Recipes: Mama Kwon's Kimchi Fried Rice (김치 볶음밥)

Mom was over at the house yesterday and I couldn't resist having her make me some kimchi fried rice before she left. She explained to me that kimchi fried rice is a dish that everyone loves in Korea. It is a dish probably originated, yet again, in the poorer communities of a way of using up every bit of resource. Kimchi is a fermented cabbage that has iconic state in Korea. There are hundreds of different permutations of the side dish, and every family has their own recipe.

Unfortunately, I don't have the space or time (or permission) to post mama Kwon's kimchi recipe, but I can post this simple recipe for when your stash of kimchi goes past it's prime.

Behchu kimchi (napa cabbage kimchi) is what we're working with here. Kimchi has several stages in it's life cycle. Once it's past it's prime is when there are a couple things you do with it. Make kimchi chigeh (kimchi stew) or make kimchi bokumbap (kimchi fried rice). The dish centers around this over fermented kimchi, and some sort of protein.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb over fermented kimchi
1/2 lb chicken, beef, pork, or tofu (any protein will work)
4 cups day old steamed jasmine or Korean medium grain rice
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 egg per person

Start by cutting up the protein into small half inch cubes removing all the fat and connective tissue. Next chop up the kimchi to small chunks as well, and set both aside. Bring a large frying pan to medium high heat, and add the oil and protein. Cook through. Add the kimchi, and stir fry all of it together for about 2 minutes. Add the cold rice, and incorporate into the kimchi/protein mixture. Stir fry for several minutes until the rice is heated through. Remove the pan from the heat, drizzle the sesame oil over the rice, stir, and eat right away, or heat up another frying pan to fry up your egg. The egg isn't essential to the dish, but is totally worth it.

Bon Appétit!
많이 드세요
-Joe Kwon


Some of you may be asking where to get said ingredients. Well if you find your local korean market you can find both toasted sesame oil as well as kimchi. Make sure you're buying the right kind of kimchi though. There are more than you can imagine.

Comments

[Todd]

Looks delicious. I heard once that Koreans often say kimchi instead of cheese when getting their picture taken, true?

[Joe Kwon]

They do!

[brandi]

This sounds so good! We love fried eggs on just about everything - they make any dish better.

[LeAnne Silver]

This looks really yummy Joe! I love kimchi and its really good for you. Thanks for sharing. What kind of kimchi is he right kind? Should I just look for fermented Korean style?

[Andy Perry]

Joe: What's the significance of the day old rice versus something freshly steamed?

[Joe Kwon]

Holds up better when you fry it.

[Andy Perry]

Gotcha! Makes total sense. I've yet to delve into making fried rice, but kimchi fried rice is one of my favorites so I might have to hit up Super H Mart soon to invest in some kimchi. Thanks for sharing, Joe!

[A@Bigcitykitchen]

This makes me very, very hungry...

I live in San Francisco and the kimchi choices can be a little overwhelming, but it's fun to sample.

[Scott Wink]

I Iike it. I would love to add this to the food interview questions we did with you. I was going to put some Charleston suggestions together for you. If you/y'all want to get together for lunch/brunch on Feb 12th I am sure I can hook something up with a local place to sponsor it.