• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RecipeTin Eats

Fast Prep, Big Flavours

Small book

My cookbook "Dinner" now available!

  • My RecipeTin
  • My cookbook!
  • Recipes
  • Recipes By Category
    • Mains
      • Chicken
        • Chicken mince
      • Beef Recipes
        • Ground Beef (Mince)
      • Pork
      • Lamb
      • Turkey
      • Shrimp / Prawns
      • Salmon
      • Fish
      • Salad Meals
    • Quick and Easy
    • Soups
    • One Pot
    • Stews
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides
      • All
      • Vegetables
      • Show Off Salads
      • Rice (all)
      • Fried rice recipes
      • Rice (plain)
      • Potato
    • Pasta
      • All
      • Pasta bakes
      • Pasta salads
    • Sweet
      • Cakes
      • Cheesecakes
      • Cupcakes & Muffins
      • Cookies
      • Puddings & Cosy Desserts
      • Bite Size
      • Pies
      • Slices & Bars
      • Frosting & Icing
      • Ice cream
    • Cuisine
      • Asian
        • All
        • Stir fries
        • Noodles
        • Soups
        • Chinese
        • Japanese
        • Korean
        • Thai
        • Vietnamese
      • French
      • Greek
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
      • Middle Eastern
      • South American
    • Dietary
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Calorie
      • Vegetarian
    • Other Categories
      • BBQ
      • Breakfast
      • Burgers
      • Cocktails
      • Party Foods
      • Rice Recipes
      • Roasts
      • Sandwiches & Sliders
  • Collections
  • About
    • Me
    • RecipeTin Meals
    • Free Recipe Books
    • Contact
    • Food Bloggers Central
    • Nitty Gritty
      • Policy: Use of Recipes & Images
      • Privacy & Disclosure
Home Korean Recipes

Kimchi Fried Rice

By:Nagi
Published:15 Mar '21Updated:7 Sep '22
70 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Don’t be intimidated by the fiery red colour of Kimchi Fried Rice. It actually isn’t that spicy! But it’s certainly loaded with flavour, even more than its Chinese counterpart. It makes an excellent (essential) side dish for a Korean food night, or alongside any Asian food. And it’s a satisfying meal in itself!

Kimchi Fried Rice in a skillet, freshly cooked

Kimchi Fried Rice

Kimchi Fried Rice is as common in Korea as Chinese fried rice is in China. Every household makes it, and it’s a thrifty comfort dish that makes use of leftover cooked rice and kimchi from the fridge. Extra ingredients on hand are often added to keep things interesting.

This fiery-red Korean rice dish is more bark than bite! While it is full-flavoured, it is not nearly as blow-your-head-off-spicy as one might expect.

Though having said that, if spicy is your thing, it’s very simple to dial up the spicy factor until you go cross-eyed!

So what does Kimchi Fried Rice taste like? Well … Kimchi. 🙂 But more! The sauce for Kimchi Fried Rice is made with a combination of the juices from a jar of kimchi, plus gochujang, the Korean soy bean chilli paste commonly used in Korean cooking.

If you love fried rice, this is absolutely one for you to try. It’s one of the more intensely flavoured fried rice dishes, which is right up my alley. I am all for kapow flavours!

Bowl filled with Kimchi Fried Rice

What goes in Kimchi Fried Rice

Here’s what you need to make Kimchi Fried Rice:

Ingredients in Kimchi Fried Rice
  • Kimchi – Kimchi is pickled and fermented cabbage, often spicy. It’s pretty widely availably these days even in everyday grocery stores, especially with the whole fermentation trend amongst the healthy food crowd.

    Fashion aside, skip the boho-hipster kimchi brands and stick to a tried-and-true Korean one! Not all kimchi is created equal, so if you can get to an Asian store, even better. Typically the kimchi will be fresher, with better flavour. I am using Paldo brand in this recipe.

  • Close up of chopsticks picking up kimchi to make Kimchi Fried Rice
  • Chopped kimchi on cutting board for Kimchi Fried Rice
  • Rice – Use day-old cooked rice that’s been refrigerated. Or better yet, have you got a stash in the freezer? If not, WHY NOT?? Rice freezes perfectly and it’s a handy to have a stash ready to go. It’s an Asian thing. 😇

    Struggling with how to cook rice? Here’s how I make it. A game-changer for anyone who has struggled to cook rice on the stove!

