Why not make this super tasty and popular Korean inspired Kimchi Fried Rice with Prawn and Pork for dinner tonight? You won’t regret it!
Kimchi Fried Rice (Kimchi Bokkeumbap)
This Kimchi fried rice recipe was adapted from a lovely Korean/Australian lady I follow on Instagram. Head over to Christine’s Instagram page @rustic_koreankitchen If you love Korean cuisine and want loads of inspiration!
Christine’s delicious Kimchi fried rice caught my attention because of how quick and easy it looked. I also loved the idea of adding both pork and prawns in with the rice. If you know me by now, you’ll know that I love variety in my food!
I have never eaten or made Kimchi Fried rice before but my intuition assured me it would be something I would love! I adore Kimchi and fried rice, so the possibility of this dish being a hit was extremely high!
Christine was friendly and more than willing to help and offer tips when I asked her questions about her Kimchi fried rice. She recommends using kimchi that has aged and turned sour, so I followed her advice and left my kimchi covered bowl overnight at room temperature. I was extremely excited to make Kimchi Fried Rice for the first time!
My husband, Tomasi and especially my sister, Nara, love Korean food.
Nara has ordered Kimchi Fried Rice several times in restaurants. So when we sat down to eat this rice, we all nodded in agreement on how good this was. We didn’t speak, as we were too busy devouring it all down.
Kimchi fried rice differs from any fried rice I’ve had, it’s spicy, sweet and a little sour. There’re loads of flavours and textures happening with every bite! The combination of pork and prawns with the rice is a winner.
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An exciting way to eat fried rice!
Nara and I are the youngest of our five siblings. Being girls and the youngest, our parents would dote on us, especially on Nara, as she was the baby of the family.
When my parents took us to restaurants, they would order one dish and expected Nara and me to share. They did this until we were 10 years old and I absolutely hated it. Every time they took us out for Chinese they would order us BORING FRIED RICE to share, whilst my older brothers could choose whatever they wanted.
Feeling bitter and grown-up, I rebelled one day. As usual, when the rice came, mum divided our portion and handed mine to me. I pushed it away and defiantly muttered, “I don’t want it!”. Unfortunately for me, my parents ignored my tantrum. They didn’t order me anything else, nor did they give me some of their food! So there I was, hungry at the table and watching everyone scoff their food down happily. Life lesson noted, I never pulled that one again on my parents!
It’s funny how different my parents are. If Kai, my 20-month-old toddler, doesn’t eat his food, I would scramble to find him something else to eat. In saying that, if he was 10 years old, I may act differently!
I dunno what I was thinking when I was younger. Fried rice is never boring! I could eat fried rice every day as long as I can make different versions of it. The thing I love about fried rice is that you can throw anything you want into it and it’ll still be damn tasty, Kimchi Fried rice included!
Crazy Korean loving adults!
Let’s quickly revisit 2012. I was living with Nara in the house we bought together. We worked at the same finance company and our mortgage killed us but that’s for another time.
In October 2012 I started dating Tomasi. A few months later I decided it was time to introduce him to Nara.
I invited Tomasi over for dinner at our house and went to the trouble of making us a 3-course meal. At first, the dinner was quite awkward as Nara was trying to suss out my husband to be. However, the walls went tumbling down when they discovered they both loved everything Korean.
There were long discussions on K-Pop, K-Drama and Korean food. Meanwhile, I was being ignored whilst they babbled away. There was no acknowledgement of how good my food was or how much effort I put in. Nope, it was all about Korea.
Nara loves everything Korean since she was a teenager. I remember days where she would watch endless Korean dramas and cry. I also learned that night that Tomasi travelled to South Korea for a holiday and that he can speak some Korean.
Tomasi and Nara were so polite to one another that day that thinking about them acting this way makes me laugh. It’s a far cry from today as these days they’re bantering or arguing. This happens when you live with each other for years!
