This quick and easy Kimchi Fried Rice is the perfect balance of savory and spicy flavors. Perfect as a side dish or on its own. It’s made with pantry staples and is the perfect meal on busy nights as it comes together in less than 30 minutes!
Kimchi Fried Rice is one of my go-to meals as all the ingredients are things I typically have on hand. It’s one of my husband’s favorites, which is perfect for busy weeknights when you need dinner to come together quickly. During the past few years, I’ve gotten deep into Korean cooking and by doing so, have ordered this dish at many restaurants and have made many, many different Kimchi Fried Rice recipes. So my recipe is a culmination of the many that I’ve tried and is the best balance of the flavors my family and I enjoy. I hope you love it as well!
Ingredients
- Short or medium grain rice: I typically use Jasmine rice, however, the Jasmine rice I use is typically a shorter grain than normal. I recommend using either short or medium grain rice for the best fried rice texture. The texture of long grain rice will be different, but would still work!
- Butter: Traditionally, it doesn’t seem like butter is an ingredient that is always used in Kimchi Fried Rice, but I love the richness it adds. However, butter has a strong flavor and can be overpowering, so I don’t recommend adding too much. If you don’t enjoy the flavor of the butter at all, I suggest using a neutral oil like avocado oil in its place.
- Spam: Other proteins like pork belly or beef can be used in place of Spam, but something about that salty Spam flavor hits the spot in Kimchi Fried Rice.
- Kimchi: How spicy the Kimchi Fried Rice will be depends on how spicy the kimchi that’s used is. I recommend using more fermented kimchi and not fresh kimchi for this recipe as the more fermented kimchi adds much more flavor and tang.
- Onion: Other vegetables can be added as well as long as they are chopped up into small pieces. I typically only add in an onion since I like to keep the flavors focused on the kimchi.
- Seasonings: Kimchi juice, sugar, soy sauce (low sodium), and sesame oil are used to season this fried rice — super simple! The secret is to add the kimchi juice, but to keep cooking until the liquid has evaporated before adding in the rice. This keeps the fried rice from being too sour and wet! I suggest starting with the listed amount of soy sauce and adding more as needed.
- Eggs: Optional, but technically a necessity because what is Kimchi Fried Rice without a pan-fried egg with a runny yolk on top!
- Toppings: Green onions for freshness and sesame seeds are optional!
Kimchi Fried Rice
This quick and easy Kimchi Fried Rice is the perfect balance of savory and spicy flavors. Perfect as a side dish or on its own. It's made with pantry staples and is the perfect meal on busy nights as it comes together in less than 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked short or medium grain white rice (preferably day old rice from fridge) = 2 cups uncooked rice
- 2 tbsp butter or avocado oil
- 6 oz (1/2 can) spam, diced
- 1 large onion, small diced
- 2 cups kimchi, diced/cut up
- 1/4 cups kimchi juice
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp seasame oil
- 4 eggs
- 2 green onions, diced
- sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Heat up 2 tbsp of butter (or avocado oil) in a nonstick pan on medium heat until the butter is fully melted.
- Add 6 oz (1/2 can) of diced Spam to the pan and cook until the edges start to turn brown and crispy (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add in 1 diced onion and stir until the edges of the onions are turning translucent (about 1-2 minutes).
- Add in 2 cups of chopped up kimchi, 1/4 cup of kimchi juice, and 1/2 tsp sugar, stirring and cooking until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the kimchi has cooked through (~6-7 minutes).
- Add in 4 cups of cooked rice and mix thoroughly with the kimchi mixture until everything is homogenous.
- Once everything is mixed well, add in 1 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of sesame oil and mix again until even. Add more soy sauce and sesame oil to taste.
- While the rice is cooking, pan fry the eggs sunny side up and remove from the heat.