This tasty Kimchi Fried Rice is brought to life by 2 ingredients that surprisingly go well together to create a unique and unforgettable flavor – bacon and kimchi. Well, who am I kidding? Anything with bacon ALWAYS tastes good. I’ve had Kimchi Fried Rice before from a couple of places, but it usually just has kimchi and a little bit of egg. This recipe is inspired by a popular joint that I ate at during a family trip to Vancouver.
One summer night on that trip, my brother Carlo and I were on the hunt for a filling, late night meal. We did a little research via good ol’ Yelp and found a Japanese Izakaya called Guu in downtown by Thurlow. My mom was all cozied up in her hotel room bed watching Food Network so she happily waved us goodbye as we ventured out for food. Guu was packed when we got there at 9 pm but luckily, we were able to snag a couple of seats at the bar where we had a full view of the chefs in action. A lot of orders came in for their Kimchi Fried Rice so my bro and I knew we had to order that and give it a try.
Our order took a while but it did not disappoint. The Kimchi Fried Rice looked good, smelled good and tasted good! It’s amazing how a combination of bacon, kimchi, green onions and eggs can transform plain white rice into a delicious meal. My bro wished he order an entire plate for himself instead of sharing one with me. Hah!
Months later, I still had that Kimchi Fried Rice on my mind and I knew I had to re-create it. This recipe comes together in 30 minutes and it’s meal prep and weeknight prep friendly. There are numerous brands of kimchi at the grocery store but some of them have MSG added so make sure you grab one that has clean ingredients.
It’s best to use leftover white rice for this recipe so it’s easier to stir-fry because it’s not as sticky and soft as freshly cooked rice. Top your bowl with a sunny side up egg if you want to make it extra special!
Kimchi Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup onion chopped
- 1 cup kimchi chopped, excess liquid drained and set aside
- 1/2 cup kimchi liquid
- 6 strips bacon chopped
- 3 cups cooked white rice
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
Instructions
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Heat a pan over medium-high.
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Add bacon and pan fry for 3 minutes.
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Add onions and cook with the bacon for another 3 minutes until the onions become translucent.
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Push onions and bacon to one side of the pan.
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Add kimchi and sauce for 5 minutes until it begins to brown.
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Mix kimchi together with the onions and bacon. Let cook for 2 more minutes.
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Reduce heat to medium.
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Add cooked white rice and mix everything together. Let cook for 5 minutes until the rice is warm.
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Add the kimchi liquid. Mix well. Cook for 5 more minutes.
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Top with green onions.
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Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Note: chop the kimchi and drain the excess liquid using mesh strainer or cheesecloth
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