Kimchi Fried Rice FTW! Cauliflower rice, frozen peas and carrots, fresh garlic and ginger, soy sauce, chili paste, a forkful of kimchi, and finished with a runny yolk waterfall.
Kimchi Fried Rice
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Thank you for sharing!!! This recipe is my current obsession!!! It is fantastic with many types of rice and cauliflower rice🥰
Ann
Kimchi Fried Rice FTW!
Featuring rice, or cauliflower rice, and frozen peas and carrots because easy, and fresh garlic and ginger because YUM, and soy sauce, and chili paste, and a forkful of kimchi, and finished with a runny yolk waterfall. For me this is a new version of my favorite kind of comfort food.
I first had kimchi fried rice when we were in Seoul a few years ago. I knew nothing about anything. I was a baby child. I didn’t have any idea what kimchi was (likely referred to as “that red stuff”), but it didn’t matter. I knew I loved my kimchi fried rice with a lacy fried egg on top. Fast forward a few years, to now, and I’m probably best put in the category of knows-just-enough-to-be-dangerous and eats-a-lot-of-kimchi-fried-rice which is what brings me to this blog post today where I show you how I make kimchi fried rice.
How To Make Our Kimchi Fried Rice:
FYI On The Kimchi:
- Kimchi is salted and fermented cabbage or other vegetables. Sometimes it’s spicy.
- Kimchi is a staple of Korean food / cooking.
- Kimchi can improve digestion. 👍🏼
- I don’t make my own kimchi (yet). I buy it. I really like some brands of kimchi, and I really have a hard time with others. My favorite brand is Spirit Creek Farm kimchi which I buy at Whole Foods. The vegetable are cut a little smaller, similar to the texture of sauerkraut, which helps me to love it a lot.
The ingredients for kimchi fried rice are really simple and MY ALL TIME FAVORITE THING is that, at any given time, I usually have everything I need to make this.
Oil, rice or cauliflower rice, frozen peas and carrots, garlic / ginger, soy sauce, chili paste, eggs, and of course, a jar of kimchi.
*in need of fried rice clean-up and manicure 👆🏼
If you’re eating the kimchi fried rice, like, right now or in very close proximity to when you make it, then put a fried egg on top. A gloriously soft egg with a barely-crispy bottom and a runny yolk. Also: a drizzle of sesame oil and a dollop of chili paste or sriracha. YUM TO THE MAX. This is the way it was in Seoul.
However, if you’re going meal-prep or make-ahead with this, I’d recommend just adding a few eggs into the rice and scrambling them in a little well in the center of the pan because, while admittedly less exciting than the yolk waterfall, scrambled eggs will re-heat much better than runny fried eggs. It’s more like Chinese fried rice that way, but no problem. It tastes very amazing and will reheat really nicely for lunches all week.
Kimchi: yes/no? Anyone in the audience who is gonna inspire us all by telling us that they MAKE THEIR OWN KIMCHI? You guys would. I so knew that you would.
PS. Here’s the link for those meal prep containers!
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Kimchi Fried Rice
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 5–6 servings (about a cup each) 1x
Description
Kimchi Fried Rice FTW! Cauliflower rice, frozen peas and carrots, fresh garlic and ginger, soy sauce, chili paste, a forkful of kimchi, and finished with a runny yolk waterfall. A new kind of comfort food.
Ingredients
Scale
- a swish of oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- a spoonful of fresh crushed ginger
- 2–3 cups leftover cooked rice or cauliflower rice
- 2 cups frozen peas and carrots
- 1 cup kimchi (more or less to taste)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (more to taste)
- 3 beaten eggs
- 1–2 tablespoons chili paste or sriracha for topping
- sesame oil and/or sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
- Aromatics: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the garlic and ginger until fragrant.
- Main Stuff: Add the rice, peas and carrots, kimchi, and soy sauce. Stir-fry for a few minutes or until everything is warmed and sizzling.
- Eggs: Make a well in the center and add the eggs. Scramble the eggs in the center of the pan and then mix them throughout the rice.
- Finishing: Serve with chili paste, sesame oil, sesame seeds, green onions, whatevs kinda thing you like.
Notes
An alternate way to do the eggs would be to fry them individually and top each serving with a fried egg! This is preferable, in my opinion, but doesn’t always keep well for leftovers.
If you use cauliflower rice, add that just before the eggs. Cauliflower rice really only needs 2-3 minutes in the pan whereas everything else probably takes 5-8 minutes.
I normally just use olive oil. A neutral tasting oil would work, too. Sesame oil has a low smoke point so it usually isn’t recommended as an oil for stir-fries (just for adding flavor at the end).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Asian-Inspired
Keywords: kimchi fried rice, kimchi recipe, fried rice recipe
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our best healthy spring recipes page. Check it out!
Filed Under: All Recipes Carrot Cauliflower Dairy-Free Healthy Quick and Easy Rice Sugar Free January Sugar-Free Vegetarian Winter
January 15, 2018
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
Did you make a recipe? Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram so we can find you!
Oh this fried rice looks AMAZING! I love kimchi renditions, so I’m excited to try this one out! xo
OMG Yum!!! I’m always looking for different ways to use kimchi. I’m headed to the store now and totally going to pick some up to make this!
Where can I find those glass dishes? Perfect for bringing lunch to work.
