Kimchi Bokkeumbap

Fried rice that needs the rice cold and a day old, because fresh rice steams instead of frying.

Pork, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains fish sauce, pork.

Ingredients

• 500 g cooked short-grain rice, cold and a day old
• 300 g kimchi, as on its own page, chopped
• 4 tablespoons kimchi brine from the jar
• 150 g pork belly or bacon, diced
• 1 tablespoon gochujang
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 sheet gim, crumbled
• toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. THE RICE MUST BE COLD AND A DAY OLD. Overnight in the fridge the grains firm up and dry out slightly, so they separate and fry. Fresh rice is soft and full of water: put in a hot pan it steams, clumps and goes to paste, and there is no amount of stirring or extra oil that fixes it. This is the one dish on this site that is better made from leftovers than from scratch, and if you have no cold rice the honest answer is to cook some today and make this tomorrow.
2. THE RICE IS BROKEN UP WITH WET HANDS BEFORE IT GOES IN. A day in the fridge leaves it in a solid block, and breaking it in the pan means half of it is overcooked by the time the rest has separated.
3. THE KIMCHI IS FRIED IN THE PORK FAT BEFORE THE RICE, the same as the kimchi jjigae on this site and for the same reason: raw kimchi in a fried rice tastes sharp and thin, and five minutes in fat concentrates it.
4. THE BRINE GOES IN TOO and is most of the seasoning. Four tablespoons from the jar, added with the gochujang, and then the dish is tasted before any salt goes near it.
5. AND THE PAN IS HOT AND NOT CROWDED. Two portions at a time at most. More than that and the temperature falls, and a fried rice that is not frying is a steamed rice with things in it.
6. Rice taken out of the fridge and BROKEN UP with wet hands into separate grains.
7. Pork fried in a wide pan over a medium-high heat 4 minutes until the fat runs and the edges crisp.
8. The kimchi and garlic added and FRIED 5 MINUTES until it darkens and starts to catch.
9. The gochujang and sugar stirred in, 1 minute.
10. The kimchi brine poured in and bubbled away almost completely.
11. THE HEAT UP HIGH and the rice added, then pressed and turned rather than stirred, 4 to 5 minutes, until it is hot through and some of it is catching on the pan.
12. The sesame oil stirred through off the heat. Tasted -- it will probably need no salt.
13. Pressed into the pan and left undisturbed 1 minute for a crust on the base, which is the best part.
14. Divided between warm bowls. A fried egg with a soft yolk set on each, and the spring onions, crumbled gim and sesame seeds scattered over.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under South Korea · All recipes