Ingredients for Kimchi Fried Rice with Prawn and Pork
Kimchi has made its way around the world and is quite popular. It’s Korea’s famous fermented spicy and crunchy cabbage. The cabbage is usually fermented with garlic, radish, spring onions, ginger and Korean chilli powder. Kimchi is available in supermarkets, but it’s cheaper to buy at an Asian grocery store. When measuring the Kimchi to cook, add in some of the liquid it came with as this will provide additional flavour to the rice.
Gochujang chilli paste is the heart of lots of Korean dishes, it’s so popular nowadays that you should be able to pick it up from the supermarket. Gochujang is a chilli paste with sweet, savoury and spicy flavours. This chilli paste makes dishes look red and spicy, but it’s actually not super spicy, the heat level (to me) is in the medium range. However, different brands of Gochujang have different levels of spiciness.
Prawns – any size or variety of raw prawns will work. Peel and devein the prawns prior to use. For convenience, I defrosted frozen prawns that were already peeled and cleaned.
Pork belly – For convenience, I defrosted frozen sliced pork belly that was prepackaged. You can find frozen pork belly slices in Asian grocery stores, they’re usually sold for Korean/Japanese BBQ or hotpot.
Cooked rice – I used short-grain white rice commonly used in Korean and Japanese cuisines. Jasmine rice would also work. Use cold rice that was cooked the day prior. To do this cook the rice, leave it at room temperature to cool completely, then transfer the rice to a sealed container and store it in the fridge.
Optional Garnish and toppings – Spring onions, toasted nori sheets, sesame seeds, and fried eggs.
How to make Kimchi Fried Rice with Prawn and Pork
Step-by-step guide with photos
Heat oil in a large wok or deep frying pan heat on high heat, add in the garlic and spring onions and cook for a minute, stirring quickly so it doesn’t burn. Add in the pork, cooking until it turns brown, then add in the kimchi and the prawns. Cooking and stirring until the prawns are half cooked.
Add in the rice
Add in rice, use a wooden spoon to stir and break any clumps of rice, add in the gochujang and sesame oil. Stir and cook until prawns are opaque and the rice has heated through, taste the fried rice and add salt if needed. Stir through and serve! Optional toppings – add spring onions, toasted nori sheets, sesame seeds and fried eggs on top of the rice before serving.
Leftovers – Leave the rice to cool completely at room temperature. Place the rice in a sealed container and store it in the fridge, it’ll be good for up to 3 days.
Looking to cook more of your favourite Asian dishes at home? You have come to the right place check out my hubby’s favourite Thai dish Chicken and Pumpkin Stir Fry or get a little fancy and try Red Duck Curry with Lychees.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information, so this is an approximate guide only for one serving with no added toppings or garnish.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
Kimchi Fried Rice with Prawn
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil (or any neutral oil)
- 2 tbsp thinly sliced spring onions
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 200 gm pork belly (sliced very thinly) (NOTE 1)
- 1 cup roughly chopped kimchi (NOTE 2)
- 200 gm raw prawns (peeled and deveined) (NOTE 3)
- 3 cups cooked rice (day old) (NOTE 4)
- 1 tbsp gochujang (NOTE 5)
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- salt to taste
Optional garnish and toppings
- sesame seeds
- spring onions (sliced thinly)
- toasted nori sheet (cut thinly)
- fried eggs
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large wok or deep frying pan heat on high heat, add in the garlic and spring onions and cook for a minute, stirring quickly so it doesn't burn. Add in the pork, cooking until it turns brown, then add in the kimchi and the prawns. Cooking and stirring until the prawns are half cooked.
- Add in rice, use a wooden spoon to stir and break any clumps of rice, add in the gochujang and sesame oil. Stir and cook until prawns are opaque and the rice has heated through, taste the fried rice and add salt if needed. Stir through and serve! Optional toppings – add spring onions, toasted nori sheets, sesame seeds and fried eggs on top of the rice before serving.
