Bacon-Kim Chi Fried Rice
Growing up, one of the dishes my mom frequently made was fried rice. Her fried rice consisted of leftover white rice, Chinese sausages, strips of egg omelet, frozen carrots and peas—instead of soy sauce, she used Maggi seasoning. Having eaten so much fried rice throughout my childhood, I don’t care for it, but everyone loves my mom’s version of fried rice. When I came home to visit during college and graduate school, she would always send me back with a large to-go container full of fried rice, which my friends and roommates happily devoured for me.
To my surprise, I enjoy fried rice when it is ordered at Chinese restaurants. Why was that? I realized that I don’t hate it, I just got tired of the same flavor profile. Having different ingredients and seasonings makes it new for me and I appreciate fried rice again. I realized that I prefer soy sauce over Maggi seasoning and I also like my eggs scrambled directly into the rice versus cooked into an omelet then sliced and added back into the rice.
When I make homemade fried rice, I have a base recipe of rice, garlic, onion, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil. The additional add-ins depends on my mood. Last fall, I experimented with making my own Kim Chi and used that in my fried rice so I am going to show you how to make my version of Kim Chi fried rice with bacon!
Ingredients
3 Tbsp butter
2 eggs
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups rice white, cooked
3-4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 cup Kim Chi
8 slices bacon, chopped
Salt and pepper for taste
3-4 fried eggs
Furikake seasoning
In a frying pan over medium heat, cook bacon until browned and softened. Do not let the bacon get too crispy. Remove bacon and transfer to a separate paper towel lined plate to drain.
Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a wok or large sauté pan over medium-high heat until melted. Add the yellow onion and garlic then sauté for about 5 minutes until softened, season with salt and pepper.
Increase the heat to high, add rice, soy sauce, and oyster sauce then stir until combined. Continue stirring for another 3 minutes to fry the rice.
Make a well in the middle of the rice and crack the eggs directly into the wok/pan, stir to incorporate. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add Kim Chi and continue stir-frying for another minute until all ingredients are mixed well.
Remove from heat, stir in the bacon, green onion, and sesame oil. Taste and season with extra salt or soy sauce, if needed. Dish out the rice into serving bowls, top each bowl with a fried egg and sprinkle with Furikake seasoning. Serve warm.
***For extra heat, I usually squeeze Gochujang sauce over the top of my fried egg and rice.
