If you've never had Kimchi Fried Rice let me be the first to say, welcome to your new normal.
Kimchi Fried Rice has been a way of life in our house for the past 12 months or so. This is by no means the FIRST time you're seeing it on the interwebs I'm sure. But I'm confident after months of making recipes from other cookbooks, that this is the best. A lot of the Kimchi Fried Rice recipes didn't have enough kimchi, or enough of the scallion salad on top, and I needed more! I needed more flavor and more zip. And so I did what any respectable person would do.... I changed it and made it better for all of us!
First let's talk kimchi. If you've never tried it before, don't be freaked out. It's basically just fermented vegetables. Easy right? The most commonly used veggies being napa cabbage and radishes and then there's a bunch of seasonings that go into the mix including including scallions, garlic, ginger and gochugaru which is essentially chili powder. Nothing too shocking right?
The kimchi gets sautéed with onions and garlic and leftover rice (white or brown works) and seasoned to perfection. Then it gets topped with the VERY important scallion salad and you can add a fried or poached egg on top if you're feeling jazzy. It's literally dinner in under 20 minutes and it's great on it's own or on the side with some grilled meats or fish! The leftovers are out of this world too. Prepare yourselves, your kimchi consumption is about to go through the ROOF.
Kimchi Fried Rice
Ingredients
Scallion Salad
- 8 scallions white and pale green parts only
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Gaby’s This is Everything Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Fried Rice
- 1 16- oz jar cabbage kimchi including juice
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- Kosher salt
- 4 cups day-old cooked white or brown rice
- 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari, plus more as needed
- 1-2 tablespoons Gaby’s This is Everything Seasoning
Instructions
- Slice scallions into rounds or matchsticks. Combine with the remaining ingredients. Set aside.
- Drain kimchi, reserving the juice. Chop finely the kimchi and set aside. In a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onions and cook until translucent, around 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds more. Turn heat to high and add kimchi. Cook for 6-8 minutes until the edges become crispy and kimchi begins to stick to the pan.
- Add the rice into the wok, and use a wooden spoon to break up the chunks. Add in the reserved kimchi juice and mix until well combined.
- Turn off heat and drizzle the mixture soy sauce. Taste and adjust as needed.
- Transfer fried rice to a bowl, top with scallion salad, and sprinkle with This is Everything seasoning.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson // Recipe by Gaby
Hi Gaby!!
Congrats on the bebe! I was going to serve this with shrimp. Any suggestions on how to cook the shrimp?
Thanks!
use this as a guide https://whatsgabycooking.com/perfect-shrimp-every-time/
Tasty! I topped mine with a fried egg but I love the idea of shrimp on top. Word to the wise I had to use the Trader Joes everything but the bagel seasoning but its pretty salty so if you have to use it I would reduce the soy sauce.
So delicious! So glad I started following Gaby. She has sparked joy and inspiration in the kitchen for me! I've already made this kimchi fried rice a couple times and will definitely be making it again soon.
I will definitely give this a whirl, luckily I have my mother-in-law"s kimchi, I can't wait, will have to cook rice first of all and make it stale for a day or two, right? And oh get This is Everything seasoning from WS
you can make the rice ahead, or just make it morning of and let it dry out a bit
Delicious and so quick to cook. Paired it with some spicy shrimp instead of an egg. This recipe will definitely be added into the rotation for busy weeknights.
Hi Kristy,
How did you prepare your shrimp? Thanks!
Lara
Hi Gaby, this looks amazing! I live in South Africa and would love to make this, but can’t buy your spice here. What would be a good substitute?
I ordered the all 3 kit of your spices. and the only recipe I found with the Everything so far is the Kimchi Rice..I'd like to know if you have a list or where can I look for the recipes for all 3 spice mixes.
tons on my site! But I'll make a list and post this week. THANK YOU!!!!
Amazing!! And so easy! Thank you !!!
I’ll be honest, I have long despised kimchi but felt like giving it another try because your recipe looked good. I’m sooooo glad I did. This was so yum! The addition of this is everything and scallion salad is perfect! I topped mine with a fried egg too. Adding this to my easy weeknight rotation. Thank you!
How many people does this serve?
4-6
Do you have a recommendation for a kimichi brand?
I like the MOTHERS brand!! Whole Foods