Korean comfort with variations: Kimchi Fried Rice with (or without) Scallops

Kimchi Fried Rice, a lively, tangy, slightly spicy traditional Korean dish, is topped here with scallops. Recipe and variations below.

TO MANY KOREANS, KIMCHI FRIED RICE IS PURE COMFORT FOOD. Usually topped with a sunny side up fried egg, Kimchi Bokkeumbap (its name in Korean) is a traditional dish—which means it comes with many, many variations. Including adding seafood, which we discovered when we were looking for something new to do with scallops.

According to Marc Matsumoto at No Recipes, kimchi fried rice is “a simple, delicious fried rice recipe that’s made with mature kimchi, rice, and just a handful of other ingredients.” This mature theme is echoed in many discussions of the dish. That jar of kimchi in your fridge is alive; its microbial makeup changes and ages, even if you don’t open it. As it ages, the taste gets stronger, more pungent. And that adds to the flavor of this dish. If your kimchi is on the youthful side—and even if not—you can boost the flavor with a little rice vinegar and/or gochujang hot pepper paste.

Meat is often added to kimchi fried rice to up its umami level—bacon is frequently mentioned, but you can add fish, or sausage or other meats (we’ve even seen Spam mentioned—um, no). You can also use firm tofu. With all of these add-ons, they are chopped up and cooked with the fried rice. As you can see in the photo above, we cooked our scallops separately and topped the fried rice with them.

Cooked rice is a major part of the dish. Rice that’s been cooked a day or two before making kimchi fried rice is best. It has less moisture in it and fries up better.

This was our first time cooking kimchi fried rice. It is weeknight quick and easy to make, and the lively, tangy, slightly spicy flavors have us ready to try other variations.

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Kimchi Fried Rice with Scallops

Kimchi Fried Rice, a lively, tangy, slightly spicy traditional Korean dish, is topped here with scallops.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Korean

Servings 2

Ingredients

For scallops

• 10 sea scallops, about 1/2 pound
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• flour for dusting optional
• 1 tablespoon neutral-flavored vegetable oil (we used grapeseed oil)

For kimchi fried rice

• 2 tablespoons kimchi juice (see Kitchen Notes)
• 2 teaspoons gochujang hot pepper paste
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon neutral-flavored vegetable oil (we used grapeseed oil)
• 1 cup kimchi, roughly chopped
• 2 cups cooked rice (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• chopped chives or scallions for garnish

Instructions

• Prep the scallops. Rinse carefully under cold water to remove any grit. Trim off the tough foot on the side of each scallop with a sharp knife. Pat scallops dry with a paper towel and season on both sides with salt and pepper. To ensure a nice browning, dust one end of the scallops lightly in flour. This is optional and I didn’t do it this time—that’s why my scallops don’t have nicely browned tops in the photo.
• Make the fried rice. Mix the kimchi juice, gochujang and soy sauce together in a small bowl and set aside. Heat oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet or wok. Add kimchi and cook, stirring frequently, until it browns slightly and becomes very fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently and breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, then stir in the kimchi juice mixture and cook another 3 minutes or so, stirring frequently.
• Add the sesame oil and stir until everything is thoroughly combined and the rice has begun to brown. Taste and adjust seasoning with more soy sauce, if needed, and reduce heat to low.
• Cook the scallops. Heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Place the scallops floured-side down (if you did that) and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. (While this is going on, quickly divide the fried rice between two shallow bowls.)
• Turn she scallops and cook on the other side for just 1 minute—don’t overcook or they’ll get tough and chewy. Place scallops on top of fried rice, sprinkle chives or scallions over everything and serve immediately.

Kitchen Notes

Kimchi juice. This is the liquid in the kimchi jar. There’s not a lot of it, so you may have to press the kimchi in the jar with a spoon to squeeze out enough. If you can’t get 2 tablespoonsful, add a little water or rice vinegar.

Cook the rice ahead. Rice that’s cooked a day or two before you need it and refrigerated will lose some of its moisture and fry better. We actually used leftover rice from a Chinese takeout order.

Variations. If you're adding chopped bacon to your fried rice, cook it in the pan before starting to cook your kimchi, then drain it on a paper towel. You'll probably want to wipe the excess bacon fat from the pan so it doesn't take over the dish. For chopped ham, mushrooms, chopped fresh seafood, canned tuna or most other add-ons, add them when you start cooking the kimchi.

Put an egg on it. Topping this dish with a fried egg is how most cooks finish it. I can just imagine the rich goodness of the egg yolk mixing in with everything as you eat it.