Kimchi Fried Rice and Edamame, Carrot & Bacon Fried Rice By Jen Oliak

Will my kids eat Kimchi Fried Rice?  I think not. My kids are the pickiest eaters. They like to eat bland food with ingredients they know.  If I add one item that looks foreign, forget it.  They want cereal instead. It’s hard to make one meal the whole family will eat.

So when I wanted to make Kimchi Fried Rice, I had to think of what else I could make at the same time for the boys.  To make life easier, I decided to use as many ingredients from Kimchi Fried Rice I could, then substitute items to match the boys’ palettes.

Many of you who have young kids may have this problem, so this post focuses on making TWO types of fried rice at the same time.  Yep, two. And I know you can do it because I did. And both recipes are great even if you don’t have kids!

Kimchi Fried Rice

Edamame, Carrot & Bacon Fried Rice

I used edamame and carrots to substitute the kimchi in the fried rice for the kids. The rest of the ingredients are the same.

These dishes are easy to prepare. Are you ready? You are going to love it!

Before I go in depth about the recipe, have you tried kimchi?

Kimchi Nutrition Info

“Kimchi is a traditional fermented Korean delicacy which is made from vegetables including cabbage and a range of spices and seasonings.”

“Health benefits of kimchi include improved cardiovascular health and digestive system. Kimchi is a low-calorie, high fiber and nutrient-packed side dish.  It is a storehouse of a range of vitamins such as Vitamin A, B1, B2 and C. Kimchi is also rich in essential amino acids and minerals such as iron, calcium and selenium.”

“Kimchi has powerful antioxidants and provides an additional benefit of probiotics in the form of lactobacillus bacteria.  It contains numerous healthful components including capsaicin, chlorophyll, carotenoids, flavonoids and isothiocyanates with a low amount of fat and sugar.” Click here for more info on kimchi.

On top of all this, it has very few calories. It’s a super food!  It’s become so popular among vegetarians and healthy food consumers in the past few years, but in Korea it’s a staple in the home.

So basically, if you haven’t tried kimchi, you’re missing out. Now, back to the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

Kimchi Fried Rice AND Edamame, Carrot & Bacon Fried Rice

(measurements are PER fried rice dish)

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ small onion, small dice
• 1.5 cup roughly chopped kimchi (replace with 1 cup edamame and 1 cup carrot for Edamame, Carrot & Bacon Fried Rice)
• 2 tablespoons kimchi juice (exclude for edamame rice)
• 8 oz thick cut bacon (you can replace bacon with pork belly, ham, spam or other fatty meat which is needed for flavor). Vegetarians- you can make this dish without the meat and it will still be tasty but not as flavorful (but you’re used to that  kidding! I’m kidding.)
• 2 cups cooked and cooled short grain rice (1 day old is best so it’s dried out a bit which is important so your rice doesn’t get mushy in this recipe)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 eggs (optional)
• Salt to taste

Optional Garnish 1) Crumbled roasted seaweed 2) Sesame seeds

I have to mention this Zyliss manual food chopper is brilliant and saves me so much time. I first heard about it at Grace-Marie’s Cooking class at Bristol Farms but was resistant to buying it because it seemed pricey at $30 for what looked like a piece of plastic.

I finally caved and bought it when she talked about it during subsequent classes. It’s so awesome and saves a ton of time. No joke. I simply pull the red lever a few times and look at the onions it gives me.

I should be connected to them as an affiliate (but I haven’t signed up yet)! Since my kids are so picky, I have to chop the onions in very fine pieces and try to hide it in the food.

Kimchi is now sold at most supermarkets in the cheese/tofu section.  My Korean friend, Julie likes to wait until the kimchi is about 2 weeks old before using it for fried rice.  She says it is tangier that way and makes the fried rice taste better. I think it tastes just as delicious using new kimchi.

If you are in the LA area, go to Koreatown’s Galleria Market on Olympic or Torrance’s S-Mart if you are in the South Bay. You may feel out of place surrounded by little Korean ladies with the same bob haircut, but they will have the best selection of kimchi and it will be 1/3 the price of regular supermarkets. I am always shocked by the long lines in front of the Korean stand at the Manhattan Beach Farmer’s Market where the food is brought down from Koreatown and marked up probably 4 times.

Korean markets also have great produce sections at a fraction of the cost of regular markets.

Kimchi is so potent that when I buy it, the whole fridge ends up smelling like kimchi, so I like to use it up as soon as I can. Koreans who eat kimchi on a daily basis have special sealed containers or put their kimchi in a separate refrigerator to contain the smell.

Steps for Fried Rice

In a nonstick sauté pan or cast-iron skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat and add onions.

Cook, stirring, until the onions start to sizzle, about 2 minutes.

If the food starts to overcook, put something cold like a slab of butter in the dish to bring the temperature down. Only turning down the heat won’t bring down the temperature fast enough and the food will burn. I learned this from a cooking video I watched from Adam Perry Lang and I was like, “Brilliant! How did I not know that?”

Add kimchi and kimchi juice to one pan and stir until it comes to a boil, about 3 minutes.  Add carrots to the other pan. Stir.

Add 8 oz of bacon to each pan (half the package of bacon) and cook until sauce is nearly dried out on left side, about 5 minutes.  On right side, cook bacon/carrot/onion mix for an additional 2 minutes.

Break up the rice in both pans with a spatula and stir it to incorporate. Turn heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed the sauce and is very hot, about 5 minutes.

Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil. Taste, and adjust with more soy sauce, sesame oil or kimchi juice.

Turn heat down to low, but let the rice continue to cook, untouched, to lightly brown while you cook the eggs.

Now make the fried eggs.

Place a small nonstick sauté pan over medium heat with a little vegetable oil and fry the eggs to your desired doneness.

Serve rice topped with fried eggs, (and if desired) nori and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

So what do you think?  Is your mouth watering?  It is so easy and sooooo delicious! Let me know how it turns out for you! And if you liked this post, check out my post on Tofu Bibimbap.

Flavor Your Life with an Ounce of Salt. A lifestyle blog by Jen Oliak.