Kimchi Fried Rice (Bokkeumbap)

Day-old rice gets jazzed up with spicy flavors and bright colors. Kimchi fried rice is commonly topped with fried egg but you can add cooked meat too and serve it tapsilog-style!

We used to make this dish to salvage leftover kimchi which was cut into small pieces then stir fried with day-old rice. These days, whenever we buy kimchi, a portion gets reserved for making kimchi fried rice. That’s how much we have learned to appreciate this basic but flavor-packed rice bowl meal.

I did not invent the recipe kimchi fried rice, of course. Kimchi bokkeumbap is popular in Korea as it is simple and very inexpensive to make. There are many variants of kimchi bokkeumbap; some include meat and seafood.

In this version of kimchi fried rice, I added snow peas. Then, I served the dish Filipino style. Think tapsilog but spicier and more boldly colored.

Kimchi Fried Rice (Bokkeumbap)

A Korean dish is served Filipino style to make a complete breakfast dish that resembles tapsilog.

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Course: Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine: Korean

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Author: Connie Veneracion

Ingredients

For the meat component

• 500 grams beef or pork sliced thinly (think bacon!)
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated garlic
• ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil divided

To cook the kimchi fried rice

• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 small small onion chopped
• 12 snow peas trimmed (and cut into halves if large)
• 1 cup kimchi chopped
• 3 to 4 cups day-old rice
• 3 to 4 tablespoons kimchi juice
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste (optional_

To complete the dish

• 4 eggs fried sunny side up

Instructions

Cook the meat

• Cut the meat into narrow strips and dump into a mixing bowl.
• Add the soy sauce, pepper, grated garlic and sugar to the meat and mix well working the seasonings into the meat with your hand.
• Heat two tablespoons cooking oil in a frying pan.
• Spread the seasoned meat in the hot oil and allow to the underside to brown. Stir to break apart and continue cooking until lightly browned. Set aside and keep warm.

Cook the kimchi fried rice

• In the same frying pan, heat the remaining cooking oil.
• Saute the garlic and onion.
• Add the kimchi and cook until heated through.
• Throw in the rice.
• Drizzle in the kimchi juice. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper, if using.
• Stir fry until the rice is heated through.

Serve the kimchi fried rice

• Ladle the kimchi fried rice into bowls. Top with fried eggs and, optionally, cooked meat.
• Serve the kimchi fried rice immediately.

Cook’s Notes

This is an updated version of a recipe originally published on November 8, 2014.

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