Easy | Prep: 5 min | Cook: 10 min | Serves: 2

Kimchi fried rice is one of those dishes that exists because someone opened the fridge, found day-old rice and a jar of kimchi, and decided to see what happened. What happened was something brilliant. The kimchi — already fermented, sour, spicy, and deeply funky — caramelises in a hot pan with butter and becomes something entirely new. The rice picks up the chilli colour and the tang, and then you put a fried egg on top and let the yolk run into everything. It’s ten minutes, five ingredients, and a masterclass in making something from almost nothing.

Ingredients

  • 400g cold leftover rice (day-old is perfect)
  • 200g kimchi, roughly chopped (save the juice)
  • 2 tbsp kimchi juice from the jar
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp gochujang (optional, for extra heat)
  • 2 eggs
  • Sesame seeds and sliced spring onions, to serve

Method

  1. Fry the kimchi Heat the butter and sesame oil in a wide pan or wok over high heat. Add the chopped kimchi and fry for 2–3 minutes until it starts to caramelise and the edges catch. The butter-kimchi combination smells improbable and tastes incredible.

  2. Add the rice Add the cold rice and break it up in the pan. Stir-fry for 3–4 minutes, pressing the rice against the hot surface to get some crispy bits. Add the kimchi juice, soy sauce, and gochujang if using. Toss everything together until the rice is evenly coated and slightly crispy in places.

  3. Fry the eggs Push the rice to one side. Add a small splash of oil to the cleared area and fry the eggs — crispy edges, runny yolk.

  4. Serve Divide the rice between bowls. Top each with a fried egg. Scatter with sesame seeds and spring onions. Break the yolk. Let it run. Eat.

Cook With Your Senses

Inspired by Ethan Chlebowski’s sensory approach to cooking — the idea that your senses should tell you more than a timer ever could.

  • Look: The rice should have patches of deep chilli-red from the kimchi and golden-brown bits where it’s crisped against the pan. If it’s uniformly pale, you’re stirring too much — let it sit and catch.
  • Listen: The rice should crackle against the hot pan. If it’s steaming silently, the heat is too low or the rice was too wet. Day-old rice from the fridge is drier and fries better.
  • Smell: Caramelising kimchi in butter smells sweet, sour, and savoury all at once — it’s fermentation meeting Maillard reaction and it’s extraordinary.
  • Touch: Grab a few grains between your fingers after frying. They should feel dry and slightly firm on the outside, not sticky or wet.
  • Taste: Tangy, spicy, a little sweet from the caramelised kimchi, with the richness of butter and sesame running through it. The runny egg yolk mellows everything. If it’s too sharp, the gochujang rounds it out.

Notes

  • Cold, day-old rice is essential. Fresh rice is too wet and steams instead of frying. If you’re desperate, spread fresh rice on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • The older and more fermented your kimchi, the better this dish will be. Fresh kimchi is too mild — you want the stuff that’s been in the jar for weeks and tastes properly sour.
  • Butter is not traditional but it is correct. The richness against the kimchi’s acidity is what makes this version sing.
  • Add diced spam, bacon, or leftover meat for a more substantial version. Spam and kimchi is a classic Korean combination and it works for a reason.

Inspiration

Adapted for Ryan’s kitchen. Original inspiration: maangchi.com