Cooking at Home: Kimchi Fried Rice (Kimchi Bokkeumbap)

with Chef Robert Larios
Photography by Patricia M. Larios

It’s time to break into Korean cuisine with one of the most popular dishes — kimchi fried rice. Kimchi is a spicy Korean condiment, a tangy, spicy fermented cabbage that is the heart of Korean cuisine; it is used in many dishes. It’s an awesome side for any meal, or as a meal of its own. The rice is best when it is cooked in advance and chilled, because the grains will stick less to the pan and each other.

Notice I included butter in the ingredients list. That’s not a typo. Although butter is not part of the traditional cuisine, it is becoming a staple of modern Korean cooking.

¡Buen provecho!



RECIPE: Cooking at Home: Kimchi Fried Rice

Yields2 Servings

 1 tbsp avocado oil (canola oil is a good substitute)
 ¼ cup Spam (canned meat product), cut into small cubes
 1 green onion, sliced.
 1 cup kimchi, drained and chopped
 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean fermented soybean chile paste), or to taste
 3 cups cooked short-grain rice
 ¼ cup nori (seaweed), chopped into short slivers.
 1 tsp sesame oil
 1 tsp butter
 1 egg

1

Step 1
Heat avocado oil in large skillet (a non-stick wok is ideal) over high heat. Stir Spam into skillet and reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir Spam and then add green onion until the Spam is browned and onion is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

2

Step 2
Stir kimchi and gochujang into Spam mixture and cook until warmed through and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Add rice; cook and stir until rice is heated through and coated with gochujang, 3 to 5 minutes more.

3

Step 3
Drizzle sesame oil over rice mixture and stir to coat. Garnish with green parts of green onion and nori.

Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Crack egg into the pan and cook until white is completely set and yolk is thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Place egg over fried rice.

4

Enjoy!

Ingredients

 1 tbsp avocado oil (canola oil is a good substitute)
 ¼ cup Spam (canned meat product), cut into small cubes
 1 green onion, sliced.
 1 cup kimchi, drained and chopped
 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean fermented soybean chile paste), or to taste
 3 cups cooked short-grain rice
 ¼ cup nori (seaweed), chopped into short slivers.
 1 tsp sesame oil
 1 tsp butter
 1 egg

Directions

1

Step 1
Heat avocado oil in large skillet (a non-stick wok is ideal) over high heat. Stir Spam into skillet and reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir Spam and then add green onion until the Spam is browned and onion is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

2

Step 2
Stir kimchi and gochujang into Spam mixture and cook until warmed through and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Add rice; cook and stir until rice is heated through and coated with gochujang, 3 to 5 minutes more.

3

Step 3
Drizzle sesame oil over rice mixture and stir to coat. Garnish with green parts of green onion and nori.

Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Crack egg into the pan and cook until white is completely set and yolk is thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Place egg over fried rice.

4

Enjoy!

Kimchi Fried Rice (Kimchi Bokkeumbap)

Cooking TIDBIT

If you don’t have access avocado oil, canola oil is a good alternative. I used Spam in
this recipe, but shrimp, chicken and beef can be used. Or you may decide to
eliminate them all in your version.


Food Quote: “I’m really happy to see the explosion of interest in Korean food, and this hybrid Korean-American food.”

– Anthony Bourdain

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