Easy Peasy Bacon Kimchi Bokumbop

Kimchi Bokumbop is fried rice with kimchi. In Korean, bokum means sautéed or fried and bop means steamed rice. Kimchi is an essential part of any Korean meals and made up of fermented vegetables. It is a common banchan, or side dish, in South Korea. You can buy kimchi at any Asian specialty markets. There are many variations making Kimchi Bokumbop. You'll get best results if you use leftover rice from last night. Steam rice holds too much water and it will turn your fried rice into a mush so cook your rice a day ahead.

When I cook Asian food, I try to keep it healthy and avoid using too much cooking oil, sodium, etc. This recipe is very simple and you can find most ingredients in your pantry and refrigerator. You can improvise and add additional ingredients such as chopped garlic, chopped onions, soy sauce, salt & pepper, ground meat, etc. I didn't want the recipe to be high in sodium because the bacon and kimchi are salty as is! Based on your preferences, it's up to you how you want to make your Kimchi Bokumbop.

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 cups of cooked rice (day old)

8 slices bacon, diced thinly

3 eggs, lightly beated

1 1/2 cups kimchi, chopped

2 1/2 tbs kimchi juice (taken from the kimchi jar)

1 1/3 cups peas & carrots (I used the frozen package)

3 tbs green onions, chopped

1 1/2 - 2 tbs cooking oil

Directions

1. In a wok or large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil in med-high heat for a few minutes. Cook the diced bacon until almost crisp. Take it out and put it on a plate covered in paper towel. It'll absorb the excess oil.

2. Using the same pan, pour out the oil and wipe away the bacon residue with a paper towel (or you can wash the pan). Heat the remaining 1/2 to 1 tsp oil on med-high. Cook the eggs scrambled and set it aside in a small bowl.

3. In the same pan, add the rice and stir fry it for 1-2 minutes. Add the kimchi and stir fry again for a minute. Then add the kimchi juice, peas & carrots and scrambled eggs into the mixture. Stir fry for another 3-4 minutes. Add the green onions last and give it a few more stir.

Cook's Notes:

• You can garnish your dish with fried egg sunny side up on top or cut thin strips of nori (seaweed) for presentation.
• When cooking bacon, watch out for oil splatters. It almost hit my left eye!