PREP: 15 minutes | COOK: 15 minutes | YIELD: 4 x 1-cup servings
This dish is a great way to use up leftover rice and odds and ends of vegetables you have in your refrigerator. Just use a combination of vegetables you already have, and be sure to cook the rice the day before so that it’s cold and dry, otherwise you’ll have mush. You might have to make a special trip to the store to buy kimchi, a spicy Korean favorite made with fermented cabbage, but it is well worth the trip!
2 Tbsp (30 ml) safflower oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups (480 ml) vegetables, diced into ยฝ-inch pieces
4 oz (113 g) firm tofu, drained and liquid pressed out, diced into ยฝ-inch pieces
3 cups (710 ml) cooked, day-old, refrigerated brown rice
1 cup (240 ml) kimchi, drained and liquid pressed out, chopped
1 tsp (5 ml) sesame oil
ยฝ tsp (2.5 ml) sea salt
Heat a 9-or 10-inch cast-iron skillet or very large wok thoroughly on medium high. Once skillet is nearly smoking, add oil, garlic, scallions and vegetables. Stir vegetables in oil and cook until softened, 1 or 2 minutes. Add tofu and cook 1 more minute. Stir in rice, getting as much rice to touch bottom of skillet as possible. Allow to cook, without stirring, until rice starts to brown and get crunchy on the bottom of the skillet. Stir and repeat until all rice is browned as much possible, without burning, and has developed crispy, crunchy bits, about 8 minutes total. Stir in kimchi, sesame oil and salt, and heat through. Remove from heat and mound in bowls. Serve with chili paste or chili sauce, and low-sodium tamari.
TRY THIS!
When it comes to the mix of veggies for this dish, take my word for it, anything goes. Bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, celery, bamboo shoots, baby corn, bok choy and kale toss em in!
PROTEIN POWER
If you’re an ovo vegetarian, you can top the fried rice with a sunny-side-up egg, allowing the diner to break up the yolk and mix it in with the rice, as is traditional in Korean cuisine.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE PER SERVING (WITHOUT EGG):
Calories: 347 | Calories from Fat: 129 | Protein: 11 g | Carbs: 44 g | Total Fat: 15 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Trans Fat: 0 g | Fiber: 6 g | Sodium: 366 mg | Cholesterol: 0 mg
