Crispy Kimchi Fried Rice

Short post - just a simple, delicious and incredibly satisfying meal. One of my favorite things to make when I want something quick!

Kimchi + Crispy Rice + Bacon + Perfectly Fried Egg = NOM.

Crispy Kimchi Fried Rice

Yields: 2 servings

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 tbsn. olive oil

1 tbsn. gochujang

2 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 green onions, sliced

2 tsp. soy sauce

3/4 cup chopped kimchi

3 cups leftover rice

1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)

2 large eggs, fried (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine the rice and gochujang. Mix until the rice is evenly covered in the sauce, set aside. In a large fry pan or wok, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and green onions until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and mix everything together well. Use a spatula to flatten the rice against the pan, and keep still for about 3 - 5 minutes to let the rice get crispy. Repeat until the rice is evenly crispy. Next, add the soy sauce and sesame oil, adding more to taste, stir well. Mix in the crumbled bacon, chopped kimchi and frozen peas (if using). Continue stir frying until everything is well mixed and the peas have thawed. Portion evenly onto two plates, then top with the fried eggs and enjoy!

Ooey, gooey yolk all over my rice!

Kalbi Spring Rolls

Ah, Korean Kalbi, it's the meat of the gods. Juicy, incredibly flavorful and fatty beyond words. 

I've wanted to make Kalbi spring rolls for I don't even know how long. As you all know, I'm pretty obsessed with spring rolls. They're portable, delicious, refreshing and for the most part, healthy. Ever since I made Japanese inspired spring rolls, the Ahi Tuna Rolls, I knew I'd have to make a Korean inspired spring roll, and here it is!

I think the most challenging part of making these rolls were deciding what kind of dipping sauce to serve  with them. Stuffing them was the easy part: kalbi, check! Kimchi, check! Deliciousness, check! For the dipping sauce, I decided to make a tangy gochujang and lime juice dressing. It reminded me more of a salad dressing but the tanginess was nice with the fatty pieces of kalbi. Next time though, I'll try to make a creamier sauce. Mmmmm.

Mmmmm juicy, grilled Kalbi:

Kalbi Spring Rolls

Yields: 4 - 6 servings

For the spring rolls:

2 lbs. marinated kalbi, grilled

1/2 head of romaine lettuce, chopped

1/4 package of rice noodles, cook according to package

1 cup kimchi, roughly chopped

4 green onions, chopped

rice paper

For the dipping sauce:

1 tbsn. gochujang

1 tbsn. sugar

1 tbsn. soy sauce

1 tsp. sesame oil

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. sesame seeds, toasted

4 tbsn. fresh lime juice or rice vinegar

To make the dipping sauce, whisk all the ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved and everything is well combined. Add more lime/ vinegar or soy sauce to your liking, set aside. To make the spring rolls, slice the kalbi into bite-sized pieces, set aside. To make rolling easier, set the ingredients out like an assembly line. To assemble, wet one rice paper and lay out on a clean surface (I like to use one and a half sheet for stronger rolls). Add some pieces of kalbi, some lettuce, some kimchi, cooked rice noodles and green onion. Roll by pulling the top towards you covering the fillings, then pull in the sides, then finish by continuing to roll to the bottom. Enjoy with the gochujang sauce!

Crispy Rice Pizza

Have you guys ever read Momofuku for 2? I looooove this blog. I've been fascinated by the likes of David Chang and his Momofuku chain of restaurants ever since it crossed my path. Momofuku for 2 is like my little ticket into Momofuku heaven and besides that, Steph, the author, makes her own utterly delicious looking Asian-inspired concoctions that make me weak at the knees!

Anyways, this is a winner. Pure & simple. Everything listed in the ingredients list is delicious on their own, and even more so when combined into this spectacular and easy to make dish! The only hard part of this dish would be making the pulled pork, but I simply used pre-made pulled pork, which made it even easier! Of course, I suggest making your own if you want to really knock your socks off but I had some on hand :)

Some people don't like crispy rice but I LOVE it, it's a bit crunchy, a bit chewy, a lot delicious. You get the fulfilling bite from the pulled pork, the tanginess from the kimchi and the velvety richness from the egg yolk. Let's all say it together: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Like a little piece of heaven!

Crispy Rice Pizza

Yields: 2 servings

Original recipe here.

