Simple, delicious and foolproof - that's the beauty of kimchi fried rice ? Whether you're looking for an easy yet flavourful meal to make or just wanting to satisfy your Korean cravings, this dish is perfect for you.
There are plenty of recipe variations on kimchi fried rice online, but as long as you have the basic ingredients like rice, kimchi and a few key pantry essentials that are important for Korean cuisine (e.g sesame oil, gochujang and gochugaru), you're good to go! Of course, you're more than welcome to add other things that you can find in your kitchen, which is what you'll see in the recipe that we've shared with you below. And if you're looking for more easy Korean recipes to make, we've rounded them up in this article so make sure to check them out!
Note: We've included a few places online where you can find halal versions of the Korean ingredients you may need for this recipe. Do note that some items may be sold out online, but you can follow the seller or add them to your wishlist so you're notified as soon as it's back in stock!
Ingredients (serves 2)
- ¾ cup of diced kimchi (you can find halal kimchi on Shopee Malaysia and Singapore's Fairprice or you can make your own kimchi by following this tutorial by Maangchi! ?)
- ¼ small onion
- 1 scallion chopped
- 1 small carrot finely chopped
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp gochujang (you can find halal gochujang on Shopee Malaysia)
- 2 ½ cup of cooked rice
- Oil for stir-frying
- ½ tbsp sesame oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: Meat, dried seaweed, egg and gochugaru (you can find halal gochugaru on Shopee Malaysia and Shopee Singapore)
Directions
- Chop and dice the scallion, onion, carrot and kimchi.
- Lightly oil your skillet and heat it over medium-high heat. Then toss your onion and scallion in and stir-fry quickly over high heat.
- Add the kimchi, carrots, soy sauce and gochujang. Stir-fry for about 3 to 4 minutes until the kimchi turns soft.
- Add the rice and reduce the heat to medium-low. Break up any clumps of rice and stir until everything is well incorporated.
- Turn up the heat once again and continue to fry. Give it a little taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference with salt, pepper and sesame oil.
- Garnish with chopped scallion and top with the optional fried egg or dried seaweed.
Tips and tricks:
- Whenever you make a stir-fry of any kind, it’s always best to prep most of your ingredients in advance and scoot them into a pile on your cutting board.
- Use day old rice for better texture and so you can avoid any sogginess when cooking the dish. If you're using freshly cooked rice, chill it in the fridge first for 5 to 10 minutes or spread the rice on a sheet pan at room temperature. It should be cool enough to touch before frying.
- If your day old rice is a little too hard after being in the fridge, heat it up in the microwave. Then, break it up before stir-frying with the kimchi.
- To make your dish spicier, add more gochugaru instead of gochujang. Too much gochujang will make your kimchi fried rice too salty.
- If using raw meat, season it with salt and pepper (a small amount of garlic works too!). Cook the meat first before stir-frying it with the kimchi.
Now that you see how easy it is to whip up a perfectly yummy bowl of kimchi fried rice, it's time to throw on your apron and get to making some for yourself! Happy cooking ?
Looking for more halal Korean products? We've got you covered with these articles: