Kimchi Fried Rice

At least this time around I took a photo of the dish before devouring it. You could call it a two-ingredient recipe, even though it is really three if you count the butter I used to fry the rice with; or more if you include all the vegetables that make up kimchi. If you have made everything beforehand, this recipe comes together in less than 10 minutes.

The rice blend I use is of my own making. It's a 1:1 ratio of Trader Joe's Wild Rice (though, I suppose any wild rice will do) and Trader Joe's Brown Jasmine Rice; both of which apparently have naturally occurring inorganic arsenic in it. Who knew? Apparently, Consumer Reports did a study on the amount of arsenic in rice and it doesn't matter if it is organic rice or conventionally grown rice. I don't eat a lot of rice, but when I do eat it, I usually only cook a cup of rice at a time.

The Foodening Blog - Kimchi Fried Rice

Ingredients

1/2 c cooked rice, per serving
1/2 c homemade kimchi, per serving
1/2 tbsp unsalted butter or olive oil, for frying

Directions

Heat frying pan over medium-high heat until butter melts but does not start to turn brown. Add rice and mash around in pan until the grains have separated from each other. Add kimchi. Stir rice and kimchi around in the pan until evenly distributed. Remove from heat after 5 minutes, or until everything is about the same temperature; if your ingredients came from the refrigerator.

Serve hot.

Kimchi and Bacon Fried Rice

I will have to make this again, as I just ate it for dinner and didn't snap a photo. There are many ways to make fried rice and it starts with a pot of leftover steamed rice from the previous day, or whenever. It's up to you whether or not you want to make this with white or brown rice, short or long grain. The preferred is long grain rice because it's not as sticky.

Ingredients

1 c steamed or baked rice (per serving)
1/2 c homemade kimchi, chopped
1 green onion stalk, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 strips of cooked bacon, diced
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

If you don't have cooked bacon on hand, fry fresh bacon in the large skillet. Once cooked, remove bacon to a cutting board and dice. There should be 1-2 tbsp of bacon lard in the skillet Proceed with the rest of the recipe, omitting the olive oil.

In a large skillet, warm oil over medium-high heat. Add scallions and garlic. Fry until fragrant. Add rice before garlic starts to brown. Add kimchi. Mix it all up until thoroughly combined.

Fry the rice for about 5-10 minutes, until the rice warms up and everything is about the same temperature.

Serve hot.

Miso Ginger Fried Rice with Cherry Tomatoes

For a chilly autumn day, this fried rice dish hits the spot. It's both savory and sweet. I did not come up with the combination of the Miso Ginger and Jasmine rice, the samples counter at my local Trader Joe's did. I'm using homegrown cherry tomatoes, although they're not all that sweet but they'll add more flavor to the rice.

Serves: 1-3

Make the rice

2 c dry jasmine rice
2 1/2 c miso ginger soup

Rinse the rise under water until most of the starch washes away. In an oven-proof bowl, combine rice and soup. Bake for 50 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Stir fry the rice

1 tbsp unsalted butter
a handful of cherry tomatoes
a cup of cooked rice

Melt butter in a skillet. Add rice and tomatoes. Stir around until rice is hot and tomatoes can be squished when gently pressed with a spatula.

No added salt needed.

Pumpkin Fried Rice

This recipe is a homage to a dish of the same name from Ginza, a downtown Bellevue restaurant. I can only hope that I can get the presentation close to how Ginza serves this up (inside a cooked kabocha squash).

Ginza's Pumpkin Fried Rice

From looking and tasting the dish, it has these noticeable ingredients: green onions, bacon, short grain white rice, caramelized onions, and chunks of kabocha squash. It easily serves 2-3 adults. Except for the rind and stem, it's all edible. I only have one sugar pumpkin on hand for this recipe; so no fancy presentation for me. You'll need to have two small sized kabocha squash on hand to replicate Ginza's plating for this dish. I think Ginza finishes the dish in the oven or steamer for the last ten or so minutes of cook time.

I only had five slices of bacon on hand, and while I could have taken more out of the freezer, I didn't. This recipe ratio definitely needed ten slices of bacon for the amount of rice cooked and prepared diced pumpkin. I used 1/4 cup less water when making the rice since I wanted the cooked rice to have more texture when frying. I also stirred the freshly made steamed rice until it cooled.

Ingredients

2-3 stalks green onions, sliced green parts only
1/2 medium white onion, small dice
5 garlic cloves, minced
10 slices of bacon, fried to a crisp then coarsely chopped
4 c. cooked white rice (2 c dried + 1 3/4 c water)
1/4 c. light soy sauce (optional)
1 tsp kosher salt
2+ c. diced sugar pumpkin (or kabocha squash)

Directions

1. With a rice steamer, cook two cups of rice in 1 3/4 cups of water. This will give the short grain rice a firmer texture for fried rice. Long grain white or brown rice can be used, if you prefer.

-or- Have four cups of cooked rice. White rice works better than brown rice. Long grain is the preferred American style of fried rice; while short grain is typically used in Asian cuisine.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, fry bacon over low-medium heat until all the strips are crispy. Pour out all but two tablespoons of bacon grease. Let the cooked bacon cool on paper towels before chopping up.

3. In the same skillet, turn heat to medium and saute onions and garlic until onions have turned translucent and begin to brown; about 5 mins. Add diced pumpkin and stir mixture occasionally until the pumpkin is fork-tender, about 10-15 minutes.

4. If you intend to add a saltier taste to the rice by using soy sauce, add it before the rice and stir until the pumpkin is mostly coated with it; instead of adding it to the rice which gives the rice an uneven color. Then, add the cooked rice and stir to evenly distribute ingredients. To preserve the green color of the scallions, these should be added last and about 10 minutes before serving. Add bacon and green onions. Stir to combine.

5. Turn off heat and cover until ready to serve.

This is how my version came out. It really did need more bacon; and the pumpkin could have cooked for longer:

Pumpkin Fried Rice, first attempt

Fried Rice

This weekend I am in Chicago visiting relatives and it seemed like a good time to watch some food prep in action. While fried rice is a dish that anyone who knows how challenging leftover rice can be monotonous after a few reheats, fried rice takes some fresh ingredients (eggs, green onions, pork) and accommodates a LOT of leftover rice to make a very satisfying meal that feeds a lot of people. This particular batch made roughly 10 quarts of fried rice, feeding more than 10 adults and children, with plenty leftover. Sure, turning leftovers into more leftovers seems redundant, but fried rice stands on its own really well and can be reheated for lunch or an occasional snack.

Stir the rice to combine evenly while cooking.

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

6 large eggs, beaten

1 tbsp soy sauce + up to 1/4 c water

2 bunches green onions, diced

1.5 pounds pork, small dice

Directions

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium heat and add the beaten eggs, green onions, and pork. Fry until the pork has lost its pinkness and the eggs are almost entirely cooked. 

Add all the leftover rice. Freshly made steamed rice does not work well in a recipe like this. You really need cooked rice made at least a day ahead. Add soy sauce while stirring the rice as it cooks. Really what you are doing in this step is bringing the rice up to the same temperature as the other ingredients. You can add some water to this mix to loosen up the rice, but don't add more than can be evaporated off.

Turn off heat and serve in small rice or soup bowls.