I tried Korean food for the first time in college, and immediately fell in love. I’ve continued to try different restaurants and different Korean dishes over the years, and have loved them all. Thankfully, my husband loves Korean food, too, so we enjoy it often enough! We normally try for all you can eat Korean barbecue… we looove bulgogi and kalbi (we love our beef). On one of our more recent visits to a delicious Korean restaurant that seemed like a hole in the wall, I had the privilege of trying kimchi fried rice for the first time. It was so simple, and so tasty, and it even had a fried egg on top, which makes everything better! This is perfect for a side dish or a quick lunch.
September is National Rice Month! To see more rice recipes, check out the blog hop over at Mis Pensamientos!
1½ cups kimchi, chopped
4-6 bacon strips
2 cups cooked rice, heated
2 tablespoons kimchi juice
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Black pepper
2 eggs, optional
Scallions for garnish, chopped, optional
Dice the bacon strips into small pieces; set aside. In a large frying pan over medium heat, brown the bacon pieces until crisp. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel lined plate; set aside.
Remove some of the bacon fat from the pan, leaving about one or two tablespoons. Add the chopped kimchi to the pan and sauté them well until nice and tender, about 5 minutes. Add rice and mix well with the kimchi. Add the kimchi juice to moisten the fried rice. Continue to stir until heated through.
Turn off the heat. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and the bacon pieces; mix well. Season with black pepper.
In a small skillet, fry eggs sunny side up or over easy (whichever you prefer). Place on top of the fried rice. Serve immediately.
Source: Adapted from Beyond Kimchee
You know, I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten Korean food. I’m sure we’ll get there on our family adventure at some point, but maybe I should try it out before then. This looks delicious!
It’s definitely worth trying sooner versus later!! Maybe fate will step in and Korea will be the next place picked out on the globe! 🙂
I love korean food…it’s actually my fave type. My fiance always complains when I have kimchi on the side of dinner cuz it stinks so bad…but it tastes so good!!! Hehe.
Haha guess it’s a good thing my husband loves kimchi too then! And look at you, already in the habit of calling him your fiance 😀
Korean food is so awesome. There was a really good Korean restaurant in the town I used to live in… serving delicious bibimbap in a hot stone bowl, and I know another Korean BBQ in Paris which is just the *best*. They seem to assume that “white people” don’t like spicy stuff so they never give us the spicier accompaniments which come with the meal normally – kimchi, fresh garlic and chillies etc – they always look so surprised when I ask for them, although I think it’s because French people aren’t known for eating too much spicy stuff.
Love kimchi fried rice – Yours looks great, especially with the fried egg on top – perfect quick meal, and SO full of flavour!
Thankfully, I never have to ask for the sides, but I do have to ask for chopsticks sometimes because they just assume and give me a fork. One of the owners of a Korean restaurant we went to was completely surprised by how much I love the kimchi tofu soup, and even commented on it! hehe
I’m with ya and love Korean food. Unfortunately, my favorite Korean restaurant closed 2 years ago and I’ve yet to find a worthy replacement … but I will!
Oh no, good luck!! I don’t think I could go two years without Korean food….
Hi Stefanie, and thanks again for stopping by my foodie blog. I just had to come visit yours and see what type of food interests you. And much to my happy surprise I see kimchi! I simply adore kimchi. My two (adopted) sons, now both grown, were born in Korea and they still love their Korean food. It’s not easily found in the UK, but thanks to my youngest son, he’s found a Korean shop in Brighton were he can buy it. He often brings me a big, vacuum-packed bag of it, and then I’m in heaven.
You have a lovely blog here. Very enjoyable read and good photos! 😀
Thank you so much for stopping by! I’m glad you enjoyed yourself 🙂 That’s so unfortunate that you can’t find Korean food… buy a big tub of kimchi and try making your own! That’s what I do when I can’t go out and get it, and it satisfies that craving for the most part!
I just searched your site here for a kimchi recipe but couldn’t find one. Lots of references to including kimchi in recipes but not one specifically for it. Do you have one that you could post here?
I have never actually made kimchi before, which I suppose I should try at some point, but I have Asian markets around me where I can buy it in big tubs and it lasts forever. Here are two blogs that have recipes for kimchi that you might want to check out. Beyond Kimchee has a 3 step process for making it, as well as cucumber kimchi and a couple others if you check her recipe index. Eating and living also has a recipe that you can check out here. I hope this helps you!
This looks amazing! and I love the egg on top which really caught my attention! I’m not familiar with kimchi but I’m always eager to learn new things!
Kimchi is fermented cabbage, and it’s a condiment used with Korean food, though there are many dishes centered around kimchi. By itself, it has some bite to it… both spice and tang, but when mixed in with something it becomes more subtle. It’s definitely interesting to try, if you’ve never had it before!
That would be such a great lunch, looks delicious! I love topping dishes with eggs, especially when it’s somewhat unexpected, like on a pizza. Always adds such great flavor!
Thank you! I’m a firm believer that egg makes everything better 😛 I recently had egg on a pizza, and that was amazing too!
Thanks for the referral to BeyondKimchee. I really like that blog. 😀
kimchi rice is a classic in korean culture. 🙂 totally submit this to our #ricelove bloghop so others can find this post 🙂 http://juniakk.blogspot.com/2011/09/rice-bloghop-veggie-kimbap-with-korean.html
Thank you, will do!
Saw the title of this post in my Reader and knew it was for me! Can’t wait to make it sometime this week. Cheers!
Let me know what you think of it! It’s so nice to see that so many people like kimchi!!
Just love it!! Quick and easy!!! Love the sunny side up fried eggs on top!!!
Thank you! You gotta love a quick meal! 🙂
My teenager loves spicy food, rice, bacon, etc and to combine it all in one dish- great idea to usual standard fried rice. Looking forward to trying it. I also love the blog hop idea and will look into the details off joining this. Take Care, Bobbi
Let me know what you think of it! And I just came across the blog hop today, so I’ll be looking more into it too. It’s a fun idea though!
I have almost missed your delightful kimchi rice! For me the rice month is every month in a year 😉 I love kimchi, but is sooo expensive here. I once tried making it, but it wasn’t exactly like the one I had in restaurants… I must try once more and once more and maybe I’ll finally manage something I can be proud of!
Hehe it’s so delightful to find kimchi fans! If you look in previous comments, I posted a blog who has recipes to make kimchi so you should check them out! I guess I’m fortunate to find kimchi for such a reasonable price. 🙂
Thank you for a wonderful recipe!! I just tried this last night, yum!! =)
So glad you tried it and liked it! Thanks for posting it, too. Looks great 🙂
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