Kimchi Fried Rice
“This dish has a special place in my heart – I’ve eaten it a lot over the years and absolutely delicious. Take the time to follow a few easy prep steps for spot-on rice. First, rinse your rice well under cold, running water before you cook it; this washes off excess starch that can make it clump. Not a good look. Once cooked, you need to let the rice get completely cold before frying it – spread it over a tray to make this faster and make sure all the moisture evaporates out. Even better, cool it, then refrigerate your cooked rice overnight before making this dish”. - Andy Hearnden
SERVES 2
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp honey
Maggi seasoning sauce
200g kimchi
90ml peanut oil
200g rindless smoked
streaky bacon, diced
4 spring onions, finely sliced
250g jasmine rice, cooked the day before, chilled
4 eggs
sesame oil, for drizzling
Combine the soy sauce, honey and 3 good dashes of Maggi seasoning (I highly doubt it’s authentic, but it’s delicious all the same) in a small bowl. Using clean hands, squeeze as much liquid from the kimchi as you can and add the juice to the soy sauce mixture. Coarsely chop the kimchi. Set aside.
Heat a large wok (or frying pan if you don't have a wok) over high heat, then add 70ml of the peanut oil. Add the bacon and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until it starts to colour, then add the kimchi and spring onion and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes. Making sure the wok is very hot, add the rice and break it up with your spatula. Mix everything evenly together, then stir in the sauce mixture. Stir-fry for a further 2 minutes, mixing constantly, so everything is evenly coated with sauce and heated through. Divide the rice between two serving plates.
Wipe the wok clean using some paper towel, then add in 2 teaspoons of the remaining peanut oil and let it get really hot. Crack 2 of the eggs into the wok, then cook for about a minute or until the edges are golden and crisp and the yolks are still runny. Top one serve of rice with the eggs, then add the remaining oil to the wok and quickly cook the remaining eggs. Top the other portion of rice with eggs and drizzle both serves with sesame oil. Serve immediately.
Recipes extracted from Andy Cooks, Oriana Press, 2023. Photography Mark Roper RRP $60AUD.
