Kimchi-bokkeumbap
Day-old rice stir-fried with sour kimchi, a little Spam and a spoonful of gochujang, then crowned with a fried egg and crushed seaweed: the meal Koreans make when the fridge looks empty. About 20 minutes for two.
- Time
- 20 min
- Level
- Easy
- Spice
- Serves
- 2
What is Kimchi-bokkeumbap?
WHAT IT IS
Kimchi-bokkeumbap is rice stir-fried with chopped sour kimchi and a little of its juice, often with Spam, bacon or tuna, and usually topped with a fried egg. It's one of the quickest meals in a Korean kitchen, made from two things almost every home has on hand: kimchi and leftover rice.
WHERE IT COMES FROM
Kimchi-bokkeumbap has no recorded inventor or date. It's an everyday home and snack-bar dish rather than a court or holiday one, and while the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture has an entry for kimchi-jjigae, it has none for kimchi fried rice. In 2014 the National Institute of Korean Language included it among 200 major Korean dishes, standardizing its English name as Kimchi Fried Rice.
Sources:National Institute of Korean Language (한식명 표준 번역, 2014)Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (김치찌개)
Ingredients
재료Each Korean item has a substitute, in case you can’t get to a store.
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- 2½ cups (about 400 g)Cooked short-grain rice, ideally a day old 밥
CJ Hetbahn Cooked White Rice · 7.4 oz × 12
Substitute: Freshly cooked hot rice turns mushy. If that's all you have, spread it on a tray for 15 minutes to cool and dry, or use microwavable cooked rice.
Check price on Amazon Amazon US - 1 cup chopped (about 5 oz / 150 g), plus 3 tbsp of its juiceWell-fermented (sour) napa cabbage kimchi 신김치
Substitute: The sourer the kimchi, the better the fried rice. If it's very sour, add a pinch of sugar in step 3.
Search on Amazon Amazon US - 4 oz (115 g), about ⅓ can (optional)Spam, diced 스팸
SPAM Classic · 12 oz can
Substitute: Bacon, ham or a drained can of tuna are all popular in Korea too. Or leave the meat out and let the kimchi carry the dish.
Check price on Amazon Amazon US - 2Scallions: whites chopped, greens sliced for the top 대파Any grocer
- 1 tbspGochujang 고추장
CJ Haechandle Gochujang (Hot Pepper Paste) · 500 g
Substitute: It adds color and a little sweetness. Don't add more for heat, which makes the rice salty; use gochugaru instead.
Check price on Amazon Amazon US - 1–2 tspGochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) 고춧가루
Taekyung Red Pepper Powder · 1 lb
Substitute: Skip it for a milder plate.
Check price on Amazon Amazon US - 2 tspSoy sauce 간장
Sempio Korean Soy Sauce, Rich and Delicate · 860 ml
Check price on Amazon Amazon US - 2 tbspCooking oil 식용유In your pantry
- 2 tspToasted sesame oil 참기름
Otoki Premium Roasted Sesame Oil · 10.82 fl oz
Check price on Amazon Amazon US - 2Eggs 달걀Any grocer
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- A pinch of sugar if the kimchi is very sour, salt to taste and toasted sesame seedsIn your pantry
Method
만드는 법Sources we compared:Korean Bapsang10000recipe10000recipe
- 1
Prep the kimchi and Spam
Put the kimchi in a bowl and snip it into small pieces with kitchen scissors, keeping all the juice; chopping it on a board stains the board and loses the juice. Dice the Spam into ½-inch cubes. Chop the scallion whites and slice the greens separately.
Cold, day-old rice is drier, so it fries into separate grains instead of a sticky clump.
- 2
Make scallion oil and brown the Spam
Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallion whites and stir for about 1 minute, until they sizzle and smell sweet. Add the Spam and fry for 2–3 minutes, until the edges turn golden.
- 3
Fry the kimchi
Add the kimchi and stir-fry for 3–4 minutes, until it turns soft and slightly translucent. Stir in the gochujang, gochugaru and kimchi juice. Push everything to one side, pour the soy sauce onto the bare spot of the pan, let it bubble for a few seconds, then stir it through.
Letting the soy sauce sizzle on the hot pan first gives it a toasty aroma.
- 4
Fold in the rice
Turn the heat down to medium and add the rice. Break up the clumps and fold it through with a spatula, using a cutting motion rather than mashing, for 3–4 minutes, until every grain is evenly red. Turn the heat up for the last minute to toast the rice a little, taste and add salt if needed, then turn off the heat and stir in the sesame oil.
- 5
Top with egg and seaweed
In another pan, fry the eggs sunny side up, keeping the yolks runny. Divide the rice between two plates, top each with an egg, and finish with crushed gim, sesame seeds and the scallion greens. Break the yolk and mix it into the rice as you eat.
For the cheesy version popular at Korean snack bars, lay a slice of cheese or a handful of mozzarella over the rice in the pan, cover for a minute until it melts, and serve straight from the pan.
Say it in Korean
한국어로 말해 보세요For a bunsik snack bar or a Korean diner.
Cookware you’ll need
조리 도구Any large skillet or wok works. This is the 12-inch nonstick pan we link to (for gas and electric stoves, not induction).
