Home > Online Magazine > Online Magazine: Edition 82 - Summer (Dec-Feb) 2024/25 > Recipe - Kimchi Fried Rice (by Erica Green)

Recipe - Kimchi Fried Rice

by Erica Green

NOTE: Print this Page for easy reference when cooking.

If you are new to fermented vegetables, like kimchi, be prepared for a unique smell and quite funky taste. In Korea, Kimchi is served as a side dish with most meals, however, I prefer the more subtle approach of using kimchi as a component amongst others within a complete dish. Kimchi is used in this way to spice up a standard stir fried rice recipe.

Ingredients

Serves 4

180g jar of vegan kimchi
250g hard tofu, cut into 1-1.5 cm squares
2 Tbsp. light oil
3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin julienne strips
2 large spring onions, chopped (reserve some green tops for garnish)
1 Tsp. garlic paste
1 Tsp. ginger paste
250g bag microwave long grain rice (Eg: jasmine or basmati)
1 Tsp. chicken flavoured stock powder
1/4 Tsp. salt
1 Tsp. sesame seed oil
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Method

Drain kimchi, roughly chop, and set aside. Reserve the fluid and marinade the tofu cubes in the kimchi juice. Set aside while you are preparing the other ingredients.
Drain any excess kimchi fluid off the tofu and set aside. Fry the tofu cubes in the oil until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, in the left-over oil, sauté the carrot, spring onions, garlic and ginger paste, until the vegetables start to soften.
Add chopped kimchi, rice, stock powder, salt, tofu, and any left-over kimchi fluid.
When warmed through serve drizzled with sesame seed oil and sprinkled with spring onion tops and sesame seeds.

About the Recipe

This recipe is suitable for vegetarians and vegan
Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish of fermented vegetables, usually containing: cabbage; chili; garlic; ginger; and fish sauce. These days, you can buy many brands in the supermarket that omit the traditional fish sauce, making them suitable for vegan. Just check the labels. I have used the Obap brand. The amount of chili may vary from brand to brand so you may need to try and see which brands are suitable for your taste.
Tofu comes in varying different textures, based on how much water they contain. Silken tofu has the highest water content and is very delicate and creamy. Hard tofu has less water and is much easier to cut into shapes and fry. Make sure that you choose a hard tofu for this recipe
Massel make a range of vegan stocks and stock powders which are flavoured to be similar to chicken or beef stock. You can also get low salt varieties if that is an issue for you. They are a staple item in my pantry.
You can or course use rice that you have cooked from scratch, just make sure that it has been cooked well in advance and allowed to cool before using.
Feel free to mix up the vegetables that you use in this recipe. Eg: broccoli, snow peas, capsicum etc..

Home > Online Magazine > Online Magazine: Edition 82 - Summer (Dec-Feb) 2024/25 > Recipe - Kimchi Fried Rice (by Erica Green)