Hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to the wonderful, weird world of asian fusion with a shot at the very popular “Crispy Kimchi Bacon Fried Rice” found at the Woo Can Cook pop ups all around the California Bay Area. For those unfamiliar, earlier this summer, we launched a fried rice pop up here in Oakland, serving many of the fried rices and dishes from this series. The kimchi fried rice that we’ll be taking a shot at today is a staple of the Woo Can Cook menu, and features crispy bacon bits, fermented korean “kimchi,” a sweet and savory gochujang and hoisin sauce, and finally, a 2 minute wok sear for a wonderfully crispy finish to the rice.

We’ll also use this as an opportunity to take a look at how we cook this at the pop up when we’re cooking on 200,000 BTUs of wok burner heat, and then take a look at how to adjust this approach to accommodate for the more moderate BTUs of home burners like the ones you all probably have. Hope you try it.

 

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1 tbsp (about 1 inch) ginger

  • 1 cup kimchi

  • 4 strips bacon

  • 2 eggs

  • 1/2 tsp corn starch

  • kosher salt

  • 2 green onions

  • 2 cups leftover rice

  • peanut oil

INGREDIENTS (sauce)

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 1 tbsp gochujang

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil

  • 1 tbsp hoisin sauce

  • 1/4 cup kimchi brine

PREP

  • CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside

  • PEEL and mince the ginger, set aside

  • SEPARATE the whites and greens of the green onions, then slice thinly on a bias, set aside

  • DICE the bacon, set aside

  • COMBINE all sauce ingredients with a whisk, set aside

  • WHISK the eggs with corn starch and kosher salt, then set aside for 15 minutes

ON THE STOVE

  • HEAT a wok as hot ass possible, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil, and long yao

  • ADD the garlic, ginger, and whites of the green onions, then bloom until fragrant for about 10 seconds

  • ADD the kimchi and saute for about 2 minutes

  • MOVE the kimchi to one side of the wok, then add the eggs and let set for 1 minute

  • ADD the rice, break up clumps, toss to combine, and remove from the wok

  • LOWER temperature to medium, then add the bacon and render fat for 5 minutes

  • ADD rice back to the wok, and toss to combine

  • SEAR the rice for 2 minutes, then toss to combine

  • ADD the sauce 1/4 cup at a time, and season to taste

  • FINISH with greens of green onions

 

tagged with woo can cook, fried rice, kimchi, fusion, korean, chinese