Kimchi Fried Rice Recipe (2024)

An essential condiment in my kitchen is the fermented chile paste called gojuchang. Sweet, spicy, smoky and sour, I add a bit to stir fries, soups and sauces. It's great - I'm kind of hooked on the stuff.
In this recipe, I'd add a heaping tablespoon of gojuchang with the kimchi in step 1 for heat and flavor. It adds a depth of flavor and a glossy redness to everything it touches - including your rubber utensils.

I doubled the kim chi and kim chi juice (this ups the spice level considerably, and be sure to use old kim chi for the best tastes). I cut the SPAM and fried four eggs instead (two each) for protein. It tasted JUST like our favorite Bokkeumbap dish, a kim chi fried rice that is actually made at the table after a Korean BBQ meal with all the leftover meats and sides. This is a delicious recipe, Korean Husband approved! Hoping I can do with 2 TBS of butter (I used salted) to cut the fat next time.

This is completely addictive. Make as written. Do not substitute. You won't be sorry. You will only contemplate how empty your life was before this recipe.

And if you're dead-set against SPAM, diced, cooked Portuguese sausage (linguica) or even bacon work great, too.

As a full-fledged Korean, I can tell you this recipe is the bomb! Soy sauce is unnecessary, as you get plenty of salt from the kimchee and nori. It's good to cook this in a cast-iron pan so you get the crunchy goodness on the bottom. Even better with a drizzle of sriracha sauce at the end! Yum!

If you're in/near New Jersey, try it with pork roll.

I was looking for an authentic kimchi fried rice recipe and this is it! To make the recipe vegetarian, I used boiled tofu in place of spam. I used brown rice for this. Very delicious and easy.

Added garlic, diced carrot and bell pepper, sliced mushrooms. Didn't have any leftover meat, so this version vegetarian. Good!

I made this recipe to serve 30 instead of 2 for a party. Was a big hit and the pot was empty! What I changed : Added 3 Thai Red chiles & 1 Tbsp of grated fresh ginger. I scrambled the eggs instead of frying and also garnished with some scallion. I also eliminated the spam/ham. As far as proportions, I used 4.5 cups of dry rice, 2 medium onions, 64 oz jar of Kimchi and all the juice. Can't wait to make it again!!

I have made this several times now and it is so perfect! You can use left over rice (which I keep handy in the freezer) and whatever veggies or meat you have on hand. Made it with left-over roasted chicken, pancetta or sausage. I added peas one time and lightly sautéed kale another. The kimchi I use is very spicy and so not much else is needed. Really fabulous recipe to take off on and do your own thing!

This was a delicious and easy way to use up leftover rice! I also made a couple modifications: I wanted more protein, so I scrambled 4 eggs with green onion and a little soy sauce, then mixed that in with the rice. I also used 2 slices of bacon for the meat, skipped the butter, and added a TB of gochujang to soften the bite of the kimchi. This was the best fried rice I’ve ever made!

Where's the gochujang in this recipe?? Gotta have gochujang in your kimchee fried rice.

Dead probiotic bacteria still provide virtually the same health benefits as living bacteria, so it's not really something you need to be worrying about, especially if your normal diet already includes other fermented foods. Cooking the kimchi with the other ingredients infuses everything with the delicious flavor, so adding it alone after everything else has already cooked would mean you're missing out on the true beauty of the dish. Go ahead and cook your kimchi.

In reply to Richard: I would try some fried tofu. Most Asian supermarkets or specialties stores will have pre-fried cold tofu available. It retains its chew and soaks up flavor well if slowly.

This is a fantastic fried rice recipe; initially I thought that the kimchi would be overpowering, but it was perfect. I swapped the spam out with some chopped bulgolgi beef from the night before and added a little bit of gochujang at the end for a bit more spice. I'll be making this recipe many more times in the future!

Yummy and quick! Made 3x the recipe to feed my family of 4 (with 2 hungry teenagers) and have leftovers for lunch. Used 1 large and 1 small leftover rice from Chinese takeout. Otherwise followed the recipe (x3).The crispy rice was the best. I’ll definitely use this technique whenever I make fried rice from now on. Next time, I’ll follow others’ advice and use pork belly in place of the spam and add gochujang. Again, yum!

Used some seitan that was in the fridge and plonked two fried eggs on top. Super filling and delicious with lots of salty warmth. Will leave undisturbed in the cast-iron pan a little longer next time to get crunchy rice.

SOOOOO good! I added celery, carrots, green onion, and used bacon... It was incredible!

Def a keeper! Made it with tempeh bacon in place of Spam. And my kimchi didn't have much liquid, so I just rinsed a small portion with water and strained that to use for the liquid component.

I've made this probably 100 times, it's a family favorite. I never have spam around, so have made with bacon, ham, leftover chicken, even with tuna fish - or no added protein. I usually up the kimchi a little bit and top with sliced scallions along with the nori and fried egg.

As many mentioned and as an avid kimchi fried rice fan (my comfort food!), yes, many meats will work. My favorite is sliced pork belly. Yum. Also, try adding a spoonful of peanut butter when cooking the kimchi juice/kimchi. It sounds odd but I got it from an old Korean recipe and it ups the whole thing. Trust me.

Kimchi fried rice with just soy sauce besides the kimchi and juice? I guess—if you're OK with the most mediocre kimchi fried rice ever. You need gochujang. I make a sauce mixture that has mostly gochujang, a little bit of sugar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. And MSG. Always MSG.

Added approx 1 tsp gochugang and some cooked tofu.

Holy cow, this is so good!

So delicious! And easy!

Made this with pancetta, gochujang, and peas. Was divine.

I’ve been cooking this for several years now and tried a bunch of different plant-based substitutes for the Spam. The Field Roast Smoked Frankfurters give the best flavor/texture to this. Also agreed that adding some gochujang is essential.

I used leftover salmon (roughly shredded with a fork) and it turned out well. Forgot to use onion so I sprinkled in some onion powder and didn’t miss it. Finished by topping with sesame seeds. A bit controversial but I also like to eat mine with a little ketchup…

Replaced spam with tofu that was fried with salt and pepper before and added mushrooms and edamame to make a vege version.

So easy, and has become a "comfort food" in our household! Thanks NYT!