Kimchi Fried Rice

Let's just cut the chase, shall we? I procrastinated, I was lazy, life happened, so a year later, I am getting back to blogging. Or trying to. My motto for this year is: be fearless. In other words, don't let myself get intimidated by the "what ifs" in a situation - to woman-up and get things done. And this has gotten me through some rough clinic days because somehow, my D4 year has already been filled with more than a few.

So along the lines of my Be Fearless campaign, I am posting this recipe to help my fellow friends jump on the bandwagon. It's probably one of my favorite go-to recipes and encompasses many things which make a meal super delish: bold flavors and a runny egg which is God's way of saying, "Why are you bothering to make a sauce when I've given it to you?"

I like this blogger's explanation of kimchi and I just might try to make my own sometime. But kimichi is, in a nutshell (or eggshell haha), fermented cabbage. It's a traditional Korean food and I can thank my roommate for introducing me to it. Cabbage is chopped, pickling spices added, and it is usually stored in the ground for some time for the flavors to develop. Her grandma makes it every year and somehow, the idea of a little Korean grandma pickling cabbage and storing jars in her garden makes it all the more delightful to consume because of the love that went into it. What is it about grandmas that make everything better?

You can eat kimchi fresh (as in, just pickled) with meals for a milder taste or you can use the super fermented stuff in something like this, kimchi fried rice. It's so good. You will love me after you make it. One day, I'm going to win a foe over with this stuff.

Some tips when you make fried rice: use day-old rice. I personally never have day old rice, so I make about 4 cups the day before I'm planning to make this and store it in the fridge overnight. Older rice is hard so it fries up really nicely and absorbs the flavors. Also, use short-grain rice. Not Jasmine rice or Basmati...short grain. Can you believe this is coming from a born and raised Persian? My mom would not be happy.

What You Need:

2 cups chopped Kimchi (you can find this at any Asian market, it should be in the refrigerator case)
1 cup finely chopped onion
4 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 tsp Chili Garlic sauce, also available at the Asian market or Kroger, actually
3 Tbs soy sauce, low sodium
4 cups short grain rice, cooked and refrigerated the night before
salt and pepper
1 egg

What You Do:

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat
Fry the onions till they are translucent, not dark and caramalized. Add garlic and give it a stir
Add the kimchi and fry for about 5 minutes
Dump the rice in - you might need to break it up if it's stuck together
Add soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and some pepper (it'll be pretty salty from the soy and kimchi so hold off on that)
Continue cooking until the rice is dark and a little crunchy. It might stick to the bottom of the pan so stir constantly. Stop cooking when it's the color you like (I prefer a darker fried rice). You might need to add a little more oil to get a good crunch on but usually I put enough in at the beginning with the onions that it carries over to when I add the rice.
Transfer the fried rice to a bowl and fry an
egg, sunny side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and lay over top the kimchi fried rice. Maybe sure the yolk runs into the rice when you eat it - it's sinfully delicious.

Till next time, friends! Be Fearless!