Famous Korean kimchi bokkeumbap recipe made with kimchi, rice, chicken, gochujang, and simple seasonings. Packed with spicy, sweet, sour, and tangy kimchi flavour. One of our family's favourite fried rice recipes, that everything comes together in 15 minutes. It's so quick, simple, and super delicious!
I am a big fan of Korean dramas and love to recreate Korean dishes at home. Korean Fried Chicken and Korean Beef Bowl are my recent favourite recipes that you might also love.
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WHAT IS KIMCHI BOKKEUMBAP
' Bokkeumbap ' means fried rice in Korean and Kimchi Bokkeumbap ( 김치 볶음밥 ) is Korean fried rice, mainly cooked with mature kimchi, juice from kimchi and leftover rice. Korean gochugaru chilli powder and gochujang chilli paste bring mouthwatering vibrant red fried rice. Extra protein and vegetables can be added to your choice. Bacon, beef, chicken, mushrooms, onions, spring onions are popular add-ons.
Fried egg with a runny yolk, crispy seaweed strips, and toasted sesame seeds are classic toppings that you can add on top of your Kimchi Bokkeumbap.
In this recipe, I am sharing our family's favourite kimchi chicken bokkeumbap with simple seasonings. Following is a quick guide and watch our step-by-step cooking video in the recipe card.
Why you would love this recipe
- One-pan stir fry recipe that you can cook everything in one large pan and cleaning up is very easy.
- Extremely fast to make that you can whip up all the ingredients in 20 minutes. ( Just use the leftover cooked rice! )
- Unique kimchi flavour delivers the authentic Korean flavours to the regular boring fried rice.
- You need only pantry and fridge friendly ingredients and budget-friendly!
Ingredients we need
- Rice : I love to use a day old leftover jasmine rice which is perfect to make this bokkeumbap. Leftover rice is drier and harder than freshly cooked rice and it don't get mushy easily when you stir fry it.
If you are using freshly cooked rice, spread the rice on a tray or lage plate, let it chilled for a few hours until it completly cold and dry. - Kimchi : Kimchi is a main ingredient in this recipe and is usually made with, radish, cabbage, spring onions and seasoned with salt, Korean chilli pepper, ginger and garlic. It's a staple Korean fermented vegetalbes with loads of health benefit, probiotics and nutrition.
- Chicken bokkeumbap: I used chicken breast in this bokkeumbap recipe, you can use boneless chicken thigh, bacon, prawns, tofu, beef or any protein you wish.
- Vegetables add-on : I usually add only spring onions. You can add extra vegetables like mushroom, carrot or any stir fry vegetables to makes the dish more texture and taste.
- Seasonings : You need 4 key ingredients to season your kimchi fried rice. Gochujang ( Korean chilli paste ), gochugaru ( Korean chilli powder ) , sugar, and sesame oil. Sprinkle some salt to taste.
- Toppings : Top with sunny side-up fried egg, crispy nori strips ( seaweed ) and toasted sesame seeds.
How to make it
- First, prepare the kimchi by squeezing the water out and cutting the kimchi into medium bite-size pieces. Keep the juice from from kimchi to add later in the fried rice. Gather and prepare all the ingredients before you heat the wok.
- Heat the large wok/pan into medium-high heat, drizzle oil and stir fry the onion for few seconds.
- Then add the chicken and stir fry until cooked through.
- Next, add the kimchi and stir it well for few seconds and follow with the chilli powder and gochujang chilli paste. Cook for few seconds until the chilli paste is combine well with chicken and kimchi.
- Bring the heat to high and add the rice. Season the rice with kimchi juice, sesame oil, sugar and salt.
- Combine everything well and continue cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, sprinkle spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.
- Transfer to serving plaste and garnish with toasted sesame seeds, nori strips and spring onions. Don't forget to add fried egg on top!
Top Tips
⦁ Remove the excess moisture from the kimchi before you stir fry by squeezing it out with your hand. But do not throw away the juice, as you will need to season the rice. If the kimchi is very watery, it will splatter a lot when you stir fry it.
⦁ Use a large wok, pan, or skillet to spread the heat evenly to rice and all ingredients.
