Kimchi fried rice (Kimchi-bokkeumbap 김치볶음밥) - AFF Korea Apr 2014

I must declare that I have never eaten Kimchi Fried Rice before, but after eating this, I'm totally hooked that I cooked the fried rice two days in a week! It's so appetising that I forgot my carbo intake restriction and ate one mouth after another.

The fried rice is so easy to cook, very little ingredients required, yet tasted very good. It's slightly sweet, tangy and spicy, with crunchiness of kimchi cabbage, juicy pork belly and accentuated with the fragrance of toasted white sesame seeds. I owe it to the magic sauce, gochujang hot pepper sauce, no other seasonings required =D I think this is also an excellent recipe to use up bits of kimchi and leftover meat like pork, chicken or beef. Definitely my go-to fried rice recipe from now onwards.

Kimchi fried rice (Kimchi-bokkeumbap 김치볶음밥)
(recipe adapted from Maangchi)
(serves 1 if eaten on its own, or 2 with other dishes)

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup kimchi (about 65g), chopped into small pieces
• 50g pork belly, cut into small and thin slices (I lightly marinate the pork with some soy sauce, white pepper and chinese cooking wine for 15 mins)
• 1 bowl steamed rice (I use cooked rice left overnight, mixture of thai jasmine, brown and red rice)
• 2 tbsp kimchi juice
• 1 tbsp hot pepper sauce (gochujang)
• Water (if necessary)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 stalk spring onion
• 1 tbsp white sesame seed, lightly toasted
• Some shredded seaweed, lighted toasted

Steps

1. Heat up a frying pan on medium heat, add 1/2 tsp of oil.
2. Add the kimchi and stir fry for 1 minute.
3. Add the pork and stir fry till the meat changes colour/half cooked.
4. Add the rice, kimchi juice and gochujang. Stir fry all the ingredients together for another 7-8 mins. Add some water if the fried rice seems too dry. I didn't add.
5. Add sesame oil and spring onion. Mix well with the rice and off the heat.
6. Scoop rice in serving bowl and sprinkle generously with toasted white sesame seed and shredded seaweed. Best serve warm.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: Korea, hosted by Sharon of Feats of Feasts.