    Type of rice – Any plain white rice works well for the most neutral flavour base, whether long, medium or short grain. Jasmine, basmati, brown and other rices with more flavour will also work just fine but will add their own distinct flavour to the dish.

  • Enoki mushrooms – While you’ll find every Korean household has their own standard inclusions for Kimchi Fried Rice (I’ve even heard of Spam ham being a regular!), enoki mushrooms is a fairly popular choice you often see at Korean restaurants. Substitutes are provided in the recipe card notes;

  • Gochujang – A soy bean-based Korean chilli paste that is packed with umami (savoury flavour), commonly used in Korean cooking for heat, flavour and its rich red colour. A dollop of this can save any (Asian) dish that you feel is missing “something” and it lasts almost forever in the fridge. It’s spicy, but we don’t use much, just 1 tablespoon.

    Where to find it: These days, you can even find it in the Asian section of major grocery stores in Australia, such as Woolworths and Coles. Otherwise, Asian or Korean stores.

    Also used in: Momofuku Pork Bossam, Bibimbap (Korean Rice Bowl), Spicy Korean Pork Stir Fry.

Gochujang Korean Chilli Paste
Gochujang – soy bean chilli paste, an essential in Korean cooking!
  • Garlic – It would be an understatement to say Koreans love their garlic. Kimchi Fried Rice would never happen without it!

  • Sesame oil – Koreans also love sesame oil!


How to make Kimchi Fried Rice

Kimchi Fried Rice is flavoured with the juice of Kimchi plus a dab of gochujang for a extra kick of flavour. Really, don’t skip the gochujang. It would be like making Chinese Fried Rice without soy sauce. Just, no!

Part 1: Prep the kimchi

How to make Kimchi Fried Rice
  1. Extra juice from kimchi – Measure out 1 packed cup of kimchi, then either press through a sieve to extract as much juice as possible OR just grab handfuls and squeeze it out. I normally do the latter, but thought it would be more respectable to use a sieve for the purpose of sharing this recipe!

  2. The purpose of this step is twofold – To extract the kimchi juice which we use as the sauce for the fried rice, and to remove water from the kimchi so the fried rice doesn’t go soggy;

  3. Measure out 1/4 cup of kimchi juice. If you’re struggling to get this much out of the 1 cup of kimchi you measured, if you’re still short, steal some more out of the kimchi jar or squeeze more cabbage!

  4. Chop kimchi into 2cm / ⅘” pieces – Not too fine, we want the chunks in the fried rice.

Part 2: Making the Kimchi Fried Rice

How to make Kimchi Fried Rice
  1. Cook enoki mushrooms – Most recipes will have you cook the enoki mushrooms with the rice. You get a better result by cooking it separately so it doesn’t go soggy, and nor does it get weighed down by too much of the rather intense Kimchi Fried Rice sauce.

    I cook it in sesame oil and a little garlic for flavour;

  2. Set aside – It takes barely a minute to start wilting in the pan. Then simply remove it to a plate;

How to make Kimchi Fried Rice
  1. Sauté garlic with gochujang – This takes the raw edge off the gochujang, and removes some of the excess water to keep the fried rice from going soggy. It also intensifies the gochujang flavour;

  2. Cook kimchi – Next, we add the kimchi and cook it for a minute to drive off any excess moisture and warm it through. Kimchi does not need to be cooked, we just don’t want cold bits of kimchi in our fried rice!

How to make Kimchi Fried Rice
  1. Add rice;

  2. Add kimchi juice;

How to make Kimchi Fried Rice
  1. Toss well – Toss the rice well to ensure all the flavours coat the rice evenly. You especially want to ensure the gochujang coating the kimchi goes through the rice;

  2. Add enoki mushrooms back in, and toss through to disperse. You’re done!

Plate of Kimchi Fried Rice topped with fried egg, ready to be served

Optional toppings: Fried egg & nori strips

If you’re serving Kimchi Fried Rice as a side dish for Korean mains, especially things that are a bit saucy, then it’s fine to serve it unadorned.

However, if you’re serving it as a meal, I definitely recommend topping it with a fried egg, sunny side up! This is a traditional topping for Kimchi Fried Rice, and the runny yolk essentially acts like a bit of sauce for the dish.

Other traditional garnishes that are more for visual effect than flavour include:

  • Crispy nori / dried seaweed strips – You can buy roasted, crispy nori seaweed in small packets which is just cut into little batons. Otherwise, just use normal nori or skip it. It’s really not a big part of the eating experience, it’s more for visual;

  • Green onions – Just finely sliced for a nice splash of fresh green colour; and

  • Black sesame seeds – The black colour pops against the red rice and the egg! But again, it’s not a big deal to skip it.

