Big Flavour Alert: Kimchi & Bacon Fried Rice

Hey friends and neighbors, how’s everybody holding up? It’s been a humid, muggy July here in Ottawa, we’ve moved onto Phase 3 of re-opening the city (click here for my take on it) and we’re speeding towards the dog-days of summer.

I was craving some BIG FLAVOUR this week, so I took a crack at a dish that I’ve been meaning to do for quite some time. Adapted from a recipe from the amazing book Koreatown by Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard, I put my spin on their Kimchi Bokkeumbap.

Bokkeumbap is Korean-style fried rice. I took a few liberties, adding a couple extra ingredients to bridge their recipe with the Chinese-style fried rice most of us are more familiar with. By adding some shiitake mushrooms and finishing the rice with a bit of both soy and oyster sauces, I made it my own. Both additions were perfect for my palate, but I won’t say that I improved on the original, which was probably perfect already.

The main point of attention in fried rice of any style is using day-old, already cooked rice. But just like when making croutons or breadcrumbs, sometimes old or stale just means dry. If you cook your rice correctly, and then lay it out on a sheet pan to cool, the moisture will steam away and the rice will naturally dry out. Make sure your pan has a layer of parchment paper on it first, of course.

You can speed this process along by putting the sheet pan in the fridge, or even the freezer. But, just leaving it out on the counter near a fan to blow the steam away while cooling the grains will accomplish the same thing.

This is full-flavour recipe sure to satisfy your fried rice cravings. It’s got kimchi in it, so go ahead and tell yourself it’s healthy. Just willfully ignore all the bacon you’re throwing in there.

Kimchi & Bacon Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• 400g (2 cups) cooked rice, laid out for several hours so as to dry out the rice
• 226g bacon, sliced into lardons (matchsticks)
• 150g shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps sliced thinly
• 1-2 yellow onions, peeled and small diced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2” knob of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 225g nappa cabbage kimchi, roughly chopped if pieces are large
• 15mL gochujang
• 25g butter, room temperature
• 30mL soy sauce
• 15mL oyster sauce
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 5-6 scallions, sliced thinly

Method:

1. If you’re not sure about the best way to cook rice, try this: to get 400g/2 cups of cooked rice, start with 200g/1 cup of uncooked rice. Rinse the rice thoroughly in a fine strainer under cold running water for 1-2 minutes. Put the rice in the intended cooking pot and cover with 360mL /1.5 cups of water. Let the rice sit in the water for 30 minutes. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the pot to a bare simmer, cover and let cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat completely, and let the pot stand, still covered for 10 more minutes. Then uncover, and gently turn the rice out onto your parchment-covered sheet pan.
2. In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the bacon lardons over medium heat until the fat has rendered and they are crispy.
3. Add the shiitake mushrooms and cook undisturbed for 5-6 minutes, until the mushrooms are well-browned.
4. Raise the heat to medium high and add the onion, garlic, ginger and carrot. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant and slightly softened.
5. Raise the heat to high and add the rice and kimchi to the pan. Stir frequently for 4-5 minutes, then drop the heat to medium-low.
6. Add in the gochujang, butter, soy and oyster sauces, as well as the eggs, stirring to combine completely. Press the rice flat with a spatula, and cook until the bottom is crispy. Be careful not to let the bottom burn, but be brave and let a crisp layer develop.
7. Serve from the pan into individual bowls, garnished with the scallions.

This recipe makes more food than you might think. Even so, you may find that there are no leftovers because it’s so damn tasty. The combination of all the flavours, the delicious funk of the kimchi and oyster sauce. It’s a keeper, alright. It’s mostly Korean, but the familiar additions of shiitake, carrot and soy make it something of its own. You could lean more into the Chinese side of things and add ham, cooked shrimp, even green peas, if you like. It’s all up to what your palate wants.

If you love rice in all its forms like I do, this is definitely what you’ll want to make for dinner tonight. Don’t let the pre-cooking of the rice intimidate you! Let me know in the comments or by e-mail if you try this over-the-top interpretation of an already perfect dish!