1 to 1 1/2 cups of cooked short grain rice*

1/2 cup pulled pork

1/4 cup kimchi, roughly chopped

2 eggs

oil

Pour enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of a small cast iron skillet** and heat it up over medium heat. When the oil is hot add the rice and pat it down so that it forms a round rice cake. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let the rice crisp up to form a crust. Be patient, this may take a while. After about 15 minutes, use a small spatula to lift up the rice cake to see if it has a golden brown crust. If it does, turn it over and crisp up the other side. If it doesn't five it a few more minutes before flipping. Once flipped, go ahead and fry up a sunny side up egg in another pan. While the egg is cooking, top the rice cake with some of the pulled pork and kimchi. When the egg is cooked, pop it on top of the rice cake and add a couple more pieces of pork and kimchi. Repeat this process to make another pizza. Enjoy hot!

*Short grain rice is essential for this dish because other rice varieties won't stick together to form a cake

** If you don't have a small cast iron skillet, feel free to make it in a regular pan

Dig in!

"Kogi" Korean BBQ Tacos

I've mentioned the Flying Sams before, but if you didn't know or are new around here, it's a club that I am involved in. We are a completely student run organization that operates a clinic in El Testerazo, Mexico once a month. It's the best club I've ever had the chance to be involved in and I love it dearly! More info here.

Well, every once in a while we have fundraisers to help us keep our clinic running and to provide the necessary medications for the people of our clinic. Sometimes we sell cupcakes and sometimes we sell Korean BBQ. This time we decided to kick things up a notch and try our hand at "Kogi" Korean BBQ Tacos. If you've never heard of Kogi you probably don't live around Southern CA, cause it's definitely all the rage around here. We used this AWESOME recipe from Kevin of Closet Cooking and boy was it a hit!

We kind of changed it up a bit by using prepared bulgogi meat rather than Kalbi that Kevin used. You can get prepared bulgogi meat from Korean markets, which are relatively cheap. It is already marinated and delicious by itself, but when topped with the SUPER, SUPER spicy Korean Salsa Roja, wow! Everything was delicious and so full of flavor. If you have the time, definitely make this.

Topped with some juicy limes, and you're set!

Mmmm juicy bulgogi.

"Kogi" Korean BBQ Tacos

Yields: 12 tacos/ 4 servings

Adapted from this recipe.

12 small corn tortillas

1 1/2 lbs. prepared Korean bulgogi

1 cup Korean style salsa roja (recipe below)

1 cup onion cilantro relish (recipe below)

2 cups shredded lettuce in Korean sesame vinaigrette (recipe below)

Toasted sesame seeds

Heat a medium sized pan over medium-high heat. Cook until cooked through, about 5 - 8 minutes, set aside. To assemble the tacos, heat the tortillas over an open flame until lightly toasty and warm. Top each tortilla with some meat, hot sauce, relish and lettuce. Finish with some sesame seeds and enjoy!

Korean Style Salsa Roja

Yields: 2 cups

Original recipe here.

1/2 lb. plum tomatoes

1/4 lb. tomatillos

1 cup water

1 oz. (about 20) dried chilies de arbol, toasted

1/3 cup onion, chopped

1 tbsn. garlic, grated

1 tbsn. ginger, grated

2 tbsn. gochujang

1 tbsn. sesame oil

1 tbsn. sesame seeds, toasted

Roast the tomatoes and tomatillos until charred on all sides, about 10 - 12 minutes. Place the tomatoes, tomatillos, water, chiles de arbol and onion in a large sauce pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until the onions and chiles are tender, about 20 - 30 minutes. Drain the water, reserving it. Place everything, other than the sesame seeds in a food processor or a blender and puree, adding some of the reserved liquid if needed. Strain the bits from the salsa and mix in the toasted sesame seeds.

Onion and Cilantro Relish

Yields: 4+ servings/ about 1 cup

Original recipe here.

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 bunch green onions, sliced

1 handful cilantro, chopped

1/2 lime, juiced

Mix everything together.

Shredded Romaine in Korean Sesame Vinaigrette

Yields: 4+ servings

Original recipe here.

1 tbsn. sesame oil

1/2 lime, juiced

1 tbsn. soy sauce

1 tbsn. gochugaru

1 tbsn. sesame seeds, toasted

1/2 heat romaine lettuce, shredded

Mix together all of the ingredients except the lettuce. Toss the lettuce in the sauce.