I was wondering the same thing!
She posted it in a previous recipe: https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Meal-Prep-Containers-Compartment/dp/B01M0FE59Y/ref=as_at/?imprToken=zh3Z.U3OOA7qXJ7EPwEARw&slotNum=0&ascsub&ie=UTF8&keywords=meal+prep+containers+glass&qid=1511798573&sr=8-5&linkCode=sl1&tag=recipepost-20&linkId=0e9425845ae3e7cd764dd96c272b4b85
Top with a little crumbled bacon to kick things up a notch. Also, frying the kimchi first will give a deeper flavor and make the whole dish so much better. I make my own kimchi, but save it for straight up eating. I purchase the kimchi I use for cooking.
Lindsay,
I’ve been making my own kimchee for years, usually with Napa cabbage and Korean chile powder, both of which I highly recommend to get authentic taste. I have tried a new-to-me recipe that is easy enough for a first-time try:
https://www.makesauerkraut.com/kimchi/#wprm-recipe-container-7504
What exactly is “crushed ginger”?
I know minced, diced, graded, and micro plane. How exactly do you crush it?
Yes, yes and YES! I love everything about this! Cannot wait to try it. YUM.
I have a special weakness for fried rice and such a different way to eat kimchi. I can’t wait to make this 🙂
Alexis | Simple Health Style
http://simplehealthstyle.com
whole foods, really? time to visit a korean grocery
Kimchi anything is a total win for me. And yup, I make my own—just made a new batch this weekend. Very easy, really. If you want to try it, definitely check out Maangchi. Her kimchi is the best I’ve ever tried (I’ve adapted mine slightly from her basic recipe).
OMG – my mouth started watering the second I saw that headline. I love kimchi & that looks absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
thanks for the recommendation on kimchi! I’ve never bought it before, but I do love it. I’ll have to check out that brand at whole foods!
Can’t wait to make this recipe!
http://Www.themilestraveled.com
I love kimchi fried rice, and I love your take on it!! I always buy the super spicy version, and it tastes delicious with rice 🙂
I am new to kimchi but have always wanted to try it. This will be a great recipe to give a whirl. Thanks for sharing!
Hope you enjoy it!
Cool recipe. You can use gochujang which is a Korean red chili paste instead. I buy mine at the grocery store. Your recipe sounds interesting, especially the use of kimchi, something I’ve always wanted to try.
Thanks for the tip, Analida!
Yep, I do make my own kimchi 🙂 i have for about a year. I started because… I’m crazy and like to cook/wait for cabbage to release water for 8 hours… and because it’s so much cheaper! And all my friends, Koreans included, say its the best they’ve ever had
This inspired me to make another batch!
Why yes, I do indeed make my own kimchi! A dear friend of mine grew up in the Philippines before moving to America to be with her new family, which is when we met! While in the Philippines, she ate a lot of kimchi and it’s still her favorite food. I love cooking, especially for presents, so I had this brilliant idea to make kimchi for her birthday last year! I didn’t enjoy it so much, but she ate it all before it even finished fermenting! I stick to the kimchi at Korean restaurants, haha. I like that this recipe doesn’t call for a lot of fancy sauces; back-pocket meals like these are just perfect for me! Thanks for another great post, Lindsay! <3
nicely different recipe, have never had kimchi fried rice, have though had it in other dishes, years ago, nice recipe to re-prise my relationship with it, thank you!
YUM!!
We make our own kimchi! Super easy and seriously delicious – actually, we make a double batch and eat some of it before it’s fermented – it’s like some strange version of coleslaw? But really good! We make ours with napa cabbage – we’ve tried both, but the plain cabbage just isn’t as yummy. We do mix some purple in with the Napa sometimes, but just for color and texture. We also put in daikon radishes, carrots, and sometimes regular radishes. You should absolutely go for it – it’s not hard at all!!
Also!! You NEED to try kimchi soup!! I would love to see your version if you do try it!
Just funny: we now have a “kimchi jar” which is, I think, 2 gallons? We can’t make any less or we finish it in one sitting! (Family of 10 )
Wow! That is amazing!!
This is a great meal for a busy week night dinner.
I love kimchi, it gives a lot of flavor.
Thanks for sharing. Have a great day!
Made this tonight, couldn’t wait. It was so good and almost too easy! I had to resist complicating it and kept it simple.
I don’t like most fried rice because I find it too boring to be a meal, but my husband loves kimchi fried rice and we both seriously enjoyed this.
Glad you both enjoyed it!
I have been making my own kimchi for a few months now since we go through it so quickly and it’s not cheap! I went through a jar in a week! We had kimchi fried rice in Hawaii last year and it’s been a new go-to for me since. Great idea with the fried egg!!
The first time I tried kimchi was in Korea… and I DIDN’T LIKE IT! I don’t know what happened along the way, but now I think it is great food. This dish looks awesome.
In terms of making kimchi, I don’t do it, but I suspect it wouldn’t be that hard. just a lil’ pickling with the right ingredients.
Just made kimchi this weekend! It’s a big deal in Korean culture, and in the old days every family had their own recipe and style. When I was growing up our kimchi fried rice would have more Korean veggies like shiitake mushrooms and green onion, plus literally *any* leftovers
Oh goodness, this is heavenly mouthwatering! I want to try it as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe 🙂