Close up of bowl of Kimchi Fried Rice with runny yolk

How to serve Kimchi Fried Rice

Ideas for serving Kimchi Fried Rice:

  • A side dish to all things Korean;

  • Alongside all things Asian, in fact. Think: next to stir fries, as a side dish for things like Chinese BBQ Pork or Chinese Crispy Pork Belly;

  • Prop up light meals such as Egg Foo Young, or create a meal by serving alongside appetiser-type things like Spring Rolls, Chinese Pork Dumplings (Potstickers), Siu Mai or Sticky Chinese Wings;

  • As a completed meal, topped with the egg;

  • Throw it together on the hotplate at the end of a home Korean barbecue; or

  • Use it to stuff into Korean Lettuce Wraps – try it with Momofuku Pork Bossam. Epic!

Enjoy! – Nagi x

The Spicy Side of Life: Korean recipes

Momofuku Bossam with sauces
Momofuku Bossam – Korean Slow Cooked Pork Roast
Overhead photo of tray with freshly cooked Korean BBQ Marinated Beef Short ribs (Galbi)
Galbi – Korean BBQ Marinated Beef Short Ribs
Close up of Bibimbap Korean Rice Bowl with Bibimbap Sauce, ready to be eaten
Bibimbap! (Korean Rice Bowl)
Spicy Korean Pork Stir Fry with chopsticks
Spicy Korean Pork Stir Fry
Korean Beef Bowl (Bulgogi - Korean BBQ Beef) - easy to make with ingredients from the supermarket. Great marinade!
Korean Beef Bowl (Bulgogi – Korean BBQ Beef)
Close up of Bibimbap Korean Rice Bowl with Bibimbap Sauce, ready to be eaten
Korean Recipes

Watch how to make it

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Bowl filled with Kimchi Fried Rice

Kimchi Fried Rice

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 6 mins
Rice, Side Dish
Asian, Korean
5 from 12 votes
Servings4 – 5 as a side
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. Kimchi Fried Rice is a staple in every Korean household. It's a typical way to use up leftover rice and kimchi, while still delivering big flavours that belie its humble nature. Along with kimchi, gochujang (Korean chilli paste) is the other hero ingredient that brings flavour, colour and heat to the party!
Don't panic! It's not nearly as spicy as it looks and it's easy to adjust the heat in the recipe.
Serve alongside all things Korean, or Asian really. Or as a main with a fried egg!

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp sesame oil , toasted, separated (1 tsp + 1 tsp)
  • 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
  • 200g/7oz enoki mushrooms (Note 1)
  • 1 tbsp oil , vegetable, peanut or canola
  • 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste, Note 2)
  • 1 cup (packed) kimchi (Note 3)
  • 1/4 cup kimchi juice , from the kimchi above (Note 3)
  • 3 cups cooked , day old white rice (Note 4)

Garnishes:

  • Fried egg , runny yolk, sunny-side up
  • Black sesame seeds
  • Green onions , finely sliced
  • Crispy seaweed strips (Note 5)

Instructions

  • Strain kimchi juice – Place kimchi in a sieve set over a bowl. Press firmly to extract as much juice as you can. We need juice for the sauce, and to reduce the wetness of the kimchi so it doesn't make the rice soggy.
  • Measure kimchi juice – Measure out 3 tablespoons of the kimchi juice and set aside. (Note 3 if you're short).
  • Cook enoki mushrooms – Heat 1 tsp sesame oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add enoki mushrooms, about 1/2 tsp garlic, plus a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes until just-wilted, then remove to a plate.
  • Garlic and gochujang – Return pan to the stove. Add oil. Add garlic and cook for 20 seconds until it's lightly golden. Add gochujang and cook for 30 seconds until it dries out a bit – just move it around in a lump, breaking it up a bit as you can.
  • Cook kimchi – Add kimchi and cook for 1 minute, just to heat it through (kimchi doesn't need to be cooked) and drive off any excess moisture.
  • Add rice and kimchi juice – Add rice and kimchi juice, toss well for 1 1/2 minutes until the rice is fully stained red. Toss well to ensure the gochujang mixed with the kimchi disperses throughout the rice.
  • Enoki mushrooms and 1 tsp sesame oil – Add the enoki mushrooms and remaining 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Toss through rice.
  • Serve, topped with garnishes of choice!

