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45 degree angle shot of a black bowl filled with spicy kimchi gochujang & BBQ pork fried rice.

BBQ Pork Fried Rice With Kimchi & Gochujang

Made with fewer than 10 ingredients and ready in under 40 minutes, this cheap and easy gochujang fried rice recipe has a perfect balance of spicy, bright flavors wrapped in a deliciously carb-y package.
4.75 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dinner, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Korean
Servings 4
Calories 604 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 4 C Cooked White Rice preferably short grain
  • 1 stick Butter
  • ½ Yellow Onion diced finely
  • 1 ½ - 2 C Kimchi chopped
  • ¼ C Kimchi Juice or to taste
  • 1 BBQ Pork Chop cooked and diced finely
  • 1-2 tablespoon Soy Sauce or Tamari
  • 1-2 tablespoon Toasted Sesame Oil Tahini is an acceptable substitute
  • 1 tablespoon Tahini optional. I ran out of Sesame Oil after a tablespoon and used this as a replacement for flavor and fat.
  • 1-3 tablespoon Gochujang depending on heat preference

Optional Toppings

Instructions
 

  • Melt butter in cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sautee until just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.
    Add kimchi and kimchi juice to skillet, cooking for about 3-4 minutes until kimchi begins to sweat. Add pork and cook until warmed through and juices are mostly evaporated.
  • Add rice to skillet, breaking up the grains. Stir to coat, then continue cooking until all sauce is absorbed. Add soy sauce, sesame oil and Gochujang. Adjust seasoning as necessary - soy sauce for salt, sesame oil for toasted nutty flavor, kimchi juice for umami, gochujang for sweet heat.
    Continue to cook, stirring only occasionally, until parts of rice become browned and a little crispy.
  • Assemble bowls, adding any toppings you prefer. We ate ours with a sunny side up egg, sriracha, nori furikake and sliced green onions. And then we did it all over again for breakfast with the leftovers. Because breakfast fried rice is the bee's knees.

Notes

Optional Variations:
  • Gluten-Free - Opt for tamari or coconut aminos and double check that your BBQ pork is gluten-free.
  • Soy-Free - Coconut aminos or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos are both soy-free options to use in place of soy sauce.
  • Extra Veggies - Have some extra veggies languishing in the fridge? Feel free to add them to bulk up your meal even more. Some good options include shredded or finely diced carrots, frozen peas, and chopped, cooked broccoli florets. You could also add some small cubes of pineapple for a fun Korean-Thai fusion.
  • Korean Steak Fried Rice - Feel free to use any leftover steak from these Korean-inspired tacos instead of pork.
  • Chicken Kimchi Fried Rice - Chicken is a perfect swap for the pork. I personally prefer using dark meat like BBQ chicken thighs since it doesn’t dry out as easily as breasts.
  • Vegetarian Kimchi Fried Rice - Skip the pork entirely for a vegetarian meal. (Go a step further and swap the butter for a plant-based alternative to make it vegan.) You’re welcome to keep things simple with just the onions and kimchi, or you can feel free to replace the pork with pressed and cubed firm tofu and/or extra veggies.

Nutrition

Calories: 604kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 19gFat: 37gSaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 247mgSodium: 536mgPotassium: 303mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 944IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 2mg
Keyword Cheap, Comforting, Easy, Fast, Gluten Free, Pork
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