Last Sunday I took to Instagram Stories to poll my peeps on their thoughts about kimchi. The options were: heck yes or hell no, and the result? Majority “heck yes”. MY PEOPLE!
What is Kimchi?
Kimchi is fermented vegetables, mostly cabbage, flavored with chiles, onions, ginger, and garlic. The flavor is similar to saurkraut with a spicy kick. Kimchi gives dishes like fried rice new life – that said, trust me when I tell you that Healthier Kimchi Fried Rice is a major upgrade from the original!
This recipe concept came to me a few years ago by way of the New York Times. What can I say, if the NYT tells me to cook something, I usually do it. (You haven’t lived until you’ve tried their Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe!) Their suggestion to toss chopped kimchi into a wok of fried rice with SPAM sounded just crazy enough to work. That said, over the past couple of years I’ve swapped in everything from chopped smoked ribs to cooked bacon, but have settled on diced kielbasa as my favorite. Its salty, smoky flavor is perfection when paired with the spicy, sour kimchi. I also “healthified” the recipe a bit by cutting half the white rice with cauliflower rice. This is a trick I use ALL THE TIME on my family when serving fried rice or a rice-pilaf type dish, and they are none the wiser.
How to Make This Recipe
Start by heating a large wok over high heat then melt 3 Tablespoons butter (or vegan butter) inside. Add 1 chopped shallot or 3 chopped green onions then saute until softened, 1-2 minutes. Butter may seem like an odd fat to stir fry with but it pairs SO well with the kimchi.
Next chop 1 packed cup kimchi then measure out 1 Tablespoon of the packing liquid. Kimchi is not the most photogenic ingredient, but don’t judge this book by its cover! We usually use Mother In Law’s Kimchi which I find at Whole Foods.
Add the chopped kimchi and liquid to the wok then stir fry to heat through. Next add 7oz diced kielbasa then stir fry until the mixture is mostly dry and the kielbasa is golden brown, 5 minutes or so.
Turn the heat down to medium then add 2 cups cauliflower rice to the wok. I use the grating blade attachment that came with my food processor to rice the cauliflower, but you could use store-bought fresh or frozen riced cauliflower too.
Also add 2 cups cooked white rice then drizzle in 1 teaspoon sesame oil and a few turns of the pan of gluten-free Tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using traditional soy sauce). Stir fry until the cauliflower rice is cooked through, 3-4 minutes.
Last step is to push the fried rice to the sides of the wok then drizzle in 2 eggs that have been whisked with 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Scramble the eggs then toss with the rice to combine.
That’s all she wrote! Let the stir fry cool for 5-10 minutes (you can really taste everything so much better, including the butter – YUM – when it’s cooled off a touch,) then scoop into bowls and serve. I hope you LOVE this healthier, totally fun take on fried rice! Enjoy!
More Fried Rice Favorites
Cauliflower Fried Rice Sesame Chicken Fried Rice Teriyaki Fried Rice Thai Fried Rice Easy Chicken Fried Rice
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