Recipe Notes:

1. Enoki Mushrooms – A popular Asian mushroom with fine stems. It is fairly easily found these days in large grocery stores in Australia. Sub with other sliced Asian mushrooms (shimeji, oyster, king, fresh or rehydrated shiitake) or ordinary mushrooms.
2. Gochujang – Korean soy bean chilli paste, it adds a ton of umami (savoury flavour) and spice into anything! Find it in large grocery stores in the Asian aisle (Woolies, Coles, Harris – for Aus), or Asian / Korean grocery stores. It lasts “forever” in the fridge. Also use for: Korean Pork Bossam, Bibimbap and Korean Pork Stir Fry.
Gochujang sometimes comes in different grades of chilli heat, shown on the label. I strongly recommend you buy the mild one, which is already fairly spicy!
If you like your Kimchi Fried Rice really spicy, add 50% more gochujang. Beyond that the salt and flavour can start to dominate the dish, so if you want even more spiciness, I’d suggest you add chilli powder from here.
3. Kimchi – A Korean staple, this is pickled fermented vegetables. Cabbage is the most common one which is what we use here. Widely available these days even in everyday grocery stores. I used Paldo brand kimchi here.
If your 1 cup of kimchi doesn’t yield enough juice, spoon out some from the jar or just squeeze extra from more cabbage!
4. Day-old cooked rice – White rice is best (and traditional). It must be day-old so it’s dry and crumbly, to avoid mushy fried rice. Need some for a fried rice emergency? Cook rice, spread on a tray, cool then freeze.
5. Crispy seaweed / nori strips – Buy it, or skip it. It’s not a big deal for this dish, it’s more for visuals!
6. Storage and reheating – Fried rice keeps very well, especially one without meat. Seal in a container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, add a small splash of water and microwave. While it can be frozen, but it’s not recommended especially when it’s so quick to make.
7. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings. Excludes toppings.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 243cal (12%)Carbohydrates: 39g (13%)Protein: 6g (12%)Fat: 7g (11%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Trans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 41mg (14%)Sodium: 19mg (1%)Potassium: 257mg (7%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 67IU (1%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 22mg (2%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: fried rice recipe, Kimchi fried rice, korean fried rice, Korean rice dish, korean side dish, spicy fried rice
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Love spicy Asian?

Thai Green Curry in a black skillet, fresh off the stove
Thai Green Curry
Bowl of spicy Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles, ready to be eaten
Dan Dan Noodles (Spicy Sichuan noodles)
Close up of Asian Chilli Garlic Prawns served over rice with a quick Asian cucumber side salad
Asian Chilli Garlic Prawns (Shrimp)
Overhead photo of Laksa in a rustic bowl, ready to be eaten.
Laksa Noodle Soup
Thai Red Curry with Chicken in a skillet, fresh off the stove.
Thai Red Curry with Chicken
Pile of Asian Chilli Chicken served over rice with steamed asian greens on the side
Asian Chilli Chicken
White bowl with Tom Yum Soup (Thai soup) with prawns / shrimp, mushrooms, tomato and garnished with coriander and chilli
Tom Yum Soup (Thai soup)
Chopsticks pulling up Pad See Ew
Asian Recipes

Life of Dozer

Not even a little rain disrupts Dozer’s beach schedule.

Nagi Dozer rainy day at Bayview

Previous Post
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Next Post
Burritos

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cooked this? Rate this recipe!




70 Comments

  1. Amy Morgan says

    September 17, 2022 at 10:35 pm

    5 stars
    Just perfect!

    Reply
  2. Linda says

    July 24, 2022 at 7:02 pm

    OMG was absolutely delicious didn’t have enough kimchi so added some cabbage & peas & spec to stretch it a bit. Was a HUGE hit….. now to try kimchi 🙄😉

    Reply
  3. Fiona says

    May 7, 2022 at 8:16 pm

    5 stars
    Made this tonight and delicious as expected. Didn’t have any roasted sesames for garnish so served a little kewpie roasted sesame dressing on the side – added a yummy sweetness. Definitely on the ‘make again’ list. thanks Nagi

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 7, 2022 at 9:43 pm

      That’s great Fiona!! I am happy that you liked it! N x

      Reply
  4. Mykala says

    January 25, 2022 at 6:38 pm

    5 stars
    Always wanted to try this dish and it did not disappoint, so so yummy!! 😭

    Reply
  5. alimak says

    December 5, 2021 at 6:06 pm

    5 stars
    omg, so good!! I always need lots of protein so stir fried pork belly and steak strips,\, removed, then mushrooms (can’t find enoki here in Godzone, but button did the trick) added beansprouts then proceeded as written.

