is a fermented chili paste that’s both spicy and sweet. This adds a balancing sweetness to the rice, contrasting to the spicy kimchi and rich egg. If you want extra heat, you can also add gochugaru (korean chili pepper flakes). Soy Sauce - Depending on how salty your kimchi is, you may not need the soy sauce, but my kimchi recipe is relatively low in sodium, so I like to add a splash of soy sauce. Toasted sesame oil - Coating the rice with toasted sesame oil helps separate the individual grains while infusing them with the nutty flavor of the oil. Cooked rice - Kimchi fried rice is made with cooked short-grain rice. I recommend using day-old rice. This allows the starch in the rice to retrograde, which makes it much easier to flake apart. It won’t have the same texture, but a long-grain rice like basmati or jasmine rice will work in a pinch. Protein - Topping kimchi fried rice with a fried egg not only adds a splash of color, but the rich yolk also mellows out the heat of the kimchi while providing some protein that makes this a complete meal. I generally don’t add meat to this dish, but ground beef, thinly sliced pork belly, or cut up strips of bacon are all delicious options if you want to bulk it up. Garnish - I like to garnish my Kimchi Bokkeumbap with a scattering of chopped green onions, but toasted sesame seeds or gim (Korean nori seaweed) are both wonderful alternatives.
How to Make Kimchi Fried Rice
The ingredients for this dish are about as simple as it gets, but because Kimchi is loaded with flavor, it doesn’t need much else. The trick to making a fantastic Kimchi Bokkeumbap is all in the technique. The first thing you want to do is squeeze the juices out of your Kimchi and measure them separately. It may seem a bit unnecessary to squeeze out the juices of the Kimchi only to add them back in later, but I have two good reasons for doing this. The first is that we want to further deepen the flavors of the Kimchi by caramelizing it in a frying pan. When Kimchi is sopping wet, you won’t reach the heat that you need to trigger Maillard browning. The second reason is that the amount of liquid in Kimchi is a bit unpredictable, and by measuring it out separately, we get just enough juice to flavor the rice without making it soggy. The second trick is to drizzle some toasted sesame oil onto the rice and coat each grain with it before you throw it into the pan. This not only imparts the nutty flavor of the oil into the rice, but it also prevents the rice from clumping up and sticking together. To make the fried rice, I always start by sautéing the squeezed Kimchi until it’s well browned (think of it like onions or garlic). Then the rice goes in and gets heated through before the sauce goes over the rice. Because the sauce is a large amount of liquid relative to the rice, it’s important to continue tossing and stir-frying the rice until all of the liquid has evaporated. This includes the liquid that’s been absorbed by the rice. You can tell when the rice is ready when it fluffs up and stops being sticky. I also like to give the rice some time in the pan undisturbed, which causes it to brown, giving it a wonderful toasty flavor like the socarrat (that savory brown layer) on the bottom of a good paella. I’m one of those guys who believes the molten yolk of a sunny-side-up egg will make just about anything taste better, and it’s especially true when you’re talking about a plate of spicy, umami-laden rice. If you’re not a fan, you can scramble the egg into the browned Kimchi before adding the rice, or you can leave it out altogether.
Serve it With
Kimchi fried rice makes for a satisfying main dish (especially with an egg on top) and I like serving this with a nutty Namul (bean sprout salad), or spicy Smashed Cucumber Salad. If you want to make this spicy fried rice a side dish for something heartier, Korean Fried Chicken or this Gochujang Braised Pork Belly are two mouthwatering options.
Other Ways to Use Kimchi
We’re just scratching the surface here if you’re looking for other ways to use ripe kimchi. For a rich and creamy rice dish, try out my Kimchi Risotto. If you’re craving something more noodly, my Kimchi Spaghetti is an easy weeknight pasta with a flavor punch. Kimchi Pancakes or kimchi jeon make for a delightful appetizer, and if you’re in the mood to try something entirely new, how about my Kimchi Pizza with pork belly? It’s the kind of dish that’ll make you wonder why you didn’t think of it sooner.
📖 Recipe
