Kimchi-fried rice with shiitake mushrooms

Kimchi fried rice with shiitake mushrooms


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The secret to a good kimchi-fried rice is to use both the kimchi and its juices, so that you’re packing as much umami punch as possible into the dish. I like to separate the two, frying the kimchi so its edges caramelise and turn extremely fragrant, before using the kimchi juices to make a stir-fry sauce along with sweet sticky gochujang (Korean fermented hot pepper paste).

As cooked short grain rice is much stickier than long grain, I like to stir the sesame oil into the rice first, breaking up any large clumps along the way. Prepare your sauces by stirring the soy sauce, kimchi juice and gochujang together in a bowl
In a wok or large frying pan, preaheat the groundnut oil over a medium heat. Fry the chopped onion until golden. Add the shiitake mushrooms and kimchi, then fry until their edges caramelise and the mixture smells very aromatic
Turn the heat up to high before adding the cold cooked rice. Spread the rice out so that everything is heated through, and jab lightly with the edge of your spatula to break up any lumps
Pour the sauce mixture over the rice, stirring and tossing to make sure all the grains are thoroughly coated. Continue cooking until the rice starts to brown and crisp up on the edges
As the saltiness of kimchi varies, check for seasoning, adjusting with a pinch of sea salt as necessary. When ready, stir in the chopped spring onions and serve topped with fried or boiled eggs
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