    A keeper, thanks Nagi x

    Reply
  6. Alexandra says

    September 1, 2021 at 5:48 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi, would love to try and make kimchi myself ,was hoping you might put a recipe on at some point? 😊

    Reply
    • alimak says

      December 5, 2021 at 6:08 pm

      Nagi’s mama has a simple kimchi recipe on her website – it’s good!!

      https://japan.recipetineats.com/simple-kimchi-recipe/

      Reply
      • Alexandra says

        December 10, 2021 at 6:14 am

        Thank you so much Alimak for pointing out the Japanese website, will check it out and give it a go🙂

        Reply
  7. Bec Nicotra says

    July 11, 2021 at 5:35 pm

    I made this with ramen noodles instead of rice. I was nervous as I haven’t cooked with kimchi before but it was a really quick and easy meal and turned out well. The fried egg was a great addition.

    Reply
  8. Laird McColl says

    July 5, 2021 at 5:15 pm

    Hi Nagi!

    I’ve just made my first batch of Kimchi and am keen to use it in this dish.

    Thanks for the recipe! If I wanted to add pork belly to it would I be best to cook it first then remove from the pan and then add back in with the rice?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 6, 2021 at 12:02 pm

      Oh nice Laird!!! Yes I would cook the pork belly first, remove and then add back to the rice at the end to mix through. N x

      Reply
      • Laird McColl says

        July 6, 2021 at 5:01 pm

        Awesome thanks Nagi!

        Reply
  9. Anita Eti says

    May 10, 2021 at 6:20 pm

    Hi Nagi!

    Thanks for this recipe, really excited to try it! I was wondering if the mushroom is absolutely necessary? My dad is pretty allergic! Let me know if I can leave it out or sub for another veggie. Thanks again!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 11, 2021 at 7:14 am

      Hi Anita, just leave them out if you prefer! N x

      Reply
  10. Adrian Padula says

    May 5, 2021 at 9:47 am

    Can you sub the gochujang with something like sriracha? Not really a fan of corn syrup, msg, artificial sweeteners, etc.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 6, 2021 at 4:48 pm

      Hi Adrian, sorry not for this one – it’s a key Korean flavour needed in this recipe. N x

      Reply
  11. Amy says

    April 19, 2021 at 7:52 am

    5 stars
    So flavorful and easy to make; another Tineats hit!

    Reply
  12. Nat says

    April 8, 2021 at 9:40 am

    5 stars
    We had this last night for dinner with a fried egg. I used button mushrooms as didn’t have enoki mushrooms. It was delicious & a hit with the family. We love your recipes Nagi! 🤩

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 8, 2021 at 10:34 am

      Glad you enjoyed it Nat!! – Nx

      Reply
  13. Stela says

    March 29, 2021 at 3:51 pm

    5 stars
    Made it and I love it so much,but I do modify abit by adding pork slices, a dash of soy sauce and a pinch of sugar to balance off the sourness from the kimchi the second time I made it. And today I made it again,the third time! Haha,thanks for your recipe Nagi*^_^*

    Reply
  14. Alyx says

    March 23, 2021 at 4:03 pm

    Made this last night and it was so delicious! I also added in a bunch of broccolini and a red capsicum to bump up the veggies a bit. Will definitely make again.

    Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Meet Dozer

Official taste tester of RecipeTin Eats! Meet Dozer
As Featured On

What's for Dinner?

Close up of beef enchiladas in a baking dish, fresh out of the oven

Beef Enchiladas

Butter Chicken served over basmati rice in a bowl, ready to be served

Butter Chicken

Overhead photo of 2 black bowls with Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing, ready to be eaten

Chinese Chicken Salad

Salisbury Steak recipe in skillet.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken - 7 ingredient magic. The coconut fragrance is heavenly! recipetineats.com

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken

Fast prep. Big flavours!

Never miss a recipe

Back to Top
  • Related
  • RecipeTin Japan
  • Food Bloggers Center
  • Help
  • Contact Us
  • Image Use
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits Maintained by Zao Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled © RecipeTin Eats 2023 · All Rights Reserved Back to Top