You could say that kimchi is the Swiss Army Knife of the Korean food. It is almost always offered up as banchan on the dinner table, but it can be transformed into myriad of other dishes. One fine example of kimchi becoming the main ingredient in a dish would be kimchi fried rice. If you have some old rice in the rice cooker, some sour kimchi, and some pork, you’re more than halfway there.
Kimchi Fried Rice (Kimchi Bokkeumbap)
INGREDIENTS
Kimchi – 3 cups, chopped into 1/4 – 1/2 inch cubes (sour or old kimchi preferred)
Pork – 2 cups, diced into 1/2 inch cubes (samgyupsal preferred)
Onion – 1 medium, diced into 1/4 – 1/2 inch cubes
Rice – 5 – 6 cups, cooked (preferably a day or two old)
Oil
Salt and PepperOptional:
Eggs – 1 each per person
Green Onions – 1 or 2 stalks, chopped into 1/4 – 1/2 inch piecesTOTAL PREP TIME
15-30 minutes
SERVES: 4
- Coat the bottom of a pan or a wok with cooking oil, in high heat
- When the pan/wok is hot, throw in the onions and pork
- In about 2 – 3 minutes, add the kimchi
- After about 5 – 7 minutes, add the rice and green onions
- Break up the rice and mix it well with the fried/sauteed kimchi
- Salt and pepper to taste, but depending on the kimchi, you may not need to season it any further
- As soon as the rice is thoroughly mixed in with the kimchi, give it another minute or so… and plate it
- On a separate frying pan, fry some eggs (sunny side up or over easy) and top your fried rice
Notes:
This recipe is pretty simple… but you may customize it anyway you want. For example, if you can’t eat pork, substitute with some canned tuna, beef, sausage, or leave it out. I have used some Spam on occasion with very good results.
