Kimchi Bokkeumbap

Gochujang Kimchi Fried Rice

Name: Gochujang Kimchi Fried Rice
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 2 cups cooked short-grain rice, cold (day-old is best); 1 cup ripe, sour kimchi, squeezed and roughly chopped; 1/4 cup kimchi juice (reserved from squeezing); 2 Tbsp BALGAN ORIGINAL KOREAN HOT SAUCE; 1 tsp soy sauce; 1 Tbsp neutral oil; 1 tsp toasted sesame oil; 2 scallions, sliced (whites and greens separated); 2 eggs, for frying; Roasted seaweed (gim) and toasted sesame seeds, to finish

고추장 김치볶음밥

Kimchi bokkeumbap is what a Korean kitchen makes when there is sour kimchi in the jar and cold rice in the fridge. It is not a recipe so much as a rescue — and it happens to be one of the best things you can eat standing at the stove.

Gochujang kimchi fried rice topped with a fried egg and roasted seaweed

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 10 min
Total: 20 min
Serves: 2
Cuisine: Korean

How to make it

Two things decide whether this works. The kimchi has to be properly sour — the ripe, funky stuff at the back of the jar, not the fresh batch. And the rice has to be cold and dry, ideally a day old, so the grains fry instead of steam. BALGAN ORIGINAL KOREAN HOT SAUCE handles the seasoning in one pour: fermented Korean red pepper with the sweetness and tang already built in, which is what you would otherwise be assembling from gochujang, gochugaru, sugar, and soy.

Prep the kimchi

Squeeze the kimchi over a bowl and keep every drop of juice — that juice is the backbone of the flavor. Chop the kimchi into bite-size pieces.

Fry the kimchi first

Heat the neutral oil in a wide pan over medium-high. Add the kimchi and the scallion whites and stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges brown and the pan smells sharp and sweet. Do not rush this.

Add the rice

Add the cold rice and press the clumps apart with a spatula. Keep tossing until every grain is coated and evenly colored.

Season and crank the heat

Stir the kimchi juice, Korean hot sauce, and soy sauce together, pour it over the rice, and raise the heat to high. Toss for another 2 minutes so the liquid cooks off and the bottom starts to crisp.

Finish and top

Kill the heat, drizzle in the sesame oil, and fold once. Fry the eggs sunny-side up, set one on each bowl, and finish with scallion greens, torn seaweed, and sesame seeds.

One thing that matters

Leave it alone for 30 seconds at the end. A thin crust on the bottom of the pan is the difference between fried rice and warm rice.

How to serve it

A runny yolk is not optional. Break it, stir it through, and eat immediately.

Made with BALGAN ORIGINAL KOREAN HOT SAUCE — real Korean gochujang, slow-fermented and remade as a pourable Korean sauce. Launching on Kickstarter, November 2026.

See the sauce →