⦁ Kimchi already contains salt content and you should always make a taste test before you add in your stir fry. The kimchi I used in this recipe is not salty. So I add salt to my fried rice, but if your kimchi is salty you might want to reduce the salt or omit it.
⦁ Highly recommend adding sugar to balance the tangy and sour taste of kimchi.
⦁ Make sure not to add too much kimchi juice and gochujang paste. Excess moisture in the fried rice can be very likely to get mushy, sticky, and difficult to manage.
Most Asked Questions
Ripe, aged kimchi is best for making fried rice which has a more rich, strong, umami, pungent flavour, and crunchy texture.
I usually love to make with a day-old jasmine rice, but any medium or long grain rice goes well too.
Bokkeumbap recipe vegetarian can be simply cooked with tofu, mushroom, and use vegetarian kimchi which doesn't include any salted shrimp or fish sauce.
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📖 Recipe
Kimchi Bokkeumbap Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 cup Cooked Rice About 200g or 2 servings ( see details in note )
- 160 g Kimchi Add more or less to preference ( see details in note )
- 150 g Chicken breast Or thigh, cut into small dices
- ½ Onion Cut small dices
- 1 tbsp Gochujang Korean chilli paste
- 1 tbsp Gchugaru Korean chilli powder/chilli powder/paprika
- 2-3 Spring onion Cut thin slices
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt Or salt to taste ( see details in note )
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 1 tbsp Kimchi Juice Water from squeezing out kimchi
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil Or neutral flavour oil
Garnish
- 2 Fried Egg Sunny-side up
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Spring onion
- Seaweed strips Crispy nori ( seaweed ) cut into thin strips
Instructions
Prepare Kimchi and Gather Ingredients
- First, squeeze out the water from the kimchi and keep 1-2 tablespoons of juice for later use in the fried rice. Cut the kimchi into medium bite-size pieces and gather the seasonings, vegetables, and chicken.
Make Bokkeumbap
- Heat the large wok/pan into medium-high heat, drizzle oil, and stir fry the onion for a few seconds. Next, add the chicken and stir fry for 1-2 minutes until cooked through.
- Then add the kimchi and stir fry for a few seconds and follow with the chilli powder and gochujang chilli paste. Cook for a few seconds until the chilli paste is combine well with chicken and kimchi.
- Bring up the heat to high and place the rice in the wok. Add kimchi juice, sesame oil, sugar, and salt.
- Mix everything well and continue stir fry for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat, sprinkle spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.
- Transfer to a serving plate. Garnish each plate with toasted sesame seeds, nori strips, and spring onions. Add a fried egg with runny yolk on top.
Notes
- Kimchi is fermented cabbage, radish, or vegetables. It has a tangy, salty, and pungent flavour. You can add any of your favourite matured kimchi.
- Rice: Recommend to use a day-old cooked rice. You can use jasmine rice or any long-grain or medium-grain rice.
- Gochujang is a Korean chilli pepper paste, it has a smokey, peppery, earthy flavour. If you cannot find Gochujang, you can omit it. Do not substitute with other chilli paste for this recipe.
- Gochugaru is Korean chilli pepper powder and can be substituted with chilli powder or paprika.
- Adjust the salt -Please be aware that kimchi is can be salty in taste depending on the brands and different products used. Make a taste test for kimchi before you make a stir fry and adjust the salt to taste.
- Can you reheat it? If you have any leftovers, store it in an air-tight container and keep in the fridge. Usually last in the fridge for a couple of days. Reheat in the microwave or stovetop until piping hot just before serving.
- Where to buy these ingredients? You can buy all of these ingredients at the supermarket Asian aisles, Chinese/Korean groceries, or Amazon online.
Sussie Martin says
I love this recipe I made it for my families Christmas lunch everyone loved it I also aded soy sauce to make it a little more rich in flavour and texture.
Khin says
We love to cook it at our family gathering too. So glad that you enjoyed it, Sussie.
Anya says
Thanks for the recipe!! It was so easy to make and was absolutely delicious!
Ju ko says
I love this easy kimchi fried rice recipe. The crispy fried egg goes really well this dish. Keep up the good work.
Khin says
Thank you for sharing your comment Ju Ko, fried egg is our favourite topping!