Korean

I was meant to be Korean. I have no problems snacking on baechu kimchi straight from the jar, and I’m fairly certain I cook more Korean food than Chinese food (when I actually have the chance to make food).

So in the spirit of procrastination, I decided to use my kimchi for some kimchi fried rice (bokumbap). Kimchi is amazing to cook with since it is extremely low calorie and packed with flavor. I mean, honestly, how bad can some fermented cabbage be for you? One should be wary of the sodium level though. A trip to the farmer’s market early in the morning brought back fresh scallions and onions. With my jar of kimchi and leftover spam, I was ready to go. :

Ingredients:

Makes 3 servings.

3 cups of pre-made rice
1 cup kimchi, chopped
1/2 can of spam
½ white onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 scallion (spring onion), chopped
1 egg per serving
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

It’s best if the rice is made the night before and reheated the next day. My leftover takeout rice wasn’t enough for my roommate and myself, so I ended up cooking more and refrigerating it to dry the rice out. You can also omit the spam if you don’t believe in processed meats.

Instructions:

1) Heat up the oil in a wok or large frying pan.
2) Dice up the spam, onion, garlic and throw them into the wok. Cook for about 4 minutes on medum heat.
3) Put in the rice and mix well. Add 1 tbsp of soy sauce.
4) Chop up the kimchi and add that to the wok. Mix well with the rice and spam/onion/garlic.
5) Cook in the wok for about 8 minutes so the rice fully absorbs the fragrant flavors and dries out more. Mix every few minutes, and add in salt and pepper to taste. Red pepper flakes or red chili paste can also be added if you want the rice spicier.
6) Fry the egg in a separate pan. I prefer mine sunny side up so the yolk runs through the fried rice once pierced.
7) Plate the finished fried rice and lay the fried egg on top of the rice.
8) Finish with some fresh scallion garnish.

YUMMY! Simple and delicious, and enough for leftovers =) Aka dinner later.

PS. A little pop culture about kimchi fried rice courtesy of Wikipedia: Since kimchi bokkeumbap is cheap and easy to make in a short period of time, it is favored by students living alone who can not afford expensive meals.

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