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.

Hello world! I returned from spring break in Dominican Republic about two weeks ago, and I finally found time to start writing again. While it was nice to be back in the city, I would be lying if I said that I enjoyed the cold weather and homework assignments waiting for me upon my return. I definitely have a lot more self control in what I eat in NYC though since food here isn’t all-inclusive. (But then there is still the ever-present issue of my binge eating while studying…)

Before I had set flight for the DR, we had Jihyun’s birthday celebration at NY Kom Tang Soot Bul Kal Bi in Koreatown. This Korean restaurant was one I had passed numerous times but never really noticed. The place is known for its old-fashioned charcoal grilling, with the meat grilled right at your table if you order two portions or more. There are two floors to the restaurant, and the staff politely greeted and seated us upstairs before our entire party arrived. The prices were on par, if not a dollar or two cheaper, with other restaurants in Koreatown.

The key to being treated well in Koreatown (which I will refer to as Ktown from now on) is to go with Koreans. There was a good variety in the ban chan served (the complimentary small side dishes of food that out before your meal), and with Ji on our side, we managed to get seconds (and even thirds of that cold crab!).

The pickled julienne daikon and seaweed are always crowd pleasers, and the egg/mayonaise/apple dish also offered a surprising blend of yolky texture and sweet flavor. Erring on the fiscally conservative side for the night, I went for the Gobdol Bibimbab as my main entree, which is beef, egg, vegetables with rice in a hot stone pot.

Birthday girl ordered Kalbi Gui, prime short ribs marinated in Korean barbecue sauce, and Naeng Myun, ice cooked vermicelli noodles in soup with thin slices of beef with cucumbers, pears, and radish.

I tried some of the Naeng Myun after Ji mixed in some vinegar – not the biggest fan of the dish, though it was probably because I dislike vinegar in my noodles or soup.

Always the meat lover, Carson chose the Lajoki, fried sesame chicken and assorted vegetables served with sauce. He ordered the dish just in time, because for some reason the restaurant stops making it after 10pm. The dish reminded me of sesame chicken from a Chinese restaurant, tasty but nothing too remarkable.

Iris ordered the Kimchi Chigae vegetarian-style, a kimchi and sliced tofu casserole served with rice.

My Gobdol Bibimbab came with a raw egg on top, which I always enjoy mixing with the piping hot rice and then scraping the slightly burned crispy rice off the bottom of the stone pot. The spicy/sweet red sauce is a must-add for flavor, but for some reason, my dish just didn’t taste as appetizing as I had envisioned despite the amount of sauce stirred in. While no one at our table had meat grilled at the table, smoke entwined with the essence of beef and game constantly billowed over from the adjacent tables.

I ended up leaving the restaurant with my little doggy bag of half-eaten bibimbab, full from ban chan and infused with smoke. Overall a decent experience, though I think I’m going to lay off the bibimbab for a while.

32 W 32nd St
(between 5th Ave & Broadway)
New York, NY 10001
(212) 947-8482